Overthinking what happened in the past impairs your ability to move forward and prevents you from achieving your objectives. Learn to step out of your past in order to live in the present and find joy.
7 Ways to Conquer your Overthinking
Notice that you’re stuck in your thoughts. Pay attention to your ways of thinking learn how to conquer your overthinking.
Overthinking is a destructive behavior. It impairs your ability to think clearly, make quick decisions, listen to others, and maintain a calm demeanor. It can also cause you to procrastinate on current projects and be hesitant to embark on new ventures.
Chronic overthinking is harmful to one’s mental health. It may cause a person to become so stressed that he or she is unable to function normally, if at all. The solution is to interrupt the thought cycles and take the necessary actions to live a normal life. So it’s best you learn how to conquer your overthinking.
Problem Solve. Instead of wondering “Why this happened?” ask yourself “What can I do about this?”
Rumination, in its most basic form, is a way of thinking about things. The thoughts are repetitive, and the person ruminating frequently believes that by weighing their options, they are solving a problem or preventing something negative from happening in the future.
Ruminating entails
- going over previously held conversations
- remembering times in the past when you were embarrassed or did something that you judged yourself harshly
- replaying events in your life when you consider you failed regretting not doing certain things or making certain choices
As soon as you realize how you can conquer your overthinking and replaying a past event without reaching a conclusion, take the following action:
Distract yourself from the present moment and the scene on purpose.
Distraction is the process of diverting attention away from the current object of focus and toward the source of distraction. Intentional distraction is the act of forcing your mind to focus on something else, preferably something pleasant.
Intentional distraction diverts your attention away from your repetitive thoughts, reducing information overload in your brain. When you intentionally distract yourself, you forcefully shift your focus away from your negative cycle of thoughts and toward things that are pleasant or at least non-anxious.
Challenge your thoughts and conquer your overthinking.
Negative thinking is one of the most common ways for us to become disconnected from our true selves. When we’re stressed or anxious, it’s easy to believe that negative or worrying thoughts can “kidnap” our minds and take us out of the present moment. These unpleasant thoughts (referred to as “Cognitive Distortions” in the psychology world) are frequently based on automatic thought processes that have been playing over and over in our heads unchallenged for years. These thought patterns can be classified into three types: labeling, catastrophizing, and overgeneralization.
When the process is broken down into steps, it is easier to challenge negative thoughts. Try these four steps the next time you notice yourself stuck in a negative thought pattern.
- Recognize the presence of a negative thought or a pattern of negative thoughts in your mind.
- “Stop!” you say. In your mind (or out loud if it feels socially appropriate).
- By probing the thought with questions, you can put it to the test. “What evidence do I have to support this thought?” you might ask. You’ll probably notice that the evidence isn’t compelling.
- Replace the negative thought with a more rational or positive one. For example, if you’re thinking, “I’m ugly,” consider the people in your life who would disagree or look through flattering photos on Facebook or Instagram.
When we let go of negative thought patterns and become mindful of the present moment, we allow ourselves to fully experience all of the joy that is available to us at the time.
Schedule Worry time to conquer your overthinking .
Include 20 minutes of thought time in your daily schedule. Allow yourself to worry, ruminate, or mull over whatever you want during that time period.
When your time is up, move on to the next task. And, if you find yourself overthinking things outside of your scheduled time, remind yourself that you’ll have to wait until your thinking time to address those issues in your mind.
Setting aside time to overthink and worry, as silly as it may sound, allows us to live in the present. We eventually tell ourselves, “I will pay attention to this situation,” but it isn’t right now. Set a timer as well, and you’ll have a start and stop time! This is something I recommend doing it can help you conquer your overthinking.
Engage in different activity
Participating in social and productive activities that you enjoy, such as taking an art class or volunteering in your community, may help you maintain your well-being.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a way of living more fully in the present moment in order to increase awareness and be more present to what you are feeling, thinking, and experiencing with an attitude of curiosity and non-judgment.
In a fast-paced world full of constant doing, mindfulness is both simple and difficult. We often go through our days mindlessly.
Have you ever wondered how you got somewhere without seeing anything along the way? Or, have you ever started eating or drinking something and then realized your cup or plate is empty? You may also notice that your mind worries about the future or replays events from the past rather than being present to what is happening now, in this moment.
We are on “auto-pilot” in these examples, which is a state of mindlessness that we all experience.
These mental behaviors can cause us to miss out on what is going on within and around us. They can also have an effect on our ability to gather information about our lives, interactions, and experiences.
Mindfulness can help us learn to be more present in our experiences, thoughts, feelings, and sensations from moment to moment.
Although it may be difficult, we can all improve our mindfulness skills with practice. It’s about focusing your attention on what’s happening right now and allowing yourself to experience it without feeling compelled to change or analyze it. Mindfulness is not about turning off the mind or stopping your thoughts; rather, it is about developing a healthier relationship with your mind and thoughts.
Everyday mindfulness can be practiced by living mindfully. You can give your undivided attention to what you’re doing, experiencing, or hearing. You can approach life with a curious and open attitude at any timeβwhile walking, eating, waiting in line, studying, talking with someone, breathing, etc.
The following are some of the advantages of mindfulness:
- Increasing your awareness of yourself
- Changing your perception of your experiences
- Stress, anxiety, worry, and depression can all be reduced.
- Learning to act rather than react in response to events and experiences
- Academic performance enhancement
- Restorative sleep and relaxation
- Increasing gratitude, empathy, and compassion in your relationships with yourself and others.
- gaining insight into your life – what you value, what is important to you, how you feel, what you require, who you want to spend time with, and so on
Embrace the Uncertainty and learn how to conquer your overthinking
Accept what you can’t control and work with what you can. It’s difficult to accept, let alone admit, our own lack of awareness, especially in these divisive times. However, the truth is that most of us know far less than we believe we do, and we don’t know how to conquer your overthinking.
There is a distinction to be made between admitting what we don’t know and concluding that truth is unattainable. In one case, we approach a problem with basic literacy, an open mind, and an eagerness to learn. On the other hand, we throw up our hands and begin to doubt everything, including facts, expertise, and scientific consensus.
The first step toward accepting uncertainty is to practice intellectual humility. The challenge is to accept that uncertainty, even if the discomfort of not knowing tempts us to deny or resist it.
What are you prone to overthinking? What are your Ways to Conquer your Overthinking I’d be delighted to hear from you. Please leave a comment below and tell me about your what you overthink about, both personal and professional!
P.S. Do you ever feel like this when you’re overthinking something? Sometimes I believe we exaggerate our problems far beyond their true scope