It
is a continuous process. Your mind always gets occupied with different
thoughts. These could be about your personal, professional, social, financial,
and other aspects of life. You have to think to bring good out of each action
you perform in day-to-day life. But, this bliss of thinking turns into a curse
when you start thinking more than enough. Thinking is a two-way edge sword. It
is always helpful to you when you do it appropriately but excess use of it
kills you. It becomes harmful to your entire being when you do disproportionate
thinking.
When a single thought is repetitively haunting
you and disturbing your daily life, realize that you are now a victim of
excessive thinking which is called overthinking. You must have found yourself
thinking about past events unnecessarily or imagining a horrible future feeling
uncomfortable and restless in the present moment due to overthinking.
Though
overthinking is not a mental disorder, it is at the root of many mental
disorders like anxiety, depression, insomnia, nervousness, and many more. It is
an unhealthy habit that typically causes more stress by focusing more on the
negative. It gives birth to a lot of negative emotions from fear to revenge.
You always try to control something that is out of your control. Instead of
coming up with a solution, you end up with a broken mind and heart. This
vicious cycle of illogical and imaginative thinking keeps on replaying in your
mind like a broken record.
Here
are 7 practical ways that will help you to stop overthinking.
1.
DEVELOPING AWARENESS
Becoming aware of what is happening inside
your mind is the first step to breaking its flow. Overthinking makes you
unaware of everything that you do at that moment. But when you become alert and
know that you are in a process where you are crossing the boundary, you take a
pause.
2.
DISTRACT YOURSELF
We all know the importance of
concentration but here distraction can help you to get rid of overthinking.
When you overthink, you are focused on a single repetitive thought,
unconsciously you are flowing with the flow. Engaging yourself in unusual
activities which need your conscious attention can divert you from
overthinking. You can choose activities like drawing, painting, crafting, and
other social activities like attending functions, meetings, etc.
3.
SHARING IS CARING
Thoughts bother you until they are not
let go out of your head. Sharing your feelings and thoughts with others surely
can help you to reduce overthinking. These are the thoughts that are not
getting any solutions or conclusions that can find a way with the sharing. This
process of sharing will let you understand whether you are doing it enough or
more than enough. This process of exchanging thoughts gives you a new perspective
and that would be the solution to your overthinking.
4.
INCREASE YOUR ACCEPTANCE LEVEL
overthinking about the past is a sign of
lacking acceptance. You keep on repeating the thoughts as you don't accept
them. You can't change whatever happened so accept it. Instead of repeating why
it happened to you, accept the event and move on. You need to be flexible and
adaptable. Rigidity never lets you accept the event and decreases your comfort.
5.
DEEP BREATHING
One of the life-surviving functions of
the human is breathing, yet few people know how to breathe. It is not only
about providing oxygen to your body but can help you to strengthen your mind
and body too.
Breathing deeply from your stomach is the
surest way to break the cycle of unwanted thoughts. You can do it by sitting
down calmly or lying on the bed. Pay attention to inhaling and exhaling with
closed eyes. Take a deep breath that will push your stomach out, hold it for a
while and release it slowly. This process will make your mind calm and will
fuel your body with energy.
You can schedule a specific time after every
90 minutes for deep breathing exercises. You can take 5 to 7 deep breaths in the
scheduled time. You will start seeing results in a few days.
6.
MEDITATION
Meditation is always better than any
other activity you can do to make your mind calm and peaceful. Spending 10
minutes a day meditating can reduce overthinking to a greater level. It has a direct relation to your pre-frontal cortex which manages higher-order brain
functions, like increased awareness, concentration, and decision-making. Meditation
brings positive changes in these functions as well as makes them stronger which leads
to clarity in thinking.
7.
BRING THOUGHTS ON THE PAPER
Write down the thoughts instead of letting
them wander in your head. Thoughts have a high speed when they are in the
head but they slow down when you write them down. Writing will give a sense of
resolve and relief. It brings clarity as well.
8.
THINK ABOUT WHAT’S IN YOUR CONTROL
Many
of the events, situations, or people that you keep on thinking about are not in
your control. You need to think only you can do something about. Thinking about uncontrollable situations is like catching the air. It is a total waste of time
and energy.
9.
LIVE OUT OF YOUR HEAD
The real life is out of your head. What is in your
head is the perception of reality. When you are suffering from any thought
in your mind that thought needs not to be always true. It is just an opinion
you have about reality and it is always different from what is going on in
your head. Don’t live in imagination. Don’t ask ‘what if?’ as it will just
create another thought.
“NOTHING WILL KILL YOU MORE THAN THE WEIGHT OF YOUR OWN THOUGHTS”.
AUTHOR
Mr. Abhijeet Manav
( Mindset Coach, Soft Skills Trainer, Motivational Speaker, and NLP Practitioner)
EXCEL TRAINING SYSTEM
Contact for coaching, training, and counseling.
+91 9503839760
