STOP! Overthinking! It's Ruining Your Life

in life •  7 years ago 

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Omg, I'm not going to get that done today, My business will fall part. I will fail. I"m a failure.

Overthinking is ridiculous! IT can consume your whole day, and before you know it, You wasted a whole day doing absolutely nothing.
Sometimes we can't help it; We have a goal, We want something so bad. We then get to the point we have less control, and we have to wait it out.

Things Aren't Always In Our Control

Usually, when I'm overthinking something, I have to stop myself. And remind myself that I did EVERYTHING in my power to produce the best results for the situation I'm in.
That no amount of stressing, or freaking out is going to fix the problem. Sometimes things are out of your control. And you have to deal with it.
IF you did everything in your power to get those results, That is all you can do. Move on emotionally as you wait for those results to pan out.

It Will Never Help Your Situation

When you are overthinking, you are causing more harm than good. Your turning yourself into a stressed out mess. And your overthinking will NEVER help the situation. You might do extra preparations which may or may not help you. But often those bad situations may not ever pan out.
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I remember when I was going to fly the first time in my life. Going to Pheonix, Arizona. I was TERRIFIED of Airport security. I was afraid they'd rip through all of my bags and such, And everyone would see my underwear and I would be laughed at. I was scared that I would do something wrong and they'd throw me out of the airport, and I wouldn't be able to fly.

I was afraid they'd fingerprint me, Which is something I'm really bothered by. Or demand a passport from me, Even though I was just flying to another state. Then I was afraid that flying would be rough and scary, The plane would crash.

Seriously? Lol.
I think back, and I just laugh. I've I have flown over 13 times now, And none of that has ever happened. I always get through security with no issues, Because I tend to pack light and simple. See what happens when you overthink? I made myself so stressed and scared for almost nothing.
What did I accomplish from that overthinking? Well, I packed a bit better, And I didn't bring huge shampoo bottles. But overall it was a waste of my time

Focus on The big picture

Focus on what you hope to get out of the whole thing. My goal was to go on vacation and to start traveling a bit.
Many of you probably see this as a tiny step. But for me, it was a big deal. When you focus on the big picture, sometimes you can prevent overthinking.
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Have A Goal

Sometimes we overthink something so much, that we lose track of our ultimate goals.

When you have larger goals, It will be harder for you to focus on all of the small little details, And instead you can focus on whats more important.


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We can't make the world safer, we can only make ourselves braver.

Wow! I love that quote! It's so true.

There is something called paradox of intention. Actually, you should force yourself to overthink it so to not overthink it. That's the method used by the Holocaust survivers and there is a book written about it called: "Why didn't you kill yourself?"

HOLY cow! I didn't think of that. I'm going to have to look into it more!

I will be checking that book out!
Thanks!

@kaylinart OMG... I can be so guilty of doing this ~ Thank You !!

Image result for quotes relax and enjoy

Image result for quotes relax and enjoy

Have a Great Weekend !!

OMG I love this quote. It's so true! Everytime I've tried to force a situation it doesn't seem to work out. But later on I end up getting the desired result anyways.

Smilessss... I totally agree. Thanks Again 4 Your Post.

Have a Great Weekend !!

Paralysis by Analysis! Or it could also stem from fear. Just posted about that topic this morning.

Checking it out now ;)

We are always thinking about some random thoughts. We are slaves to our thoughts. So we can not remain in present situation. We either think about past or present. The moment we lose interest in all the garbage filled in our head, and the moment we understand the futility of it, then we will start to enjoy life and live life to its fullest . Very good post!

Exactly! I love your comment hehe. We need to take steps back sometimes and evaluate what we are doing.

@hms818
Have to ask, you ever read any of J. Krishnamurti books?

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Negative loop is a common condition, something happens at work, school or home and it will take half a day to fade .
Job interviews are also one that gets a lot of people in a twist. I was once told just imagine they are taking a dump as you sit in front of the interviewer and try not to laugh.

I love that you call it a negative loop! Thats exactly what it is.
OMG taking a dump? Thats one I haven't heard before LOL.

Negative loop is a term that Dr Maxwell Maltz penned in his book Psycho Cybernetics. It's a classic self help book, he talks about self image 'dehypnotising yourself from false beliefs', the power of rational thinking etc.

I find myself saying 'negative loop' whenever I think it might have a foothold. It's a good key to remind you that it is a falsehood that must not take control. Your covering some important evergreen topics Kaylin, keep em coming :)

Yes, over-thinking ususlly gets the best of me. This kind of relates to your article from the other day about following one's intuition. I always do best when I follow my intuition as opposed to over thinking a situation.

I am in this position right now, having to transition from a relatively comfortable job to building a whole new business on my own in the same line of work.

The pressure is immense and it gets to me every few days and I'm paralyzed by exactly those things you described in the article, Kaylinart. I'm having to completely retrain my brain not to do what it normally does... worry about everything and instead read and react.

Having your goals and working step-wise to achieve them is easier said than done but it is necessary to always keep them in mind and reward yourself for what you did right... not punish yourself for what you did wrong.

Thanks for the post, it reminded me that while I have a ton of work to do today it is all in service of making stepwise progress to true professional independence.

I have a saying. "When you're overthinking, you're not thinking"

Isn't this kind of like the "oneness" everyone seems to be pushing today? Great article :)

I think so ! LOl.

This is what I struggle with all the time. It's funny you published this post right now as I've been afraid to send posts out into the wide Steemit world for fear of being 'not good enough'. Think I'll save this post and reread it before I push the button LOL Thanks !!

Aww!! Just do it :) There are a lot of different writing styles here on STeemit, And I've actually found that Steemit improves your writing overtime because it forces you to practice.

Don't spend much time thinking about the things you can't change, that way you have lots of energy to spend on what you can change :^) Thanks for your daily dose of good vibes

What you think about gets bigger....which is why focusing on the positive is so important.

Exactly! I love this!

I suffer more from wandering thoughts rather than overfocus on one issue. Which leads to resolving nothing and failing to finish any one task. It must be a form of ADD. I'm glad you've been able to resolve your issues to some degree.

OMG I am the same way. I have ADHD and I have to put a lot of restrictions and rules on myself to get stuff done.

Me too.

Breathe in, breathe out. What if everything I am worried about comes to pass? What if nothing I am worried about comes to pass? I like the last thought better.

I LOVE THAT!

I agree that overthinking is very problematic. Unfortunately, my personality type has set me up to eternally overthink. Even simple tasks like going shopping can be quite an ordeal at times.

I hate it! Thank you for a nice post... Although just saying it probably won't stop it, I believe that you have some useful insights.

totally agree with u but how to to control mind to avoid over thinking

I think it's a practice. You just have to train yourself overtime to not do it.

Couldn't explain it better myself. As a previous anxiety sufferer I know what it is to overthink but not thinking something is actually quite hard to acomplish sometimes. Try not to think about a pink elephant...;)

At one point in my life I remarked to a friend that I felt as though I had no control over the major things in my life and she said that maybe it was a good thing as now stronger muscle was in charge.

Thanks a lot, That is a habit that has always consumed me and affected me.

Thinking gets you into trouble in this world :p

Anxiety is hard to deal with. I have an anxiety disorder. But I just do different things to try and refocus my mind somewhere else. Not an easy thing to overcome. But it's adjustable. Good post.

Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.

Overthinking and self criticism leads to ruminating thoughts that can lead to mental breakdowns and people having to look at their core self. Much easier to just be authentic and shake the haters off. Even if we are the haters. Ruminating thoughts are like cancer of the mind.

Overthinking often comes when we fell bad mood. if we cat stop it maybe it become to some emotional.

Sometimes is so hard not to overthink, but you best decisions are made when you have your goal and don't overthink too much, just do what it needs to be done!

Such a great post, thanks! I've found overthinking starts turning into analysis paralysis and then nothing gets done and I'm not happy. Better to take imperfect action and figure it out along the way. Hope you're having an awesome weekend :)

It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward!

Lol i have anxiety, although i get what you are saying, if it was this easy i wouldnt have an issue.. just stop doin it lol, oh shiz i never thought of that ... telling someone who is overthinking/worried not to overthink is like telling ice not to be cold ;) Epic blog though with a few cool things to think about.