Stop overthinking- It’s really exhausting …The truth is that thinking too much is a very widespread and at the same time quite harmful habit. Thinking things well is important, but analyzing them in excess can lead to paralysis through analysis. Also, if your mood is negative, turning things around a lot can lead you to always find arguments to belittle what is undoubtedly extraordinary in your life.
Luckily I have learned to control it, and although sometimes I go back to the old ways, I know how to deal with it quickly.
If you are one of those people who go around every issue or problem no matter how small, or analyze to the full what happens, I will tell you 9 strategies to stop overthinking too much immediately. wink
I guarantee that if you put them into practice you will be able to reason in a more effective way, without maximizing the consequences, or stop for your fears, and above all you will achieve greater tranquility and balance in your life.
TOP 9 STRATEGIES TO STOP OVERTHINKING
OBSERVE THINGS WITH PERSPECTIVE
It is very common to make a mountain of a grain of sand.
So when you’re going around and around the same thing you think: How important will this be for me in 3 weeks? 3 months? 3 years?
- If the answer is none, what the hell are you doing, still thinking about that? angry
- Ask yourself: is there anything more important than what I should really occupy myself?
- Surely the answer is YES
Therefore when you enter a mental loop , ask yourself these simple questions: they will give you a broader view of your situation, which will allow you to direct your energy to those things that are really important in your life.
SET DEADLINES TO MAKE YOUR DECISIONS
If you do not put an expiration date on that decision you have to make, you will most likely observe and analyze it from too many points of view .
Once you make a decision, you get rid of the internal discourse that leads you to consider each of the options.
Surely you know someone who has spent 1 year watching homes before buying yours, and finally is not satisfied with the decision.
- Does it really make sense to prolong a decision in excess?
- I have it very clear: NO
- I challenge you to reduce your decision-making deadlines
For small decisions like, do I do yoga now or later? , Do I buy the usual brand of turkey or this one that is on sale? , etc. .. do not take more than 30 seconds to make the decision.
For major decisions, I recommend giving a prudential time , such as at the end of the day, or at the end of the week. What you have is that you acquire a firm commitment not to exceed that limit.
Think that once you make a decision, you will never know what would have happened if you had taken a different option. wink
TAKE ACTION
If you get used to taking action immediately, you will avoid procrastinating by thinking too much.
- Committing yourself to finish things in a fixed period of time, you will be able to become an action-oriented person.
- I advise you to divide the tasks into smaller ones so that you can focus on achieving a small goal that is more easily attainable.
- This way you will avoid feeling overwhelmed by the need to do something difficult to manage and that makes you fall again and again in procrastination.
INTERNALIZE THIS: YOU CAN NOT CONTROL EVERYTHING
If you think about things 100 times, it may be because you have a certain addiction to wanting to control everything.
- But those things are inevitable in life, and even more so if you want to expand your experience by going beyond your comfort zone.
- Think of people who are really inspiring for you and search your history: you will see how they have also made mistakes.
Recently I was watching a documentary by Steve Jobs, undoubtedly recognized as an entrepreneur and genius without equal. In that documentary they reviewed both his brilliance and the numerous and important mistakes he made throughout his career.
The mistakes can make you have a hard time at the time of committing them, but if you observe them in a positive way, you will see that they all hold an important learning .
Notice that worrying is a process of mental discourse that happens before you can deal with something, but if that is out of your control, how can you deal with it?
Simplify that thought in this way:
- You have a problem? Do not worry, stop overthinking too much
- Therefore stop trying to control everything: you simply can not anticipate everything that can happen or you have control of all the variables in your hand.
- If you want to learn to stop controlling everything, read the entry: How to end the obsession for wanting to control everything.
BE SILENT IN SITUATIONS THAT PROMOTE A NEGATIVE INTERNAL DISCOURSE
Yesterday I was hungry, and I was preparing to cook. I could not find the kitchen scissors and I needed them. My immediate mental reaction was to get pissed off and start arguing with myself mentally. angry
- Then I realized that it was nonsense and that it made no sense and I decided to use a knife instead.
- My mother can tell you: since I was little, when I’m hungry, I get upset.
The good thing is that I have it identified, and now when I’m hungry and I get caught myself with a negative internal speech I paraphrase Juan Carlos I and I say to myself: “Why do not you shut up? And I take care of the matter once I have filled the craw … big smile
So, I encourage you to identify those situations in which your mood is not appropriate and you tend to the negative internal discourse so that you are alert and you can stop it and deal with that matter when you have a more adequate mood .
- You will notice that in most cases the problem is very small or nonexistent.
- And if the problem really is important, then you will be in a better position to face it.
DO NOT DROWN IN UNCERTAIN FEARS
Another habit that is quite common and that usually leads to interminable internal discourses is when there is a fear about something completely uncertain .
In these cases, the most negative minds assume the occurrence of catastrophic scenarios, that is, they put themselves in the worst .
- In my life I have suffered terrible things, although most of them never happened. Mark Twain
- If you are one of those people, I suggest you ask yourself the following questions:
- What is really the worst that can happen?
I have observed that when some uncertain fear creeps around my head and I respond realistically and honestly, most of the time the answer is nothing or almost nothing .
When these types of uncertainties invade you, stop a few minutes to ask yourself those questions: you will see reality in a clearer way , which will save you energy that you would otherwise lose by turning that uncertain fear in your mind.
DO SPORT
It will seem strange to you, but it helps me a lot.
- Sport has the extraordinary effect of releasing tensions and with them recurrent negative thoughts.
- The Greeks said it more than 5000 years ago,
- In short, it is more than proven that doing sports helps to have a clearer mind and free of problems .
PRACTICE MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is a meditative technique based on mindfulness in the present moment.
When you are circling with concern about things from your past, think that these will not change anymore , and therefore the only thing you can do with them is to learn from what happened.
- If what occupies you the head is the future , has not yet arrived and has a high degree of uncertainty. The future you can not control and therefore you should not spend too much time planning.
- The only thing you have is the present , and it is in that present that you must put your energy to a greater extent.
I briefly tell you some techniques :
Concentrate on the breath : breathing is something that is always present and that constantly accompanies us, that is why it is so used when it comes to stop overthinking too much. When something does not stop bouncing in your head, look for your breath and concentrate on it.
Concentrate on noises : closing your eyes and focusing your attention on the sounds around you is another exercise that will allow you to free your mind of thoughts.
Concentrate on the action : for example, if you are washing the dishes, feel the touch of the dishes, the water, the temperature. That is, focus your attention on what you are doing instead of what is going on in your head.
- These are basic exercises that you can practice with ease.
- There are many other techniques but I do not want to bore you, but I encourage you to investigate the matter if you are interested.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH WHAT DOES NOT PROMPT YOU TO THINK TOO MUCH
We are not alone in the Universe, and we spend a lot of time interacting with other people, so our relationships have an important influence on us.
And I do not mean only your groups of friends or family, but what you read in blogs, newspapers or watch television ..
For example, I decided some time ago not to listen to news channels on the radio in the morning, since there was always news that made me angry or produced “bad vibes” in some way.
- Therefore I preferred to limit the information to what can really be concerning my person or my family.
- This is also applicable to social relations: if you have a friend or friend with tendencies to think too much and in negative, consider if it is a good company .
- I encourage you to spend more time with those people who have positive effects on your way of stop overthinking, and therefore in your life.
