Embracing the Overwhelm: A Letter to Ourselves

A quiet reminder for Sunday: you’ve done hard things before, and you will again

Hi friend,

Happy Sunday :)

This piece is for the ones feeling maxed out before the week even starts. This is your Sunday reminder that you’re not behind—you’re human. And capable. And you’ve done hard things before.

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some notes from this past week

I’ve been coming back to a mantra lately. It’s not the prettiest or the most poetic, but it’s honest:

“I’m overwhelmed, but I can do it.”

I’ve whispered it while switching tabs and forgetting what I was looking for. I’ve muttered it mid-run when my legs felt heavier than usual and my brain wouldn’t shut up. I’ve said it after canceling plans—not out of flakiness, but fatigue.

It’s the kind of line that steadies you in a quiet moment.

The kind that makes you pause and remember all the versions of yourself who have done harder things than this.

I think back to high school, when I was trying so hard to be the perfect daughter, student, and friend. Valedictorian, horse girl, volunteer—you name it, I overachieved it. I didn’t know it then, but I was building resilience in every 3 AM horse show wake-up call, every event I skipped, every exam I over-studied for. I wasn’t just driven—I was proving my worth by being dependable. By being everything to everyone.

By never asking for help.

That instinct followed me. Through grief. Through my mom’s illness. Through college and adulthood and early career chaos. Through the beautiful, bold things I’m proud of—climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, qualifying for Boston, starting over more than once. And the quieter courage, too: launching this Substack, putting myself out there online, attempting to build a new product during my senior year entrepreneurship cohort, etc…

And when life feels heavy now—when my brain has too many tabs open and none of them are loading—I remind myself: I’ve been here before. Maybe not in this exact flavor of overwhelm, but in something just as hard. And I made it through.

So maybe this Sunday, we don’t try to out-organize the week or preemptively panic about all that’s ahead.

Maybe we just remember that the version of us who gets overwhelmed is also the version of us who survives it.

You can be overwhelmed and capable.

Exhausted and strong.

Soft and powerful.

The week will ask a lot of you. But you’ve done hard things before.

And you will again.

With grace,

EGE

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For subscribers:

Here are 6 reminders I’m keeping close as I walk into this new week. Think of them like a soft landing—or a pre-run pep talk—for your mind :)

👟 A quick note before we dive deeper…

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The Week Ahead: 6 Reminders That Made Me Pause