Dwelling on your problems isn’t helpful—but looking for solutions is. If it’s something you have some control over, consider how you can prevent the problem, or challenge yourself to identify five potential solutions.

If it’s something you have no control over—like a natural disaster—think...

It’s easy to get carried away with negative thoughts. So, before you conclude that calling in sick is going to get you fired, or that forgetting one deadline will cause you to become homeless, acknowledge that your thoughts may be exaggeratedly negative.

Remember that your emotions will in...

Stewing on your problems for long periods of time isn’t productive, but brief reflection can be helpful. Thinking about how you could do things differently could help you perform better in the future.

Incorporate 20 minutes of “thinking time” into your daily schedule. During that time perio...

Telling yourself to stop thinking about something will backfire. The more you try to prevent a thought from entering your brain, the more likely it is to keep popping up.

Change the channel in your brain by changing your activity. Exercise, engage in conversation on a completely different ...

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

Ruminating involves dwelling on the past.

Persistent worrying involves negative—often catastrophic—predictions about the future.

Like all habits, changing your destructive thought pat...