Tag Archives: over-thinking

The Perils of Over-THinking

Posted on by
Peggy Nolan

Chief Executive Stepmom

10 Ways Over-Thinking Destroys Your Happiness

Have you ever been stuck over-thinking something that happened or something you think will happen only to get your knickers in a bunch? I know I have! This over-thinking thing keeps most of us stuck. It keeps us rooted in fear, uncertainty, and doubt. It’s a major contributor to the FUD factor and a huge reason why most people can’t find their happy.

I don’t know about you, but my over-thinking habit robbed me of my own happiness and joy. If I could put my finger on it, I’d say the trigger for breaking up with this soul-sucking, life-leeching habit over 10 years ago was when I decided I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I had headaches, IBS, and that God awful pit in my stomach that never seemed to go away.

To make matters worse, I was in a toxic relationship (even though I didn’t know it at the time) that made my over-thinking monkey mind spin out of control. I was on my own crazy-go-round 24/7. When life as I knew it ended after my first marriage imploded, I gave up soda, coffee, and over-thinking. (For a while, I gave up men, but that’s another story!)

Here are 10 ways over-thinking destroys your happiness. Leave a comment and let me know if you can think of other ways over-thinking is a buzz kill.

  1. Over-thinking a problem will keep any problem a problem, which will keep you stuck inside the same problem until you quit thinking about it.
  2. Over-thinking a situation will make the situation worse in direct proportion to the time and energy you spend over-thinking it.
  3. Over-thinking anything prevents your creative problem solving skills from bubbling up.
  4. Over-thinking makes you worry, and worry is nothing more than your imagination concocting a negative future state.
  5. Over-thinking is a time suck — you’re so busy in a negative future state or negative past situation (which you can’t change) that you completely forget about right here right now.
  6. Over-thinking robs you of energy that could be better focused on things that are worthy of your attention.
  7. Over-thinking leads you to second guessing yourself and creates self-doubt.
  8. Over-thinking is a TNT drama that occurs on a stage, inside your head, where you are the director, producer, actor, actress, supporting cast, key grip, sound manager, and executive assistant to the executive assistant of the casting director.
  9. Over-thinking fabricates problems and gory “what if” horror stories.
  10. Over-thinking creates heightened feelings of anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, doubt, indecision, confusion, etc., as if whatever you are over-thinking is happening in real life.

When you break up with over-thinking it’s like writing your own “get out of jail free” card. It doesn’t cost you anything to end your relationship with the drama inside your head. You can decide to focus on things in the present that are deserving of your time and attention whenever you choose. The here and now is calling… will you answer?

fr/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peggy-nolan/happiness-tips_b_3473923.html?utm_hp_ref=gps-for-the-soul&ir=GPS%20for%20the%20Soul