Overthinking is, unfortunately, something that everyone does at some point in time. Whether it’s worrying about a huge test, speech or project to over-analyzing text messages, overthinking makes everything seem worse than it ultimately is and creates more problems than there actually are.
If you think about it, what good comes from overthinking?
I believe that the answer is absolutely nothing. However, that doesn’t stop me from overthinking every little thing.
A million thoughts race through my head, and I tend to create ridiculous scenarios that never end up happening. I work myself up, and for what? Sometimes I don’t even know how my brain comes up with some of the things I worry and stress about on a day to day basis. All overthinking does is create unnecessary anxiety.
My biggest problem with overthinking is the fear of failure—fear of not doing well on a test, project, class or even failing with friendships and relationships, as well as any other small thing in the universe.
Something I’ve begun to realize lately, though, is that it’s OK to fail. You have to lose sometimes in order to feel victory. If you succeed at every single thing in life, that’s incredible, but sometimes success is so much better and more rewarding after failure.
Overthinking is hard to avoid, but not impossible. If you ever are in a situation where you can think of a million things, try to think about the good that can come from the situation instead of always worrying about the bad. I am guilty of this myself because I seem to think if I think of the worst possible scenarios, what actually happens won’t be that bad and I’ll end up pleasantly surprised—but that is no way to live.
What I’ve come to realize, though, is that overthinking can be stopped and can be conquered, even if it is extremely difficult. The littlest things in life are meant to be enjoyed, not stressed over.
You will drive yourself insane with worrying, stressing and being anxious about tiny things in daily life.
Don’t let overthinking stop you from doing things in life. Don’t let it consume your mind and make you worried all of the time. Don’t let it keep you up at night and don’t let it destroy your confidence.
Next time you overthink something, take a step back, take a deep breath and ask yourself: “Will this really matter to me in a few weeks, months, or years?” The answer is probably no.
