Overthinking doesn’t sound so bad on the surface–thinking is good, right? But overthinking can cause problems. When you overthink, your judgments get cloudy and your stress gets elevated. It can become difficult to act. Here are 10 simple ideas to free yourself from overthinking.
Awareness is the beginning of change
Step back and look at the situation and how you are responding
- In that moment of awareness, the seed of the change you want to make can be planted
- You can begin to address or cope with overthinking by being aware of it when it is happening
Accept your best
The fear that grounds overthinking is often based in feeling that you aren’t good enough.
- Once you’ve given an effort your best, accept it as such and know that, while success may depend in part on some things you can’t control, you’ve done what you could do.
Overthinking can be caused by fear
Focus on what can go right instead
- Visualize all the things that can go wrong and keep those thoughts present and up front
- Don’t become paralyzed by fear, instead, visualize all the positive things that could happen.
Put a timer to work
Set a timer for five minutes and give yourself that time to think, worry, and analyze
Put things into perspective
It’s easy to make things bigger and more negative than they need to be
- Ask yourself how much it will matter in five years, or in five months.
- Changing up the time frame can help shut down overthinking and over-thinking
Realize you can’t predict the future
Spend time on things that bring you joy instead
Be grateful
Make a list of things to be grateful for each day
- Exchange gratitude lists with people you trust
- Overthinking can be overcome by turning that negative thinking into something productive and productive-looking
- If you have a great system for dealing with overthinking, it can be much easier to deal with stressful thoughts
Stop waiting for perfection
Aiming for perfection is unrealistic, impractical, and debilitating
- Remind yourself, “Waiting for perfect is never as smart as making progress.”
- Be ambitious, but never so ambitious that you stop working on getting things right.
Change your view of fear
Every opportunity is a new beginning, a place to start again. Remember, just because things did not work out before does not mean that has to be the outcome every time.
