Fresh Start Monday #80: One rule for overthinking

Overthinking is something I've long struggled with. A need for more researching, planning, and strategizing before I do anything.

Overthinking is when you dedicate too much of your present-day energy on your future self. You can't enjoy the present moment and today, because you're always worried about the future.

In theory, the more information you have, the better decision you'll make.

In reality, the more you think, the less likely you'll do something.

The more you analyze the more anxiety that develops around a perceived problem in the future. Analysis and thinking through something is a healthy trait until it's taken too far.

It becomes a problem when your overthinking stops you from doing anything.

The sneakier problem is that overthinking allows you to avoid a difficult situation while feeling like you're accomplishing something. It's an illusion of progress and effort.

One Rule

I'm allowed to overthink all I want as long as I’m still consistently doing something.

A recent example from two weeks ago was that I wanted to add more strength training to my ultramarathon training. I'm familiar with strength training, but not in the context of how it benefits and supports my running goals.

Normally, in this situation, I would spend weeks reading books, watching videos, and learning everything I could while NOT doing strength training. It's easy to rationalize. I need to understand how it benefits me so I can choose the best program.

To apply my rule, I'm still going to the gym and doing compound lifts twice a week while I try to understand what plan works best for me. I'm not letting overthinking stop me from taking action.

In this example, waiting 2-3 weeks to begin is harmful because my race is on June 1st. That's a significant chuck of potential strength training time that could be lost to overthinking.

As I'm sure you've experienced, we can waste weeks, months, and years of time overthinking.

  • Overthinking whether or not you should change careers? Great. Do an informational interview while you're at it.

  • Overthinking which diet to start? Great. Apply one part of one diet at your next meal while you're at it.

  • Overthinking which blogpost or social media content to post? Great. Write one of them while you're at it.

This rule can be applied to anything. Remember that nothing happens, nothing works, until you show up consistently for a long period of time. Don't let overthinking stop you from showing up.

Journal Prompts

  1. In one year's time, what would I regret not having started today?

    Are you gonna be kicking yourself for not having started?

  2. What is the risk of doing nothing?

    Staying put and not taking action can feel like the safe and comfortable path. But is it? I love this question since all of us are good at analyzing the consequences of something we might do. What are the consequences of not doing it?

  3. How certain am I about decision, and how certain do I need to be?

    If you're 20% certain about changing careers, do you need 100% certainty to do an informational interview? Changing careers is a big decision, the little steps are not.

Overthinking ends when you begin.


Local to Boulder, CO?

Join us Tuesday (3/12) on Meetup for a free biweekly journaling group.

Thoughtful Tuesdays - Biweekly Journaling Group

Tuesday, March 12th at 6pm MT. Location: Private residence. I’ll send out the address 24 hours before the event starts to anyone who RSVP’s as going.

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