Overthinking

Overthinking is exhausting.

When you overthink, thoughts run circles around your head and you find yourself stuck in reverse unable to move forward. More so, you start coming up with bizarre ideas that totally contradict each other. “I’m so excited for this job interview” transforms into “I wonder if they liked me” and then morphs into “oh, I’m so stupid! I shouldn’t have said that! I’m definitely not getting an offer.” You start blaming yourself for things you didn’t do and worrying about scenarios that may or may not happen.Overthinking is simply the act of “thinking about something too much or for too long.”I know the feeling, and it’s energy-draining. In fact,studies have shown that overthinking elevates your stress levels, reduces your creativity, clouds your judgment and strips you of your power to make decisions.Fortunately, there are a few ways to handle overthinking. These don’t happen overnight — some will take time to develop and some can be implemented immediately. But all of them require conscious work from your side.
In the heat of overthinking, stop and say: 

“No. I’m not going to have these thoughts right now. I’m not going to give in.” Bring your attention to where you are here and now. Breathe. Focus. Where are you? What do you feel? What’s on your mind? What’s stressing you out? Open your journal and write down your thoughts. research shows that the habit of writing what we feel helps us with metacognitive thinking. Metacognition is “thinking about one’s thinking”, or in simpler terms, it’s our “awareness of our own thoughts.” That’s why you become more aware of your thoughts and what they’re trying to tell you when you write them down. The goal is to become more aware and remove yourself from the “being” of your thoughts. You want to observe your thoughts so you can understand what they are and why you’re feeling them.Being present isn’t easy. It requires practice. But whenever you notice your mind ruminating about the past or wandering into the future, try to bring it back to this moment and think:“The past doesn’t matter. The future is out of my reach. All I have in my control is this present moment. So I will stop thinking about the past or the present. I will only think about the here and now.”Daily rituals like journaling and meditation, or writing one line per day help you retain control over your mind so that you can stay in the present and practice living in the moment. They also reduce stress, improve focus, and increase self-awareness. This practice will be difficult in the beginning, but as with anything, in due time, it will begin to transform your life and come more naturally. Above all, higher awareness will help you reduce your overthinking.