Many times in our lives we tend to think things too much for too long. A single thought about something that happened in the past or a speculation of the future can spiral into an endless series of thoughts that actually lead nowhere, but just leave you feeling worried, fearful, drained or powerless. In this post, I’ll be sharing with you 8 ways on how to stop overthinking everything — how to gain more control of your thoughts, and maintain a peaceful mind no matter what comes.
1. Practice mindfulness.
When the tendency to overthink arises, the first thing you can do is to put your attention on your immediate environment. Pay attention to your body, the ins and outs of your breath, and to your five physical senses. This will bring you back to the present moment, and break the momentum of whatever you’re thinking about, instead of getting carried further by the thoughts of past or future. Any worrisome thought cannot exist when you are anchored in the present. When you become fully engaged in the now, the mind becomes more quiet and you start training yourself to focus just right where you are.
2. Set the intention that you will only mind your own business, rather than pay attention to what others are doing, and what they are thinking- all of which you have no control over.
Whenever you are minding other people’s business, and putting your attention on how they are living their lives, who will be present minding your own? Your energy and vibration will be all over the place as you get yourself involved in what others are choosing or deciding for themselves. It’s your own vibration that you need to tend to, first and foremost, and it’s the only thing you do have control of anyway.
Making peace with how others are choosing to live their lives, without feeling the need to interfere or judge, will eliminate a lot of unnecessary overthinking, and as a result, you’ll be living your own life more peacefully. As you tend to overthink, you can ask yourself, “am I mentally minding somebody else’s business”? If yes, you can then ask “is there a good reason to overthink about something I cannot control?”
3. Don’t go specific on any problem.
Getting specific about something you do not want will just lead you into a downward spiral of overanalyzing and over-rationalizing things that drain your energy, and leave you powerless to come up with a solution. As you become too much detailed on what you do not want, you will continue to practice the vibration of the problem, and take yourself farther from the solution that you desire. Overthinking in this way makes the problem more active in your mind, hence the solution will have a hard time coming.
4. Be in full acceptance of the present moment.
When you make peace with the way things are right now, accepting it as it is, you eliminate the need to justify, defend or label things and events as they happen. You will eliminate all unnecessary thinking and assumptions as to what should have happened or what could be happening. You will see things as they are. The mind will be more quiet when there isn’t anything that needs to happen that isn’t happening, or when nothing is broken or needs fixing. Release the need to label or judge things as wrong or bad. Creating these stories in the head will just take away the peace that is available for you within each moment.
5. Realize that your mind is one of your greatest assets, and you are intending to take care of this prized possession.
What you’re choosing to think in your mind is like a seed you are planting in the ground, that will soon show up in your reality. Your thoughts are energy. And the things that you overthink will eventually gather enough momentum to manifest itself into your physical world. Whenever you overthink, ask yourself, “do I like to create this in my life?” You always hold the decision as to who or what takes up this valuable space in your mind. Practice becoming the observer of your thoughts. Every time you catch yourself overthinking again, you can ask, “do I like to continue thinking this thought?” or “does this serve me as I think it?”.
6. Treat your thoughts lightly, instead of reacting negatively when you tend to overthink.
Always remember to be nice to yourself in the process of becoming the watcher of your own mind. In this way, you will allow the unwanted thoughts to easily pass through you, instead of introducing more unnecessarry thoughts by being too hard on yourself for overthinking again. Be playful about this, and know that you are always learning along the way, and you’re getting better each time.
7. Have a turnaround mantra or statement that you can use to stop overthinking in the moment you catch yourself doing it.
An example mantra can be “My mind is a powerful magnet”. You can use this statement as your signal to immediately shift your attention to your surroundings and begin practicing mindfulness. The mantra will help you flip the switch towards becoming more present and choosing a different focus. This will help you go general in your thoughts, instead of getting deeper into what you’re overthinking.
8. Be picky on what you allow your mind to consume or give attention to on a day-to-day basis.
Make it a habit to focus more of your time doing the things you like and enjoy– be it reading, cooking, taking a run, walking in nature, playing an instrument, spending time with your dog, attending yoga class, etc., instead of spending your energy talking or listening about things or events that don’t feel good to you. As you focus more positive energies on yourself, the tendency to overthink about things that doesn’t serve you will become less and less, and you’d rather choose to fill your time with things that add value to your well-being.
Your Turn…
What techniques do you have to stop overthinking everything? Share your thoughts in the comment box below!
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