Subdue overthinking.

There is a thunder storm on the way.

I have this idea – write an article about overthinking. But now I’m overthinking it. Today didn’t turn out as well as I hoped it would. When something happens I mull it over. I chew it to bits and then mentally regurgitate it. Something which doesn’t bother the average person tends to occupy my mind completely.

Like the ruminant digestive system my mind is made up various places for overthinking.

I put my overthinking down to anxiety. I’ve always been anxious, hyper aware of my surroundings. This is a great superpower to have if you don’t want to forget anything. If you want something done to near perfection.

It’s a shitty superpower when you make mistakes. You analyze details which you didn’t think existed. You find problems you didn’t see at first. You start predicting the future. Who hasn’t been at this point?

How do I subdue this?

Photography tends to stop this problem for me.

As I walk around, camera in hand, this thinking stops. In fact, most thinking stops. I stop worrying about a problem at work. I stop thinking about problems in my life. I stop worrying because I stop thinking. All the anxiety I have goes away.

I’ve found my creative outlets to be the best remedy for overthinking. As I explained initially my brain tends to go quiet when I take photos. Or when I’m working on another newsletter.

I finish this newsletter as the rain starts to fall and the wind picks up. Tomorrow is likely to be a better day. And if it isn’t then it’s okay as well. Thinking too much doesn’t solve problems. It amplifies them. It blows them out of proportion.

Now if I can only remembers this wisdom the next time I overthink.

Thanks for reading : )