Sometimes the worse place you can be is in your own head. Overthinking doesn’t sound so bad because thinking is good, right? But like everything else in our life, too much of anything is bad. Overthinking is exhausting.
When you overthink, your judgments get cloudy, your stress level gets elevated, your creativity becomes impaired, and strips you of your power to make decisions. You spend too much time in the negative. It can become difficult to act.
When you overthink, thoughts run in circles around your head. You get stuck in reverse unable to move forward. You will start creating scenarios in your head. You start blaming yourself for things you didn’t do and worry about scenarios that may or may not happen.
It is a practice best avoided when you can, but stopping overthinking can be easier said than done.
” Too much of anything is bad. “
In order to address or cope with your habit of overthinking, you need to learn to be aware of it when it happens. Any time you find yourself doubting or feeling stressed or anxious, step back and look at the situation and analyse how you’re responding.
What you repeatedly say to yourself and how you repeatedly describe yourself is what you come to believe and be.
Don’t think of what can go wrong, but what can go right. Most of the time, overthinking is caused by a single emotion that is fear.
When you focus on all the negative things that could possibly happen, your mind will collapse. Next time you sense that you starting to spiral in that direction, stop. Visualize all the things that can go right and keep those thoughts.
Sometimes it’s helpful to have a way to distract yourself with happy, positive, healthy alternatives. Things like meditation, dancing, exercise, learning musical instruments, drawing, and painting can distance you from spiralling down the circle.
Learn to put things into perspective. It’s always easy to make things bigger and more negative than they need to be.
Change your view of fear. Whether you’re afraid because you’ve failed in the past, or you’re scared of trying or overgeneralizing certain situation, remember that just because things did not work out before does not mean that it won’t now.
” Worrying about tomorrow steals today’s happiness. “
You cannot change the past, but you can change the lessons, meanings and your perspective. When you accept the past for what it was, you relieve yourself from its weight. You will then free your mind from the burdens, mistakes or grudges of the past.
Learning to let go of the past is something we must constantly work on. This helps to clear up the mental space that was occupied by overthinking.
No one can predict the future, we all live in the now. If you spend your present worrying about the future, you are robbing yourself of your time now. Being present isn’t easy. It requires practice. Focus on what you can control.
Overthinking is something that can happen to anyone. But if you have a great system for dealing with it you can at least ward off some of the negative, anxious, stressful thinking and turn it into something useful, productive, and effective. Remember that worrying about tomorrow steals today’s happiness.