One of the most common things that gets people stuck in inaction and in not doing what they deep down would like to is the destructive habit of overthinking. You can overthink a small problem or challenge until it looks like a huge and undefeatable monster. Or overthink something positive in your life until it doesn’t look so positive anymore. And sometimes you may even be zapping a simple moment happening here right now out of all it’s joy and magic by overanalyzing and dissecting it.
I’ve done all three of those things. All too many times. So in the first part of this week’s post I’d like to share 21 of the quotes that I’ve found the most helpful myself when I’ve gotten stuck in overthinking. And in the second part I’d like to share 5 of my own favorite tips. The ones that have helped me the most to stop overthinking in the past 10+ years.
How to Stop Overthinking: My Top 5 Favorite Tips1. Use a reminder to save yourself from winding up there in the first place. Staying aware of your negative habit and catching yourself as soon as you start falling into that trap of overthinking as you go about your day can be a big help. But just trying to keep it in mind at work, in school or in your private life tends to not work that well in my experience. Because we forget all the time. So what’s needed for this to work a lot better is a reminder. When I focused on getting a handle on my own overthinking I used a whiteboard on the wall in my home office. The message I wrote on that board was this: Keep things extremely simple. This helped me greatly to more often and quicker snap out of overthinking and reduce the number of times that the destructive habit grabbed a hold on my thinking. Two other kinds of effective reminders are in my experience:
2. Reframe the situation and see it from a wider view. When you’re thinking and thinking about something then ask yourself: Will this matter in 5 years? Or even in 5 weeks? Zooming out in this way will help you to see things with clearer eyes and from a more level-headed perspective. It will help you to not let medium-sized issues become something that causes more stress or concern than is necessary. And to more quickly let go of situations where you’re honestly making a hen out of a feather (or out of simply nothing) and to not waste any additional energy on them. 3. Get out of your own head. When you’re stuck in your own head and thoughts then it can be hard to break out of an overthinking loop about something. A simple solution that works well but can be a bit counter-intuitive is to then direct your focus fully outward instead of inward. Two good ways to get outside your own head are:
4. Simply small step it. If overthinking becomes a way to procrastinate or to not face the fear of getting out of the comfort zone you’re in then small step it. Find just one small or tiny step you can take to move forward. One small action that takes 1-5 minutes. Do that and focus only on that one step until you’re done. This will get you moving, build momentum and often leads to more small steps being taken (as the first step is most often the hardest one). 5. Just realize and accept that you can’t control everything. Not even if you think a situation through 50 times or more. To try to control everything or cover any possible eventuality through overthinking so you don’t risk making a mistake or looking like a fool can be appealing. It has sometimes been the biggest reason for why I’ve thought things through all too many times. But I’ve also learned that accepting that it simply doesn’t work is the honest truth. To prepare and plan is helpful but going overboard with it isn’t. A better and healthier way forward is in my experience to understand that making mistakes, failing and sometimes looking like a fool is natural part of stretching your comfort zone. It has happened to everyone that has wanted to live life fully and to anyone you may admire. And for most of them those experiences have been very valuable. Because such situations have helped to them to learn game-changing lessons, to grow and are often invaluable ingredients to their success. via Blogger 21 Quotes to Help You to Stop Overthinking (+ My 5 Favorite Tips)
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AuthorI love to speak at events where I am given a chance to encourage everyone to live their life to the fullest. I love travelling and spending time with my dogs. ArchivesCategories |