Want results? Stop overthinking
Want results? Stop overthinking and get out of your own damn way!
Seriously, all joking aside, are there things in your life that you know you want to do, but you get stuck in your head and never take action?
Are you paralyzed by fear when it comes to making a decision?
Does it feel too scary to let go and trust in yourself to go after what you want?
If so, you may be stuck in the habit of overthinking.
Overthinkers will spend an extensive period of analyzing, dwelling, and ruminating. When it’s time to make a decision to take action, they go over every single possible outcome. And then, they assess all the ways each of those outcomes could affect their lives. Most times they never take action because they are so paralyzed by fear.
I come from a long line of overthinkers and it was the “norm” to sit and analyze for long periods. I was a master at thinking in circles and giving myself headaches by agonizing over making decisions. Unfortunately, I stayed stuck in that thinking mode for so long that I became very anxious, depressed, and disempowered. It is extremely exhausting too.
Thankfully, my incredible trusted advisor helped me overcome my overthinking patterns and I became very efficient at making aligned and intuitive decisions.
Free your mind from overthinking and results will follow
While it’s wise to consider all the consequences of our actions before we do them, it is also important to remember that we can’t predict many things. As evidenced by the pandemic, you don’t always know what’s going to happen next.
I used to obsess over things that had already happened, thinking I could repair my past. And on the flip side, I would spend way too much time thinking about the future. I was never truly present.
Overthinking things is an insidious problem because once you start, it can be difficult to stop. However, with the right guidance, you can change this pattern.
If this sounds like you, are you ready to stop your overthinking patterns and get results?
Break out of the rut of overthinking
1) You don’t have to know everything right now.
One of the biggest causes of overthinkers syndrome is our tendency to think we need to know everything before we take action. We become so obsessed with planning and preparation that we lose sight of the fact that no one knows what’s going to happen.
The future is full of questions, and the only way to find out what will happen next is to take action. That’s why you should never ask yourself “what if?” when it comes to pursuing your goals because that question has no good answer.
More often than not, the things we are so afraid of don’t happen. However, if they do happen, we can usually deal with them. The only way to know what will happen is to take a risk. It’s okay NOT to know all the steps before you take action. Use this time to get curious and learn something new about yourself.
2) You may never feel ready for change.
Clients often tell me that they don’t feel ready to make a change. I know from working with enough humans, that if something is really meaningful and important, you will do whatever it takes to do it, even if you don’t feel ready.
The flip side is that the clients who deep down inside, didn’t really want to change, didn’t take the action.
A lot of people I’ve worked with think that taking action means they’ll never have the opportunity to get used to something before they begin. To these clients, I would say: it’s better to do something, than not at all. Besides, there isn’t necessarily a “right” way you have to begin doing something. Sometimes it’s just a matter of taking the first step and seeing where it leads you.
3) Be gentle with yourself.
There are few things worse than beating yourself up over something you’ve already done. Only by taking the time to forgive ourselves for our past mistakes can we truly learn from them and do better next time.
If you make a mistake, do not immediately declare it’s the end of the world. Most likely, there is still plenty of time to fix it. Besides, what’s the point of torturing yourself over something you can’t undo?
Instead, take some time to reflect on what you did wrong and why. As I tell my clients, the key is to gather the lessons from that event and learn how to think or proceed differently in the future.
4) Enjoy your failures, they give great feedback
It’s easy to become obsessed with doing something perfectly. We live in a society that celebrates perfection, but the truth is that no one has ever achieved anything perfect or worthwhile without failing along the way.
Failure is so important to success because it gives us room to learn and grow. If you give up every time you fail, then you won’t ever get very far in life.
Of course, if you’ve made a habit of failing, it’s time to have a chat to figure out what’s going on inside your overthinking mind.
5) Do not compare yourself to others.
It’s easy in today’s society to compare yourself to others. People are so willing to share their successes on social media that it’s hard not to feel like you’ve fallen behind in some way.
Do not fall into this trap. Instead of looking at other people, think about what you have done and focus on celebrating how far you have come and what you’ve achieved.
Be proud of what you have done to become this version of yourself. Comparing yourself to others is a waste of mental and emotional energy because you may not know the entire story behind their success (or failures).
Focus on yourself and your interests to take steps to succeed in the way that is most valuable to you and your life.
6) Do not take anything personally.
This is a big one for me: I learned by default from my father, to take things personally. Gosh, it used to stifle my creativity, prevent me from taking chances in life, so I basically hid from the world for 3 decades in fear of what others could be thinking about me. Once I realized I was being raised by a narcissist, it all began to make sense and I soon learned my own way to navigate social interactions.
If you’ve suffered from this tendency to be affected by other people’s reactions to you, I feel for you, and please know that it doesn’t have to be this way. Reach out to me for support and I can help you release that pattern from your mind and body.
7) Think-Feel-Do-Get results
Are you still with me? Want to get results? Here’s how I stopped overthinking.
Here are the steps that helped me get from thinking into taking action!
Give yourself a day to “think things over” and while doing so, feel into your body and listen to your heart.
Is this “thing” that you are about to start or do bring you joy, happiness, and or the results that you desire?
If you get a “HECK YES” and smile, then it’s time to move forward and do the dang thing already.
On the contrary, if you’ve been thinking about this “thing” and it brings up powerful negative emotions or warning signs in your heart and soul, that sounds like a “HECK NO” to moving forwards with that “thing”.
Once I learned how to use this simple success formula, I started to love the ease and freedom of getting out of my head and into action!
I have made some of the best decisions of my life using this easy formula, it continues to help me get amazing results in my life.
Now it’s your turn!!
Email me if you’re curious and wish to dive deeper into this: denise@deniselynnmorrison.com
Your mental, physical and emotional wellness advocate,
Denise xo