Rethinking versus Overthinking

Today’s topic can definitely apply to us logical thinkers – rethinking versus overthinking. Understanding the distinction between the two will help you clear up places where you may be stuck or stalled.

One of these, rethinking, is something that helps move you forward. The other, overthinking, is something that creates barriers for you and causes you to stall out. The main difference between the two is whether or not there is new information involved. In rethinking, you are bringing in new information. With overthinking, you are creating a swirl in your own mind using the same recycled information.

There are three signs I’m about to share with you that will tell you whether you might be overthinking. My goal is to allow you to see clearly whether this is happening to you and keeping you from moving closer to your goals. My hope is that this will help you get out of any of these cycles and move forward.

First sign of overthinking – You can’t decide what you think. This is a big sign! If you find yourself continuing to change your mind and swirling in the same loop of indecision – you are overthinking. You look at one side and think you’ll make one decision and then you immediately think of something else that throws you for a loop again. You can’t figure out what it is you want to think about the situation or how to approach it. Really what you must do is decide something and go with it. Everything we do that’s new requires us to make an assumption. You can gather information but you don’t want to get stuck thinking you need more information. The best thing you can do to learn is to try something! In this case, my suggestion is that you pick something, you make a decision, and you realize you can address it again in the future.

Second sign of overthinking – You haven’t actually started yet. If you haven’t started toward this goal, how are you supposed to know whether you need to make an adjustment? Overthinking is just being stuck in the same swirl – no new information can come in unless you start experimenting with it. If you are thinking, thinking, and thinking about something but you haven’t already started, then you are probably overthinking. If you are taking steps, looking at the results, and contemplating them – that’s helpful, that’s rethinking. A sign you are overthinking is that you keep thinking through the same cycle over and over and haven’t actually started toward this goal.

Third sign of overthinking – You find yourself trying to predict what others will think. Overthinking can happen when you are projecting out onto others, making assumptions about others, and being concerned about what others think. If you need to know what others will think because they are players in this decision, you need to ask them! Simply swirling about what they might think if you do this or that – that’s overthinking, you are actually not gathering any new information, you are making it all up. So if other people are a factor in this decision, you ask them. And then you have the information with which to make a decision.

I wanted to cover this briefly and succinctly to help you hone in on areas where overthinking might be happening. If you are stuck or stalled, ask yourself if any of these 3 things are happening. If they are, I hope you will start doing something different – start making decisions, start taking steps, start asking questions.