How do I handle physically demanding work that overwhelms me?

The physical demands of the work are wearing you out, and right now they feel bigger than what you can meet. That's an honest place to be, especially early on or when your body isn't yet used to it. Feeling overwhelmed by hard labor doesn't mean you can't do it. It means you're still building the strength and the rhythm. Bodies adapt, but they adapt gradually, and they need care while they do. Pace matters. So does rest, food, and learning to move in ways that spend less. Much of what looks like raw endurance in the seasoned workers is really technique and habit, built over time. You're at the start of that curve, not the end of your ability. Pick one part of the day that hits hardest and find a single way to make it easier, a better technique, a smarter pace, a moment of rest before it. Ease one piece, then the next. Overwhelm shrinks when you stop facing the whole day at once and handle it one stretch at a time.