How to Stop Overthinking

Have you ever spent so much time overthinking that you didn’t even realize how much time was going by? You may have been replaying a decision or scene over and over again in your head and think to yourself “if I just think about this one more time I’ll find clarity” only to find that the outcome still results in a lack of action.

To hammer home the point, I surveyed dozens of people asking them how much time they’d get back if they knew how to stop. The results were wild:

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone.  Did you know that we get over 60,000 a day? Talk about overload! It’s no wonder that with all that information, some of us tend to fixate on these thoughts, even when doing so doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be more productive.

Thankfully, I’ve discovered a new way to engage with your thoughts that is going to change the game for you. Mark my words that not only will you overthink less, you’ll be welcomed with less anxiety, less decision fatigue, and get this—no fears of regret.

Here’s my 3 step process for how to stop overthinking and make decisions with peace:

1. Admit that you overthink

This first step is easier said than done, as this step requires you to not just recognize that you overthink from time to time, but to recognize in the moment it’s happening so you can catch yourself, as well as get better acquainted with the triggers and/or environments that tend to put you into fight or flight mode (which often results in the body shutting down, and hence switching gears into overthink mode).

2. Learn the difference between thoughts and thinking

Now that you know when you overthink, the next step is to get crystal clear on the difference between thoughts and thinking. They sound similar right!? They’re actually quite difference. See below:

Thoughts: Natural sounds, images, or mental concepts the mind and your intuition produces. We get thousands a day. Not every thought need be taken at face value.

Thinking: Engaging with your thoughts in a way that is judgmental and critical.

The secret sauce to this step is to be welcoming of thoughts, but to not welcome the act of thinking more than we need to.

3. Trust your intuition in the face of a decision rather than spending time overthinking

Welcome to the most challenging, but most transformative step. Once you know when you overthink, and the difference between thoughts and thinking, the last step is to start trusting your intuition more. The beauty of this step being last is that by already practicing less thinking, it’s like turning down the volume on a loud speaker so you’re intuition can finally play that symphony it’s been waiting for you to hear.

Here’s a post I shared on Instagram that summarizes the six signs of overthinking. Be sure to tag me @jasonbuchel if you find it helpful!

❤️ Jason