How can you stop over-thinking and start doing?

 

Whether you’re trying to stop being overwhelmed with work, being afraid of a social situation that’s about to happen, or simply can’t stop thinking about the future, we all need a breather to stop and pick ourselves back up again. Here are ways you can hit pause on your thoughts and start doing.

Take a walk.

Walking is seriously good for you. In one of four series of experiments, Oppezzo and Schwartz found that 95% of students came up with a similar metaphor with “a budding cocoon” after walking, compared to the 5% who never stood up. Two things can happen when you walk: it’s either it lets you clearly focus and think about the topic at hand, or it lets you completely refresh your mind so you can think better when you get back. Stop thinking, stand up, and take a walk.

Give yourself a few minutes to work on a task.

I’ve read that some people do their task for 30 seconds, a minute, or 7 minutes and then stop. They give themselves a short time to start their task just so they can have progress. Eventually, some of them forget to stop after the time has run out and just continues to work.

Realise that your decision will never be final.

People change, and so do their minds. If you think you want something now, after thinking for a while, you’ll realise that you don’t want something anymore tomorrow. The reason we overthink is because we think we need to come up with the right decision, however, in reality, whatever we choose, we will never know what will happen until it gets there. It’s futile to think of tomorrow until it happens, because we can’t completely predict tomorrow’s outcome. All we can do is brace ourselves for the result of our decisions.

Seek for others’ opinion.

Research by Shadiya Bagutayan on stress and social support found that social support significantly reduces stress. Hearing different perspectives can help you think clearer and eventually lessen your overthinking. You will also learn from talking to other people, so don’t hesitate to speak your concern to a close relative or friend. Eventually, when your thoughts are clear, you will get back up again.

Think of the things you don’t want to regret.

Imagine you’re on your deathbed reminiscing your whole life. Do you want to be able to recall all the happy memories and experiences you have done or the things you regret not doing? Think about it. Every moment that passes by is a fleeting memory and will soon be forgotten. If you don’t act now, it may never happen again, or at all. Stop thinking of what could be and start doing what will be.

Forgive.

This is, of course, easier said than done. If you were wronged and are now stressing over the outcome, it’s definitely difficult to even think about forgiving the person who put you in that situation. However, genuine forgiveness liberates us from the weight of overthinking of what could have been. It can give us the peace we need to stop thinking and finally lift ourselves up from the weight we’re carrying.

Don’t be afraid of rejection.

In a TEDx event, blogger and entrepreneur Jia Jiang discussed his adventures as he tried to get rejected for 100 days. The first few tries were difficult and a bit weird, but later on he desensitised himself to the pain and shame of rejection. He also learned that by asking, he could turn a rejection into an opportunity and eventually make it a positive experience. Often times, we don’t say or do something because we’re afraid of sounding or looking stupid. However, we will never really know what happens until we do it.

Just do it.

Nothing will happen if you just sit around and think all day. Want to take your masters? Enrol now. Want to launch a startup? Start gathering the materials and people you need. Most of us overthink because we want to properly plan out our ideas down to the very details. Planning is good, however, we’re too conscious and afraid to mess up that we become stuck with just thinking. Without action, it’s just an idea. Practice doing something without thinking of the consequences. Start from small things like getting that cup of coffee if you wanted to, or ask that person out on a date. Eventually, you will gain more courage to make decisions and actually do them.

source: www.quora.com