To Think or Not to Think
Two hours after having a conversation with someone you want to impress, your face frowns as you wonder whether it had actually gone well. Did he actually like your joke or was he smiling just to be polite? Did he really need to catch a bus right then or was it just a pretext to get away from you? God, maybe you had done something embarrassing. It was your hair, it had to be. This is the worst.
Show of virtual hands - Have you ever had a similar train of thought run down your mind? I know that I certainly have. In psychology, this is a little something that we like to call rumination. It's something that may likely happen inside your head right before or right after a given situation, though it's also not exactly timebound. It's when you break down the smallest minutiae of any situation and create a torrent of worries, the frequency of which would make pop up ads jealous. Overthinking could really have a toll on mental health and when it's chronic, it could have a number of consequences on our state of mind and decision making.
So, you might ask, how exactly can one stop this analysis paralysis, as some people have called it? Is the solution to simply throw everything to the wind and become a reckless mobster like your favourite action hero? Sounds fanciful, but it's important to remember that replacing one extreme with another just never works in the long run in real life.
So, based on scouring many articles on Medium and also learning from life experiences, the solution seems to be simply phrased, yet also somewhat difficult to achieve in practice: Live in the present. I know. Sounds like fairly common advice. But actively implementing this in your day will make a substantial difference to your peace of mind.
Be engaged in an activity whenever you're not resting. This in fact solves a lot of this problem since laying around doing nothing and wasting away is a breeding ground for worries and strands of anxiety. Just don't give yourself any time to overthink in the first place. Invest more time on a hobby that you consider productive and make specific goals for every day while engaging yourself in it. Having a good idea of what you're going to experience throughout the day will keep overthinking at bay.
Minimise the power of this toxic habit using introspection. It is worth noting that a lot of us tend to build mountains out of molehills, which is to say we make things seem worse than they really are. Those seemingly enormous and indefinable issues become much less significant when you're able to actually process it and define it, and then make a plan of action to overcome it. In many ways, introspection is the light that neutralises the shadows of overthinking.
Lastly, if your overthinking involves another person, just talk things through with them. Chances are that this person means you well and does not want you to go through a negative spiral. Besides, it's possible that this person may be going through the same trouble that you are. A simple form of communication will go a long way to smooth the storms that you'll have to endure otherwise.
Your thoughts don't define who you are. You define your thoughts. Allow them to serve you in your goals and activities and they'll ensure that you thrive and remain content in life.
So, you might ask, how exactly can one stop this analysis paralysis, as some people have called it? Is the solution to simply throw everything to the wind and become a reckless mobster like your favourite action hero? Sounds fanciful, but it's important to remember that replacing one extreme with another just never works in the long run in real life.
So, based on scouring many articles on Medium and also learning from life experiences, the solution seems to be simply phrased, yet also somewhat difficult to achieve in practice: Live in the present. I know. Sounds like fairly common advice. But actively implementing this in your day will make a substantial difference to your peace of mind.
Be engaged in an activity whenever you're not resting. This in fact solves a lot of this problem since laying around doing nothing and wasting away is a breeding ground for worries and strands of anxiety. Just don't give yourself any time to overthink in the first place. Invest more time on a hobby that you consider productive and make specific goals for every day while engaging yourself in it. Having a good idea of what you're going to experience throughout the day will keep overthinking at bay.
Minimise the power of this toxic habit using introspection. It is worth noting that a lot of us tend to build mountains out of molehills, which is to say we make things seem worse than they really are. Those seemingly enormous and indefinable issues become much less significant when you're able to actually process it and define it, and then make a plan of action to overcome it. In many ways, introspection is the light that neutralises the shadows of overthinking.
Lastly, if your overthinking involves another person, just talk things through with them. Chances are that this person means you well and does not want you to go through a negative spiral. Besides, it's possible that this person may be going through the same trouble that you are. A simple form of communication will go a long way to smooth the storms that you'll have to endure otherwise.
Your thoughts don't define who you are. You define your thoughts. Allow them to serve you in your goals and activities and they'll ensure that you thrive and remain content in life.
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