Put a Deadline on Your Thoughts

To avoid over-ruminating about a decision, give yourself a time frame to think about it.

If it’s a small issue such as what paint color to paint your office, perhaps a deadline of 10 minutes is sufficient; whereas a larger decision such as whether to accept a new job offer in another city may warrant a couple of days of thought.

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Ask Yourself These 3 Questions to Stop Overthinking a Problem

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health.com

When I was in college, there was a student who lived in my dorm who regularly surveyed other students about which outfit she should wear. Sometimes, she would go door to door soliciting opinions. Although most people were polite enough to tell her which outfit looked better, in reality, no one cared what she wore to calculus class or the gym.

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Overthinking vs. problem-solving

If you’re proactively trying to gain a new perspective, you might find thinking about an issue is helpful. If you’re repetitively thinking about how you wish things were different or imagining a...

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6 Ways to Stop Overthinking Everything

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inc.com

While everyone overthinks situations once in a while, some people are plagued with a constant barrage of thoughts all the time. Chronic overthinkers rehash conversations they had yesterday, second-guess every decision they make, and imagine disastrous outcomes all day every day. Thinking too much about something often involves more than words--overthinkers conjure up disastrous images too.

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Overthinkers

Chronic overthinkers rehash conversations they had yesterday, second-guess every decision they make and imagine disastrous outcomes all day every day.

Thinking too much prevents the...

Destructive thought patterns

Overthinking often involves two destructive thought patterns--ruminating and incessant worrying.

Ruminating involves dwelling on the past. "I should have stayed at my last job. I would be happier than I am now.""My parents didn't teach me how to be confident. My insecurities have always held me back."
Persistent worrying involves negative predictions about the future. "I'm going to embarrass myself tomorrow when I give that presentation. I know I'm going to forget everything I'm supposed to say."

Notice when you're stuck in your head

Overthinking can become such a habit that you don't even recognize when you're doing it. Practice paying attention.

When you're overthinking past or future events, acknowledge that your thoughts aren't productive. Thinking is only helpful when it leads to positive action.

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The Ultimate Guide to Making Smart Decisions - Thrive Global

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thriveglobal.com

Imagine that you're sitting at a poker table. You're dealt cards the same way as everyone else, and you're playing by the same rules. The thing is, you've got an advantage: You can see everyone else's cards, and they can't see yours. How many hands would you play wrong?

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You are the sum of your decisions

A few major decisions determine a good portion of how our lives, careers, and relationships turn out. The outcomes of these decision points will reverberate for years.

Even smal...

Why We Make Poor Decisions

We’re not as rational as we think.
We’re not prepared. We don’t understand the invariant ideas — the mental models — of how the world really works.
We don’t gather the information we need. We make decisions based on our “guts” in complex domains that require serious work to gather all the needed data.

The World Is Multidisciplinary

We live in a society that demands specialization. Being the best means being an expert in something. A byproduct of this niche focus is that it narrows the ways we think we can apply our knowledge without being called a fraud.

We should apply all the knowledge at our disposal to the problems and challenges we face every day.

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