Dreamers only have a vision; leaders make dreams come true and change the world.
Last week I had the opportunity to meet with this bright individual who graduated from a Tier 1 school and seemed like a sharp and witty guy with a ‘can-do’ attitude. As the conversation progressed we chatted about various aspects of skill set & mindset that helps someone be successful and the topic of overthinking came up. His worldviews were that an overthinker is just an efficient individual who evaluates all possibilities and prepares himself for anything that comes his way. He further added that some of the most successful friends in his circle were the ones who are chronic overthinkers.
It then dawned on me that this is not just him but a collective mindset that a dysfunction was almost glorified if not perceived as a sought after way to live. So, here I am on a bright Monday morning to offer my readers with (as Anton Ego would say in Ratatouille) a ‘perspective’. A new perspective on why we should stop wearing our habits of overthinking like a badge of honor and a real shift in self awareness & sincere efforts towards improving your mental health.
- Burn bright, not out - When athletes push themselves to the limits of endurance, or people who engage in strenuous work, there is an overwhelming fatigue produced called Performance Fatigue. If you put yourself through limits of endurance for almost every task, you are over-riding your senses to constantly be in fight mode and eventually it causes prolonged periods of exhaustion.
- ‘The Detached Empath’ - Sometimes overthinking can also stem from our emotions getting tangled into processing how others feel about you or your work while disregarding the connection to ourselves. Take a firm step towards being more self aware and check yourself if you need to spend more time with yourself and how you as an individual perceive a situation without anyone’s bias. Afterall even in the most dire situations, you are supposed to put an oxygen mask on yourself first.
- Crack the case like Sherlock - Even the smartest detective has Watson helping him and even he takes a process of solving a case with a methodical approach. Sometimes finding a solution is a slow, time consuming process and trying to rush that by overthinking & over analyzing just causes you to skip a few steps. This may lead to creating problems that weren't there in the first place. Realign yourself when you find yourself running in circles around anything, sleep on it, ask for help and try to look at it in the morning from a fresh perspective.
- Slow down, for fast acting relief - It is proven science that overthinking can disrupt your mental and physical well-being as your inability to get out of your head may leave you in a constant state of anguish. While we do tend to overthink sometimes, if this goes unchecked it leads to sleepless nights, prolonged headaches and more. Meditate, center yourself and feel the joy of being grateful for what you have, a visionary mind and above all a healthy functional body.
And lastly, as a wise man on an internet thread said, ‘Erasers are not made for people who make mistakes but for those who are willing to correct them’. Sit with yourself this week and see if your overthinking needs course correction.