Warning: Beware brain crash from overheating

Did you know that every passing second your brain receives impulses numbering in the billions? Billions. We’re the supercomputers of the world; we’re out-processing everything. So imagine all this information is shooting back and forth, into, around, through your brain like the fastest game of air hockey you’ve ever seen, and there’s not just one puck on the board – there’s billions. Billions and they’re flying between the goal posts faster than lightening.

Really impressive or really overwhelming? Either way, that’s your mind. Despite all this communication pinging between neurons in your brain (assimilating so much from both the external and internal world), you somehow still manage to function. And that’s because you, much like computers, have a crash system that protects from overheating.

Read these symptoms and see if you’re at risk of a system overload:

• Headaches
• Fuzzy thinking
• Distracted from your tasks
• Exhaustion
• Panic attacks
• Mood swings

These are all warning signs from your body that the system is going to crash. They’re precursors to bigger problems like high blood pressure, depression, cancer, or other illnesses. If left unattended as the above symptoms manifest, there can be a whole lot of trouble ahead. These are signs that the body needs to reset.

So, what should you do when those billions of neurons are overloaded and suddenly the stress becomes almost insurmountable? Here’s an idea, it’s the first step in a bigger journey we’ll be exploring during the upcoming weeks:

Step back and turn off your system by choice. Being proactive in your self-management can help in saving you from pain, wasted time, excessive worrying and physical consequences.

Pausing is so undervalued when we’re billing our hours and counting the minutes. But pausing isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. Think of yourself as the ultimate in technological breakthroughs. You are THE super machine of all super machines. Don’t you deserve careful maintenance? (Hint: YES, you do).

Coming up soon we’ll explore why the pause is so crucial to resetting our systems, how to tap into those reflective moments, and what they will bring to our lives. For now, just consider the scenario painted above. You are the supercomputer. Don’t you think it makes sense occasionally to let the machine cool?

What are your system overload warning signs? How do you switch-off?

And don’t forget, you can join the Sister Leadership conversation at our Linkedin Group, or through Twitter. See you there 🙂