Hello and welcome to this talk.
Do you find yourself thinking about things way too much?
Perhaps it's either about doing or not doing something.
Or maybe it's about a particular outcome you desire.
Whatever scenario you are overthinking,
Let's look into it and see where it stems from.
And also,
Let's discuss one thing we can do the next time we find ourselves indulging in overthinking.
Before we discuss what is the root cause of overthinking,
Let's set some context.
We all have 24 hours in a day to get stuff done.
Out of which we only have about,
Say,
A good 13 or 14 hours in which to do any real or productive work.
So it is obvious we don't have the luxury to spend time on imagining scenarios that may or may not happen.
And anyone who says they want to be productive doesn't indulge in overthinking because they have too much time on their hands.
This only means that those who do indulge in it are doing it unknowingly and even maybe looking for a way to stop.
And like most things which don't really serve us,
It is up to us to change them.
Now what causes us to overthink?
Since overthinking isn't caused because we want to sit around and imagine scenarios,
What else could it be?
In one word.
It may be the fear of failing,
Getting hurt,
Or even being embarrassed.
Fear can be crippling to a point where it makes us imagine worst-case scenarios in our mind.
Without knowing how to overcome this fear.
It results in more overthinking and being unable to take action.
For example.
.
.
Let's say you want to do something like start a business.
But you find yourself thinking of scenarios such as it being a failure,
You losing money,
Basically it being a disaster.
There can only be two outcomes of your overthinking.
First,
The scenarios you're playing out in your mind may or may not happen.
But the second thing for sure that your overthinking will do.
.
.
Is it's going to stop you from taking any action.
So we have discussed that fear causes us to overthink.
And what we are overthinking may or may not happen.
The interesting thing about overthinking is.
.
.
We all have this innate ability.
Called the power of imagination.
We can imagine anything and this is such a gift.
A gift that we can learn to use in our favour.
When you sit and overthink those worst case scenarios,
You're the one who's doing that.
It's your mind.
Instead of overthinking the worst case scenarios,
What if you could imagine better scenarios?
It's your imagination after all.
You can change the scenario anytime that you want.
So what do you want to think about?
Scenarios that are uplifting or those that make you feel a bit in your stomach?
It is truly up to you.
You're the one in control.
No one can make you imagine things.
Only you get to do that.
So how can you take control of your imagination and stop overthinking?
Here is a simple process that you can choose to do when you find yourself overthinking the worst case scenarios.
Step 1.
Make a list of things that you have been wanting to do in your life,
But have been imagining the worst outcome.
Step 2.
Next to each one of them,
Go ahead and write down the worst case scenarios.
This may feel scary,
But it helps to put it down on paper.
Step number three.
As soon as you finish these worst case scenarios.
Go ahead and exercise your power of imagination.
Write a better case scenario for each one of those worst case scenarios.
Ask yourself,
How will it make you feel to accomplish this particular goal in your life?
And final step number four.
Take one small step towards fulfilling this goal despite your fear.
So if you're overthinking starting your business.
A small step could be writing a simple business plan.
When you take enough small steps,
You train your brain to stop repeating worst-case scenarios.
Using these four simple steps over time,
You'll learn to use your imagination for creating outcomes you desire rather than being stuck in your overthinking.
I encourage you to practice these steps as often as possible to overcome your habit of overthinking.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
I wish you all the best in creating a life that you truly love.
Your goals matter and it's up to you to make them happen.
