Introduction.
What are you thinking right now?
And how about... now? Our brains are incredibly active, but sometimes, you just
want that big ball of grey meat to shut the hell up, right? Thinking is good -
it's what makes humans special. Without thinking, we'd have no farms, no books,
no jobs. It would just be reality TV, no thinking required there. But often, we
overthink and cause ourselves a lot of unnecessary anxiety. So, today, we're going
to look at how we can tune out those annoying thoughts and make things quieter
inside our heads. Welcome to today's episode - How to Not Overthink by Health
Chronicle.
Like most problems, the first step
is seeing that there is one. You need to learn to recognize when you are
feeling anxious because of your internal problems, not external ones. For
example, being anxious that you might crash when your friend is driving fast -
that's fine. That is a sensible thing to worry about; tell them to slow down.
But if you feel the same way when you have a presentation tomorrow, then the
problem is coming from within. You're overthinking and stressing yourself out.
And, let's be honest, you're not thinking about how well it's going to go. No,
you are telling yourself you will fail, you'll forget what to say, your boss
will hate it, and you'll forget to wear pants.
Visualize Success and Write It
Down.
When you realize you're doing
this, start picturing all the ways it can go right. You'll charm them like
Barack Obama. Your boss will love it and promote you. You'll wear pants! Once
you've pictured all these things, write them down. In fact, write down all the
worries too. It's a well-established idea in psychology; writing things down helps
you combat stress. It's especially useful before bed as a way to help you get
to sleep. But the important thing with this type of journal is to focus on what
you need to do, not what you have done. It's a to-do list, not a diary.
A study published in 2017 in the
Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that writing a list of tasks for the
next day helped people fall asleep 9 minutes faster. That may not sound like a
lot, but it's a similar result to a lot of pharmaceutical trials for sleeping
aid drugs. The reason you focus on a to-do list is that these are the type of
thoughts that normally keep us awake. Sure, sometimes you will sit there
embarrassed about some stupid thing you did, like missing a meeting or calling
your partner someone else's name. But normally it's about things in the future;
tests, bills, work, the apocalypse - you know, that stuff.
Distraction: Peaceful
Concentration.
Another method is to try to
distract your mind. But not just any distraction, something peaceful that
requires concentration. If you just watch TV, it's still easy for your mind to
wander. So, meditation is an excellent option, but if that doesn't appeal, try
practicing a new skill. Maybe you learn to paint or draw. How about learning a
new instrument or teaching yourself to cook? Not only will these skills bring
you happiness on their own, but they will also act as an excellent distraction
because you need to concentrate.
Give Yourself a Break.
And our final message is - give
yourself a break. All you can do is your best, so stop trying to make every
part of your life perfect. Because, here's a secret; we're all just making it
up as we go along.
Conclusion.
Overthinking can be detrimental to
our mental well-being, causing unnecessary stress and anxiety. By recognizing
internal problems, visualizing success, and writing down our worries, we can
start to combat overthinking effectively. Additionally, engaging in peaceful
concentration through meditation or learning new skills can help distract our
minds from incessant thoughts. Remember, it's okay to give yourself a break and
embrace the imperfections that make us human.
