8 Ways to overcome overthinking

Stretch

Have you ever been stuck in an endless cycle of obsessive thoughts about a particular issue, unable to rid yourself of the stickiness of that situation? Do you miss out on potential opportunities, by allowing too many doubts or unanswered questions to whirl around in your mind?… Do you overthink things to the point where you’re exhausted and end up doing nothing?

Life is about movement which our inner storms block by creating barriers that prevent us from moving forward. When I think of my bodily issues – sometimes my joints are so stuck in pain and my muscles so tight they scream, that it’s easier to lie in a ball and do nothing. And indeed, sometimes all I can do is rest. However, common sense reminds me that in order to keep moving there’s no point thinking about the pain, instead I must balance rest with regular exercise. Daily exercise prevents aggravation of my already inflamed joints and muscles, without aggravating the ‘problem’.

And isn’t it so true of life in general? Overcome with overthinking, we literally paralyse ourselves from making change, aka paralysis by analysis. Overcome by our own overthinking (usually irrational in nature) we disempower ourselves by staying completely still, stuck in the mud of our self created quagmire, wondering how on earth we are going to get ourselves out of this sticky mess! We feel the pain or discomfort but are unable to push through it to regain our composure as ‘life’ becomes an unwanted, stressful place. When we find ourselves in that crushing grip of a dreaded situation we find many excuses (which will seem very real to us) why we are unable to get ourselves out of that situation – the timing isn’t right; it’s not our fault; we don’t have the right tools or skills; we don’t have the capacity; we don’t have any support; we can’t afford it!  Ego doesn’t like change, it likes to keep us in our comfort zone. But ego is NOT who we are it’s our outer mask that ‘protects’ us from the world, but really, all it does is keep us boxed in. Ego makes us panic, it allows our mind to conjure up all kinds of dread-full thoughts, we become frozen in fear. So much so that we miss wonderful opportunities in life – a problem is only a problem when we call it a problem! Like our bodies, our minds and attitudes must be continually stretched in order to get ourselves unstuck, to keep moving and to keep taking advantage of life’s opportunities. So lets look at 8 ways to overcome overthinking.

1. Accept and Surrender: Accept that you overthink. It takes honesty to accept and with acceptance comes an ability to let go and an urge to make some positive change.

2. Breathe: When we get stressed, anxious, worry or overthink, we unconsciously hold our breath. Becoming conscious of breathing is very important because it helps slow down our thought processes.

3. Pay attention to your thoughts: You are what you think, so change your thoughts to change your perspective of life. This is a very important point to overcome overthinking. ‘Check’ and ‘Change’ them regularly throughout your day!

4. Meditate: Meditation is a form of positive thinking. It means to practice being mindful not mindless. It helps clear any negativity to make space for positive thoughts, beliefs and inner language. Make this a regular practice to take control of your own mind (or others will control it for you).

5. Talk less: When we overthink, we tend to over-talk (often rambling). This gets us nowhere fast! The less we talk, the more our thoughts slow down and the more we listen to our own inner voice trying to tell us the way. It will always tell us the way if we are prepared to listen!

6. Set a time frame: This is to do with finishing tasks and projects. Overthinking blocks completion – don’t be one who starts but doesn’t finish. Regularly leaving projects unfinished makes us feel bad about ourselves and creates more negative thoughts. Setting a firm but realistic time frame helps you finish any task and retrains your mind! Start with small tasks and use terms like time frame or delivery date. The term deadline creates unnecessary pressure.

7. Forgive yourself: Never beat yourself up. When you catch yourself overthinking pat yourself on the back. To change anything we must first recognise it.

8. Step out of your comfort zone: Regularly taking yourself out of your comfort zone is healing (for everyone). It doesn’t need to be physical. To think differently, to behave differently definitely takes us out of our comfort zone. This helps change disempowering patterns that hold us back and creates new empowered ways of thinking and being.

Question: How do I regularly wake in the morning – clear and enthusiastic or in a state of fog or negativity?

Consideration: If it’s the latter, then what might be causing my fog or negativity? And what am I actively doing to change it?

Activity:  Before going to sleep, reflect on your day – the positive and the negative. But don’t get stuck on any of it, it’s simply to acknowledge it, not ignore or deny it. Then briefly review what you could have done differently (imagine how you will do it next time in a positive way) commit to that vision and let go of the rest. The reason we often dread tomorrow is because we haven’t let go of today before falling asleep. So once you’re committed to your new vision, let today go. It’s finished, it’s done, it can’t be changed. Instead, pick one small aim to focus on for tomorrow (make it a positive one) … Be grateful, give thanks, then go to sleep 🙂

**Note- this activity is meant to be done briefly for greatest effect. Don’t labour through any it or you’ll do yourself a disservice by not doing it at all**

Love Annemarie

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