Are you among those persons who complain of disruptive sleep? In the middle of the night, you find yourself suddenly awake while sleeping? Or you fall under that category of people who even at 3’o clock at night juggle with their thoughts and find it difficult to fall asleep? 

You may be struggling hard with falling asleep because you are very much worried that your colleagues, Mr. X or Miss Y, are in the spotlight and might take away this year’s long-awaited promotion? 

Or maybe the thoughts are related to paying your EMI bills. You think it is too much.

You are waiting for the next big hike in salary in your company and, if your boss is a little unfair towards you then probably you might miss it.

Or the other way can be you are not very happy with the current job. You are trying hard but, your boss is not delighted by your performance. 

There can be other reasons like the car that you have a desire to purchase and was saving for it, your friend Mr. Z have already purchased it. And basically, you are unhappy with the news. And your mind is now, hijacked by the thought that when you get to see that great looking car at your parking space. 

Or maybe you wish to buy an apartment in the heart of the city you had yearned for like forever.

And if you are a high school boy or girl, then it might be so that you are not happy with your grades. And the thought of not getting into a reputed college is taking away your night’s sleep.

Also, there can be a condition that you are suffering from low self-esteem and doubt your self-worth. You have this idea that you are not good enough. 

And another instance can be that you fear loneliness. You have a constant fear of being left alone. And start to assume that people don’t like you anymore.

When you look into the mirror, you don’t look happy. You start to have complaints regarding your physical appearance and also eventually feel miserable about your body and begin comparing yourself with others.

So you see, these are all examples of the reflections of your thoughts going in your head. The plight that takes place every time is either current or speculative. The speculative worries are those that haven’t taken place. It is the assumption of the event in the future and the fondness of the idea that it may turn into reality.

The mind can have a large-scale sway on your thinking for your lifestyle. It can leave you unsettled and give you no space for controlling your thoughts if not paid attention to the right place and time.

So, we need to understand there can be thinking and over-thinking both. Well, if you are thinking about something that is not subject to the problem. The concern lies in what kind of reasoning your mind is giving to you. Is it filled with positive or negative thoughts? If the latter is the case, then it can have a knock-on effect on your body and mind. 

What is overthinking?

Well, it reminds me of a beautiful quote I have come across once that says: “We drink the poison of mind poured for us and wonder why we feel sick.”

When you begin to invariably put pressure on your brain, you are forming a particular structure of rumination, thereby making your soul agitated, which is overthinking. 

When you excessively imagine without any measures further, that is also overthinking.

We can also say it is over-thinking when your brain gets clouded with repetitive speculations of thoughts about occurrences, linkages, characters, or maybe particular events that have explicitly impacted your existence.

What happens when you overthink?

Undoubtedly your thoughts are one of the most vital things you can experience, and you can’t disregard the fact But it becomes a subject of botheration sometimes when a person starts to think unnecessarily, or you can say when it turns out to be a practice. It leads your lifestyle into difficulty when you lose the quality of your living.

The imagination which prevails in your mind can be fit or not so fit. If it is an unfit belief that you are holding, it can turn your brainbox unproductive. And thus, it will make you a person of mediocrity. Your thoughts will be substandard. And it will make you an obsessive thinker.

The conditioning of habits is the reason for the occurrence of the storm of excessive thoughts. Researchers have shown that overthinking can take a ride on human health. Too much heedfulness or thinking can cause analysis paralysis. It means a decision that doesn’t reach a proper conclusion due to the excessive overanalyzing of a situation, and hence no right action is taken at the correct time.

And here are the list of propositions to get rid of overthinking :

Keep yourself busy and distance yourself from what distracts you:  Another method of keeping your brain distracted from worries and anxiety is that you occupy yourself with work. 

You work can sometimes be a savior and healer when you fight with anxiety and depression. If you find that there is slightest of chances of you being distracted, free your mind up without a second thought from such external interferences.

Treat yourself well: We need to learn the art of taking care of ourselves. When life hits you with negativity, the only way to keep up the positivity alive is by treating yourself as good as possible. 

Instead of ruining your day with negative thoughts, cheer up and enliven your inner soul by treating yourself as a true prince or princess would. 

You can observe that your mind will feel much lighter and free than it did before. It is indeed one of the time-tested processes to lessen down your worries, anxieties, and stress. 

Focus on the positive:  We, in many cases, due to fear caused by over-analyzing the circumstances from before, tend to start thinking too negatively. So instead of driving your focus on the negative aspect, why not focus on the positive side?

So, from next time what we can do is that when we see the negative thoughts that can cripple us, we should start to envisage and turn our minds to the positivity and let the positive things find the right direction by keeping our thinking present and upfront.

Start to accept yourself at the earliest: Learn to accept yourself the way you are as your excessive thinking is not going to fuel any revolution in the environment you are living in.

Does anyone have to awaken you up? Absolutely not. It is up to you to create and present a better version of yourself before the world. So it is always necessary for you to accept yourself. You are smart, sensible, intelligent, hardworking, sincere, and better than the rest.

Practice mindfulness and meditation and also analyze your thoughts: Sometimes, it is necessary to take a deep breath, relax, and take out time from your busy schedule to practice mindfulness and meditation. It is the best way to combat overthinking, and it also keeps you away from all stress and worry. It helps your mind to be calm and composed. 

It allows your brain to think in a positive direction. You should always monitor your thoughts. You must keep your mind safe and healthy. And then only it will allow worries not to flutter on your head, and you can live a much more confident life. By this, you can enjoy the best version of yourself.

Stop trying to be perfect and a people-pleaser: Don’t wait and hold yourself to become a flawless substance on the earth. It is fine to flaunt your imperfections and be proud that you are imperfect, and which is very normal. Most of your miseries start when you try to be one of the perfect characters. 

Also do not put much effort in trying to impress others, as you will soon get disappointed when things don’t turn as per your expectations. You soon try to collect all the data and store it in your mind just to identify what went wrong, and then you again get a chance to overthink the thought as to why you aren’t perfect and why people don’t like you. But in the midst of all this, you forget that whatever you do, there will be someone or the other who won’t like you for who you are. Hence, just ignore and lead your life by accepting the fact that even if you are imperfect in other people’s eyes, you have to be a superhero in your own eyes. Stop being a doormat for others.

Conclusion:

Are you still wondering and thinking? In that case, I would advise you to stop and live your life as it is now. 

It is important to start living your life without any doubts or speculations. Always remember that the world is too beautiful if you think about it in that way.

In the book “A New Earth”, Eckhart Tolle talks about the story of two ducks. 

He says that if two ducks get into a fight, it doesn’t last for long. It is just a momentary affair after which they flap their wings and move away in respective directions. 

Similarly, if we place human beings in place of the two ducks, more often than not, we continue to flap our wings and eventually go on to lose the vital stock of positive energy that we hold within ourselves.

So the moral of the story is: 

Flap your wings, release your energy, and go back to the comfort of a peaceful mind.