This Mindful Monday, we’re talking about how overthinking ruins you and how you can overcome overthinking and worrying.
I have this Google Chrome extension installed so that whenever I open up a new tab or window, the home page is travel photography – each day a new place and new beauty to be discovered, and an inspirational quote. You can also use it to set daily task lists and help you stay organized but I solely use it for the inspiration.
Recently a quote appeared on my computer screen one morning and it hit me like a ton of bricks. So much so that I quickly wrote it down on a post-it note and slapped it on my laptop so I wouldn’t forget it.
The quote said, “Overthinking ruins you, ruins the situation, twists things around, makes you worry and just makes everything much worse than it actually is.”
I’m a chronic worrier. I also have a tendency to overthink and overanalyze. This little mind of mine is like the Energizer Bunny…it just keeps going…and going…and going. When I read this quote, I finally was able to put the two together. To see this relationship of overthinking and worry more clearly. And that much of my worry is the direct result of overthinking something.
Do you ever have moments like these? When something happens and you suddenly find yourself on the thinking train full-speed-ahead and there’s no chance to get off at the next stop? And whatever it is that happened now seems so much worse because it’s been twisted around and distorted by your mind? It ruined the situation. And now that you’re on this train, it’s ruining you. Cue the anxiety.
The good news is is that we CAN get off the train. We have the power to ring the bell to let the conductor know we want to get off at the next stop. To stop the vicious cycle of overthinking and worrying. Control your mind before it controls you.
The way to do this is twofold. First, you have to catch yourself. You have to realize you’re on the train going nowhere first before you can act. Once you realize it, you have to stop whatever it is that you’re doing (working, Insta-stalking, eating, etc.) and get grounded in the present. That could mean going down to the floor and taking a child’s pose. That could mean going to sit in another room to practice deep breathing. Or, maybe it just means you get up from your chair at your desk and off of your computer. Just something to shake up the thought patterns. You could even recite a mantra like, “In this moment, I am safe.” Or, “In this moment, I have everything I need.” This will help ground you in the realization that the present moment is the only moment that exists. Everything else, the past or the future, exists only in our minds.
You know that acronym, K.I.S.S, “Keep it simple, stupid sister.” That saying is getting at the very core of what the overthinking quote above teaches us. There is beauty in simplicity. There is enlightenment in simplicity. There is love in simplicity. It’s when we add layers and layers of our “stuff” on to what is going on in our lives that we get in trouble. We worry. We feel anxious.
Strip away the layers of stuff, keep it simple, quit overthinking, and the worries will wane.
Tell me, are you an over-thinker or do you K.I.S.S.? How do you stop overthinking?
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