Have you ever wished that you could live in the present moment, make firm decisions, and never worry about anything? Many of the world’s most successful and happy people do just that much of the time. They do not spend their time overthinking decisions; they consider the options, make a choice, and deal with the consequences of their decision.
Overthinking is the primary cause of a worried, unfocused, and unsettled mind. The bad news is that many of us are natural over thinkers, developing a pattern of worry based on our past life experiences. The good news is our thoughts are under our control, and we can learn to overthink less and become more settled.
Before we can change our thinking, we need to become aware of why we worry and overthink. Take some time to explore your past thought patterns and think about your fears. Many of us overthink due to our fear of future failures based on something that happened in the past. We may worry about a client yelling at us, based on the fact that someone yelled at us before. We may overthink a surgery that we had a problem with in the past.
We want to change our overthinking to make us happier and healthier. Worry and overthinking cause stress and can have emotional and physical tolls on our bodies. Chronic overthinking has been shown to suppress the immune system making us more susceptible to disease.
How can we change our overthinking?
Work to let go of the past. When negative stories come up in your head, try to accept the past without dwelling there. Learn from your mistakes, but do not fear making more. Strong decisions require that we make the best choice based on the information that we currently have. Worrying about choices from the past will keep you stuck in inaction.
Take control of your emotions. Being present and living in the moment does not mean avoiding your negative emotion. You need to feel your feelings and learn about the thoughts behind your emotion. The more we fight our negative emotions, the stronger they may become. Working on your thoughts will help you to change your feelings.
Focus on solutions. Much of the stress created by overthinking is the thought that there is no solution to our current situation. If you take one small step towards solving the problem, you will start to work out the overthinking paralysis.
Overthinking may feel normal at times, but it may prevent you from taking action and creating your best life. When overthinking is causing you physical or emotional pain take some small steps to get more focused on the present.
Dr. Julie Cappel
“Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will experience in your life.” - Tony Robbins
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