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10 Ways to Stop Overthinking and Start Living
Plan for conscious distraction
When you know the time of day rumination will begin, you can plan to remove that spare time with an activity that engages your full faculties.
But be picky about what you distract yourself with, and make sure it fosters positive emotion and psychological wellbeing.
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Key Ideas
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 them from getting anything done. And it wreaks havoc on their mood.
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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Write a vision
Write down exactly what you want your life to look like. Put it where you can see it every day. However, it is not set in stone. You can change it along the way.
Examine your current life
See how much of your life already matches your vision.
You want to keep those things and remember that part of your vision is already happening.
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All fears are not created equal
Some are useful, and some are useless fears that you can't or shouldn't do anything about.
They sap your strength for no reason, and you should put those fears in their place. Worrying about a comet striking Earth falls in this category.
Fear can harm you
In scuba diving, for instance, fear can cause you to breathe too fast, swim too hard, move too suddenly, fail to take note of your surroundings, or rise too quickly toward the surface.
Knowing that fear has the potential to harm you can help you set it aside. Fold up that fear, put it in a box, and promise you'll get back to it later at a less dangerous time.
Fear and chemicals
You may think it's your judgment deciding that something is dangerous and you should be afraid, but what actually happens is that fear chemicals are flooding into your brain.
Experiments have shown that fear can be induced artificially by injecting certain chemicals. Do the chemicals know what you should and shouldn't be afraid of? They don't. You do.