An Ode To Overthinking - And How To Bounce Back From Too Much Of It

Recently, my mind has been moving faster than my body is willing to. There's been lots going on in our society right now as well as in my personal life and there's so many obligations and things we get ourselves tied up in that mostly lately I've been feeling more and more like I have no time for myself to stop and breathe. It got to a point where I was uninterested in doing the things I loved because I had so much else to do that I was telling myself was "top priority." I'm sure lots of you can relate and get where I'm coming from.

Finally, I was jolted back to Earth with the stark realization that, hey, there is literally only so much I can do about some things. The things I love should never take a backseat so that I can dwell and stress over things I have no true control over.

We spend so much time thinking we need to be better, or do better, or work harder in order to make ourselves feel more valuable. The thing is, though, that our value doesn't lie in material accomplishments. I spent too long basing my self-worth on how much I can get done and how good my life looks on the outside that before long I began to push myself too hard and weigh down on myself when things didn't "look good" to others. Overthinking became my "normal." I didn't realize how unhealthy this mindset was.

I know I can't be the only one with this dilemma. Don't get me wrong, working hard and keeping yourself "together" is good to an extent, but your self-worth should most definitely not be based solely on this. Take time to stop and breathe and get back to doing something you like that you're good at, or spend time with family or friends away from technology and other outside stressors in order to get back to real simplicity and clear your head. You spend your life in your mind. Make sure it's a place you'd like to be.

It's okay to go through points in your life where your mind moves a little too fast and you aren't really sure when you'll reach a stopping point, but make sure that you never get to a point where you don't have any time for yourself. That's when you've pushed yourself too far. Going through phases like that doesn't diminish or take away from who you are. It makes you human.