The Pitfalls Of Overthinking

We have all been in this boat at some point in our lives. That is thinking way too much about a topic to the point that it becomes more complicated than it has to be. Nothing makes life harder of produces more anxiety in an individual like that of making a task at hand more complicated than it has to be through the negative process of overthinking.  This article is all about how to defeat this monster that likes to rear its ugly head in people’s lives and make it harder than it has to be through the process of personal growth that leads to self-development. 

OCD-Like Thinking?

You have probably heard of the ever popular diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.  This is also the most common self-diagnosis next to Attention Deficit Disorder. A longstanding joke about OCD is that it should be abbreviated CDO because then it would be in alphabetical order the way it should have been in the first place.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is marked by obsessions and compulsions. To put it bluntly it is basic perfectionism at its finest. Social anxiety and OCD, or CDO (inside joke if you read the paragraph above) are also the hallmarks of the developmental disorder that is known as Asperger’s. The latter is a higher functioning form of Autism Spectrum Disorder and is marked by impaired social skills. At its core is a lack of emotional maturity marked by low self-confidence and low self-esteem. Only a person who has the basic understanding of Psychology and is committed to some serious personal growth will come to this conclusion though.  Overthinking itself is something that just about everyone who is human has struggled with at some point in their lives. This is true whether we have a label such as OCD or Asperger’s or not. It essentially boils down to pushing ourselves too hard to accomplish a goal. We do this because deep down inside we feel inadequate and insecure. Thus we try to use our work, or school, to overcompensate because that is where we spend most of our time.

The only thing that comes out of overthinking, or overanalyzing, is a sense of despair that cripples us.   In the rapidly changing economy we need to take action toward greater personal growth or we will not be able to keep up with the market-driven economy. The result is we could wind up seriously mentally impaired and have to live on Social Security disability the rest of our lives.

The underlying issue to drug and alcohol addiction is usually related to mental illnesses. The bulk of mental illness is tied to anxiety, or allowing our fears to control us. OCD is a type of anxiety where instead of having a panic attack we feel the need to push ourselves harder. The end result is we end up slowing down rather than speeding up whatever task we are working at. 

Filling A Void?

Think of reverse Psychology when it comes to OCD. You want to accomplish a task but you have a deep need to do it to fill a void because you never really found yourself or got to know yourself like you can if you commit to personal growth which leads to self-development.  You want to do well but end up doing poorly because you try too hard.  Therefore a trick to overcoming overthinking is to not try so hard. Don’t get in a hurry even though the boss will always say otherwise. The most ironic thing is you end up accomplishing more because by not getting in a hurry you allowed yourself to relax. By allowing yourself to relax and not push too hard you freed yourself up to work faster and get more done, without working at hard.

Another problem in life that causes people to overthink is the overuse of the words “critical thinking skills” you have no doubt heard in public schools growing up.  To some extent we all need to develop our thinking skills but sometimes you have to wonder if teaching critical thinking skills is subconsciously teaching people how to overthink. Common Core Math may be the biggest example of this in our school systems today.

Like everything else all things in moderation are good. It is all about finding balance that comes from committing to self-development which is an overflow of personal growth. Everybody has common sense but if we push ourselves too hard in the area of intellect it can stunt our common sense and make us all look a little stupid. The latter merely feeds our inadequacies and insecurities until we learn to empower ourselves through personal growth and stand against it.

Erwin Wooten

The Daily E Blog

http://ebishopwooten.com