Overthinking decisions or things can sometimes lead to decision paralysis that could sometimes prevent you from even attempting to do anything. Whether it is a relationship or more importantly a big life decision, the overthinking can sometimes lead to inaction, which in turn may lead you to a path of missed opportunities and longtime regret.
In order for you to not become too much of an overthinker here are some tips on how to stop overthinking:
1. Notice when you’re thinking too much and challenge those thoughts
This one will require a lot of self-reflection but can be very easy to catch if you are willing. When you notice that your mind goes into a pattern where you’re re-playing events in your mind over and over, or worrying about things you can’t control, take initiative to have the self-control to accept these thoughts just aren’t productive. That way you can start challenging your negative thoughts and start replacing it with thoughts that’ll be more productive to you. There are many ways to stop overthinking but this is the best thing you can easily do.
2. Keep Your Focus on Active-Problem Solving
It’s very easy to think about the problems that are overwhelming your thoughts. With that said, it can also be helpful to also start thinking on potential solutions. Ask yourself: “What can I do to solve this?”, “What can I do to avoid this future problem?”. These questions are much better to have in your mind than wallowing in the misery of what happened before. Instead of thinking about why things happened, it’ll be better to think about what to do about it. Being active rather than passive will better heal your thoughts and it will help you in how to stop overthinking.
3. Have proper time to Reflect
Sometimes the best thing to do is to sit back and properly think about things that have happened to you before you can move forward. Even though we’re talking about the problems of overthinking, the solution is not to not think at all. The solution is to have some brief yet effective time to properly think about solutions and ways forward to things that have happened to you. Don’t use reflection time to wallow. Use it to be active and get working on it.
4. Practice Mindfulness and Change your tune
Like we mentioned above, it takes proper initiative to start fighting any urge to overthink. One of the things that will help you a lot is being mindful of the things that are happening to you in the now instead of what happened yesterday and what’s happening tomorrow. While it’s good to think about where things can go, it can’t come at the expense of you doing what you need to do now. As you think about the now, make sure that you can keep your mind fresh with a different kind of activity outside your status quo to prevent you from thinking in unproductive things. Doing these things will help change your tune in the here and now and will better prepare your mind to battle any wallowing in previous misery.
So, these were the best ways to Stop Overthinking. You alone can control your fate. Let the past die and focus on the now to ensure a better future and make a focal point on how to stop overthinking.
