The mind loves to think and it always seems to want your full focus. In fact, the mind sometimes resembles a five-year-old child. That’s because it wants its way and it never wants to sit still. Sometimes, it’s even so reckless that it makes us think and even say things we normally wouldn’t if we were in a more relaxed and quiet space. We call this overthinking.
If you allow your brain to continuously run a mile a minute without ever interjecting, it will only press on with the madness until you discover that your mind has slowly become a prison. Learning to take time to quiet your mind, instead of distracting it, can be one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. It seems so simple, yet it’s life-changing.
3 Techniques to Stop Overthinking Immediately:
1. Connect with nature.
If you don’t live or work in nature, then you need this the most. Take time to get out in nature. This could mean going on your lunch break in a nearby park or going on a vacation to getaway. Anything you can do to strengthen your bond with nature will greatly benefit your mind and stop overthinking immediately.
You can focus on the beauty in the trees, a leaf, a waterfall, the sky, mountains, a lake or whatever you gravitate towards. This will immediately stop your mind. When you allow yourself to do this, you will find that you will think more clearly throughout the day.
2. Repeat peaceful words to yourself.
Pay attention to your brain at this very moment…what kinds of thoughts do you observe? Most likely, you will notice that the majority of your thoughts center around what you have to do today, or what someone said that made you angry, or even degrading thoughts about yourself. Don’t feel bad, though; with so much negativity around us, maintaining a consistent positive mindset isn’t always easy. However, you can actually counter the negative words and overthinking with the repetition of peaceful words.
Anytime you notice you are overthinking or you feel anxiety or worry coming on, stop those thoughts in their tracks as soon as you realize it with calming words.
Examples are as follows: Peace. Love. Light. It’s ok. Life is Good. I’m ok.
While this isn’t completely quieting your mind, it does stop overthinking and will allow your mind to slow down and focus on what really matters in this moment. Words carry a lot of meaning and power, so use them to your advantage whenever you feel stressed out.
3. Meditate.
We suggest meditation a whole lot on our website, but for good reason. When you meditate, you stop the flow of overthinking and negative thoughts bombarding your consciousness every second, and instead move into a space where stillness takes precedence.
While you don’t have to turn off your brain to meditate, many people feel that their thoughts slow down incredibly and overthinking stops immediately.
If you try it and find you still cannot stop thinking, try a guided meditation or yoga. These practices bring awareness into the body and make it much easier to cope with daily challenges.
If you want to stop overthinking and cultivate more peace in your life, these three habits done consistently will bring that. There are 1,440 minutes in a day; take at least 10 minutes a day for one or all of these activities. You will find that overall, you will do less overthinking and feel more relaxed. In turn, you will be even more productive.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Do you practice these habits daily? Do they work? Let us know, you could help someone else who is struggling with overthinking.
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