If you’re a chronic overthinker, then you may have told yourself you want to quit this bad habit. However, like most things, it’s easier said than done.
Overthinking can lead to uncomfortable feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression among others. It worsens your mood and causes you to dwell on the past and future instead of the present. If you aren’t quick to reframe your mindset, the habit will become stronger over time and the cycle will continue.
It’s important to stay on top of your overthinking habit so you can work towards a viable solution, improve your mental health, and declutter your mind. If you want to quit constantly overthinking, here are 3 simple ways for you to get started.
Develop Your Awareness
You can’t change a habit without first developing a sense of awareness around it. Self-awareness is to be conscious of one’s motives, feelings, and character. As you build awareness around your sense of self, it’ll be easier to take steps towards positive change.
To develop your level of awareness, there are several things you can do. Ask people you trust to give you feedback about things you may not have recognized before. It’s crucial to take their comments in stride and realize that they just want to help you and give you answers.
You can also keep a journal to document your truest thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Try not to hold back or sugarcoat anything. You want to be honest with yourself about how the people and situations in your life affect you so you can understand them better. It’s also a great way to practice self-reflection and assess yourself on a daily or weekly basis.
Challenge Your Thoughts
Overthinking leads to making assumptions about situations or people despite having no evidence to back them up. And what’s worse is that it becomes so normal you end up failing to recognize you’re doing it.
To quit overthinking, it’s crucial to stop worrying about the assumptions you’ve made up in your head. However, this is easier said than done and takes consistent practice and effort.
Thinking objectively will allow you to widen your perspective and see things from a different lens. Do they really despise you if they haven’t replied in an hour? Will your boss get super angry if you ask for an extension on that deadline?
Make an effort to put things into perspective and challenge your assumptions. What evidence do you have to back up your claims? Are you using words like “always” and “never” to describe your situation? It’s easier to fall back into negative thought patterns than confront and change them.
Quit the Perfectionism
Because you’re constantly thinking of a million possible scenarios in your head, it’s easy to turn to perfectionism as a way to take control. But because perfection doesn’t exist, you enter a never ending chase that leaves you feeling dissatisfied and unfulfilled.
Trying to constantly be perfect in every area of your life will quickly lead to burnout and make it more difficult to commit to new projects and goals. Before you’ve even started, you’re already exhausting yourself by thinking about what could go wrong and how you might fail.
Starting is better than sitting still in fear. If you’re going to achieve your goals, you need to have a plan you’re dedicated to that you follow consistently. As long as you keep taking small steps, they’ll turn into bigger ones that take you where you want to go.
Over to You
If you want to quit overthinking, these tips are an effective place to start. You don’t want to live everyday feeling anxious, depressed, and unsure of yourself. Instead, it’s crucial to work towards the habits you want to create and practice for a fulfilling, meaningful life. How will you overcome your negative overthinking?