7 simple ways to stop overthinking and start doing

Use these simple strategies to be more productive and avoid burn out

Most of us struggle with the overthinking bug and that prevents us from going after our dreams, building a business or making changes in our lives. For the longest time, I was like that so wrapped up in my thoughts and it never seemed enough. I didn’t know enough and I had no idea what steps I should take to go in the right direction. It is hard to stop overthinking because there are so many doubts and negative emotions to deal with.

There’s so much that you don’t know and it is almost as if you have to deal with that, learn something new and handle the burden of coping with it all. So, yes it isn’t easy. But isn’t that the point of life, that it isn’t easy and yet the older we get we tend to allow our overthinking to stop us in our tracks. As kids, we just did something and overthinking didn’t stop us from going after what we want. If you want to change your life then you have to learn how to stop overthinking.

That in itself isn’t an easy feat, but it is important that you do learn how to stop overthinking because once you know how then everything becomes a whole lot easier. If you want to lose weight then you can go past the critics screaming at you, want to start a new project and you can do that. The more you get used to doing things you don’t like, the easier it is for you to get things done and to stop overthinking. Here’s a list of the 7 simple ways you can stop overthinking and start doing.

Awareness is key

It is hard to know how to change your life if you are unaware that you need to do that. Awareness is one of the simplest ways you can stop overthinking.

Because once you are aware that you are overthinking, stressed out and anxious, you can find ways to change this. At first, it might be complicated in getting

started. After all, it isn’t as if awareness is a door that you simply open.

You have to learn how you can become aware of your own thought pattern. There was a time when I was one of those people who didn’t know how to do reflection

and I struggled at it. In university, I had a compulsory subject I had to, in it, we had to learn how to do reflection. Once I got good at reflection, I became better at

becoming aware and I understood my thought patterns a whole lot better.

Awareness is key to stop overthinking and the easiest way to become aware is to practice reflection. This is simply taking note of your day, emotions and actions in

check. When it comes to reflection you have to ask yourself questions to get to the bottom of the decisions you made. For example, why did you do X and not A or

why did you feel threatened, angry, sad or depressed. This is an easy way to get a handle on awareness.

Stop thinking about what can wrong

When I was younger that is what I constantly thought about. What could possibly go wrong and you need to alter this to help you stop overthinking. Start thinking

about what could go right. And I know that isn’t easy, there are hundreds of ways that things could go wrong. When I was ten I had this book filled with short stories

and each one told a story about a day that went horribly wrong. From a girl being late for the bus to have a bad hair day or being fired.

For ten-year-old the book was bleak, I used to think that just walking out of the house could have dire consequences. That didn’t exactly stop me from having fun, but

when I got older I started overthinking to the extent that I was terrified to try anything new. I didn’t want to be embarrassed or to get so over my head that things

blew up in my face.

You need to turn your thinking on its head and stop worrying about what could possibly go wrong. Yes, there’s a chance that you will fail or that you feel ashamed.

There’s a likelihood that you will have to work on your goals time and time again to reach success. But you need to ask yourself what can go right. You could become

successful, make more money doing what you love, travel the world, build a business you love, become healthier and a better version of yourself. The list can go on

and on. There are a lot of reasons for how something can go right, so think of this so you can stop overthinking.

Put things into perspective

Like most kids I hated the whole don’t cry over spilled milk or don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. But it is true though when you are going through something,it does seem as if it is dire.

Start asking yourself will this matter in one, two or five years from now. Imagine yourself in the future and what is future your perspective.It is just the same as when you were in the last year of high school, it almost felt as if graduating from high school was one of the most important days in your life. Now, you might have had far better days and more important ones. Graduating high school is like every other milestone. When you use a time frame to put things into perspective this can help you to stop overthinking and start doing.

Stop trying to be perfect

You can never truly master something and the reason why most of us overthink is that we are trying to be perfect. But when you start doing something, you will suck at it. When you start thinking about all the things you have achieved, in the beginning, you might have been horrendous and that is okay. To stop overthinking,you need to realize that you won’t be good at something. At least, in the beginning, it will take some work and you need to start working on it on a consistent basis.

Most of us never do anything because we spend so much time perfecting the skill or worrying about us not getting it right. That is why most authors release their books, seven or ten years later because they were overthinking. Stop trying to be perfect and just embrace imperfection, you will achieve more if you do this.

Don’t let fear stop you

I get it you failed miserably in the past and you believe that you will do the same here. That is terrifying, you remember the fear clearly and that can prevent you

from pushing on. My fear has stopped me so many times because I always remember how it felt to fail and that makes me sick to my stomach. Failure is a normal

part of life.

I can give you a long list of all the people who have failed and struggled to achieve something. But that won’t help you stop overthinking, instead, you need to

change your perspective on fear. Whenever we do something, even when we fail, we learn something from it. Think about it, what did you learn about yourself

from failing? How did you improve after you failed? Sometimes we forget that everything in life teaches us something about ourselves even failing does that.

Accept your best

When you do your best that is all that matters in the long run. Often at times, we try to be someone we are not. Stressing yourself out won’t help you in any way,

instead, it will stop you from acting on your dreams. All you can do is your best and that is important because when you make an effort, doors open and more

opportunities come your way.

It is better to do your best and still struggle with the task at hand then to overthink and never get it done. To stop overthinking, just remember that your best can

change your life in so many ways. It can also help you improve, build your skills, give you confidence and push you in the right direction. Going forward, just

remember that your best matters more than you think it does. It matters because you are making an effort despite not knowing what you can do and I know

how terrifying it can be to do something without training wheels, but that is the only way you can learn.

Sure, you will have doubts, but we all have doubts and it shouldn’t stop us from going after what we want.

You can’t predict the future

You do not have the power to look into the future. You are a flesh and blood human, who has to deal with the in-between. Knowing full well that you won’t know what

tomorrow brings. So, you never know what can come out of this. Simply telling you to stop overthinking won’t help you, but need to realize that you can’t predict the

future.

You have no clue what is going to happen years from now, maybe what you imagined didn’t pan out, but maybe it did. Maybe, you allowed failure to stop you or

maybe you didn’t. There are a whole lot of possibilities when it comes to dealing with the future. But you are far better pushing yourself out of the box then staying

in it. You will be better off, by imagining a better future for yourself. One where you chased after your dreams and conquered your fears. One where you stopped

overthinking and started doing. Working on your dreams and found yourself. Don’t allow negative nancy to take your joy away and stop you from going after what

you want.

What risks are you willing to take to chase after your dreams? Loved to know. Comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa