overthinking

Overthinking is a trait that affects a huge portion of our planet’s inhabitants, these spiraling negative thought patterns that attack our brains and completely control it, depriving us from the joy of enjoying life and living the moment, leaving us in constant fear of the future and the unknown, imprisoning us is the cells of pessimism and expecting only the worst.

If you’re someone who spends more time in your head thinking about every incident that happens or might happen to you creating different scenarios and “what ifs”, if you obsess about or over-analyze regular experiences and interactions, reading into them things that aren’t actually there, if social media gives you anxiety making you constantly worried about what people posted, their comments on your posts, whether your pictures are ok or not, if the above applies to you, you are definitely an over thinker. Here are some ways you can get rid of this habit which is taking over your life…

Acceptance

The first and most important step towards getting rid of over thinking is accepting and acknowledging that you have a problem and that it is the main reason of your discomfort. If you don’t admit that your overthinking is a problem, you will never be able to fix it.

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Stop Assuming Things

Stop assuming how people think about you, what your boss thinks about your performance or whether your friend or partner is angry or not. Stop assuming and overthinking and start calling and asking. Do not overthink and make assumptions about the true meaning behind certain acts or words, pick up the phone and ask people what they meant when they did or said so. Assumptions will not lead you anywhere and will probably give you a much worse picture than reality.

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Create Distractions

Whenever you feel that you are going into the loop of the overthinking process, try to distract yourself by keeping busy with activities: meet friends, socialize with your family, go out, watch a movie. Anything that can take your mind off the topic you are over thinking about is a great distraction.

Avoid Toxic People

Try to walk away from people who cause you to overthink to meet their expectations, people who make you feel bad about yourself or make you feel that you are not good enough. You do not need this kind of energy in your life; cut it off and walk away.

Practice Extreme Sports

Try to choose sports that push your limits; jogging is nice but running as fast as you can is amazing. Do martial arts; it will help you stay focused on your goals.

Read

Read inspirational books that would blow your mind; do not give your brain time to think about things that happened in the past. Make it think about new stuff, about the universe and the stars, about love and hate, war and history, science and religion. Do not allow it to overthink people and actions; it will not lead you anywhere.

Forgive Yourself and Let Go

You have to learn how to forgive yourself; not doing so leads to a lot of self-blaming and scrutinizing all your actions and reactions. You have to accept that we all make mistakes and that it’s because we fall that we learn to stand up again. Let go of the past; know that not everything is under control all the time. There will be times when things will go out of control and it is OK. Breathe, watch, learn from your mistakes, and move on. Do not overthink it; just let go.

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