😤😂 Overthinking? Or just thinking??
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​One of the things that bugs me the most is when I feel I’m being told I’m overthinking something.
Is that me? 😂
How can we know when we’re overthinking as opposed to just ‘thinking’?
And why does our culture seem to label too much thinking as a bad thing?
I’m an analytical person.
I like to weigh my options.
I can and often do make decisions quickly, but I like to get to a place where I have that intuitive sense of agreement between my brain and my body about the course of action I’m taking.
So, why is it bad to ‘overthink’? Is that even a thing?
Firstly, I don’t think we should confuse thinking and overthinking as if they are the same thing.
We should be thoughtful people.
We should weigh the consequences of our decisions rather than just jumping into situations in life and business and then realizing a few moments later it was actually an avoidable mistake.
In today’s world, we need more people who think about things. Who care about the consequences of their words and actions.
But here’s where I think the line is.
The question I ask myself is:
What is the timeline for taking action on this?
Because overthinking is more than just considering the options.
When we get stuck in overthinking, it’s because we feel paralysed by the number of paths we could take.
It’s because we’ve lost sight of alignment and what feels intuitively like the right direction to go in.
And instead of being able to switch off the rumination, we disappear into it. And sometimes we don’t come out again for years!
And here’s another really helpful question to ask if you find yourself stuck in the maze of overthinking:
What am I getting out of NOT moving forward on this?
I believe that while we are getting something from not taking action, we will always repeat our familiar thought patterns, even if they’re leading us to self sabotage and miss out on the things we say we want.
The key that breaks us out is getting super focused on the thing we ultimately want, and WHY it is so meaningful.
Because when the pain of staying stuck is greater than the pain of change – that becomes the springboard to taking the action that feels scary.
Are you an overthinker? What has helped you break out of it (or are you still stuck??)
I would love to hear from you if you’re looking for your next business coach. Fill out the form on my Work With Me page and let’s set up a call to chat more about how I might be able to help.
Have a great week,
Jessica xx
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