Have you been struggling with overthinking?
What you truly want is to just do the things you planned. You want to feel sure about the decision you made.
You are focused and know exactly which steps to take that move closer to your goal and influence the world positively.
You might think that you have to learn how to control your thoughts, sit still, empty your mind, and all that kind of meditation stuff.
But it can feel impossible when you’re in the midst of overthinking.
First of all, overthinking is ok.
YOU are ok.
This is what your brain does when it perceives something as a threat like that barking dog or that one time-consuming task.
The sympathetic nervous system kicks in — spreading the stress hormones in your body and helping you do your protective fight, freeze, or flight power moves.
However, there’s a way to get out of this mode. Try these 3 steps:
1. Step: Calm Body
Close your eyes. Take 3 deep breaths to relax your body and shift it back into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest mode).
Deep breathing relaxes your muscles, which makes your body feel less nervous.
2. Step: Calm Mind
Then you go back to your natural breathing. Now, it’s just you and your mind.
Every time you notice an annoying thought, take a deep breath in and let it go with the next exhale.
The first minutes can feel like it’s impossible to focus. It’s normal.
Keep breathing. Relax more with every exhale.
By focusing on breathing you train your attention to stay on the task in front of you.
3. Step: Refocused Mind
Now that your body and mind are calmer, you can ask yourself “What is the next step?”
The next step can be as simple as taking a break, stretching, or going back to what you’ve been working on before.
Wait for the answers. Make your decision. Let’s go!
Asking this question gives you clarity, which gets you out of your head and into action.
After trying these 3 easy steps, you’ll feel calm and present without overthinking.
Now, you can easily get the things done and tick off the tasks on your To-Do List.
How satisfying is it to complete a task and see the results each day?
This is one of the many ways to deal with overthinking.
What’s your go-to-method to calm your mind down and stop overthinking?
Share your go-to-method in the comments with us.