Are you the type of person who constantly thinks, and then re-thinks about everything you do? If so, you are not alone!
How can you prevent yourself from overthinking everything?
The point is that overthinking is a habit – and habits can be broken if you follow some simple rules. There’s a difference between thinking about something just enough, and thinking too much.
Overthinking is usually exacerbated by a stressful situation and stems from an actual, or perceived, lack of control over your life; with that comes a sense of helplessness.
You’re not born with the capacity for overthinking– it’s an acquired habit developed over time. For most overthinkers it’s a defense mechanism against the possibility of failure. Our Life Daily team has been examining what you need to do break the habit.
Here are some habits you can use to stop overthinking everything:
1. Simply avoid situations and people that can lead to overthinking.
Determine which situations are going to keep you up at night based on your past history, and avoid them.
2. Try talking to yourself.
Be aware of your thought processes. When you find yourself overthinking something, especially when it’s negative, think: “This isn’t helping. What would help is…” and then replace it with a positive thought.
3. Commit to a project and make it a goal.
If you focus your energy on something that matters to you you will find yourself thinking less and less about the thing you want to avoid.
4. Distract yourself.
Do something to get your mind off of the thing you can’t stop thinking about. You can try exercise, going on a drive, watching some mindless program on TV. Just find your favorite distraction and do it!
5. Enforce a time limit to your thinking.
If you’re simply have to overthink, just do it for a short amount of time. Take, say, 15 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind. When the 15 minutes are up, destroy the paper and move onto something else, preferably a fun subject.
6. Accept that perfection isn’t possible.
Striving for perfection is the classic recipe for disaster; the sooner you give up your perfectionist tendencies, the sooner you’ll be able to move on. Perfectionism is highly overrated.
7. Face up to what’s the worst than could possibly happen.
Ask yourself what’s the absolute worst that could happen – and then be ready to accept that outcome. If the worst case scenario turns out to be not that bad, your anxiety about that thing should completely disappear.
8. Always think about the big picture.
This takes a little experience but all you need to ask yourself is: “Will all this matter in a month or a year?” If the answer is: “No” or “Not really” then what’s the point in thinking it to death?
If you follow these suggestions, you’ll be able to cure yourself of the habit of overthinking about everything.
Forming these new positive habits will make a big difference to your tendency to overthink.
Are you an overthinker? Do you want to change? How do YOU deal with overthinking?
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