Somehow, I couldn’t count to 6. My mind was racing, and something a 2-year-old expertly knew disappeared into the puddle that was now my brain. Right becomes left, and left becomes right. The world seems to move faster than it should.
Have you ever stood, paralyzed over indecision about trifles like a pair of shoes, a film to watch, or even which foot should take the next step? Last Tuesday was one of those days. I can only look back and laugh at how the simplest thing confused me to madness.
I shifted between left and right a thousand times a second and chose the wrong one at the wrong count.
When you overthink, even the smallest thing feels impossibly overbearing, and the smaller things like huger boulders.
It’s crazy how overthinking is being stuck on matters that could have been completed and finalized in a matter of a few hours, or being stuck on matters that were not matters in the first place. Like what number is next.
Cheers to understanding overthinking and ways that you may help you get over it:
1. Decision Fatigue and Ka-Sabawan
Our brains get tired of making decisions, too. Simple decisions add up, and eventually, we are drained from making the right choices and maybe even thinking straight.
That is why people like Steve Jobs wore the same thing every day. Per this Medium Article, “studies consistently show that our capacity to consistently make well thought out decisions is finite.” This is why people like Jobs made it a point to remove unnecessary decisions from their day to save that finite resource for more important matters.
No wonder after a long day of work—with all the tiny decisions tied to getting through a day—leaves you drained.
Jumping from one task to the next and deciding which one to prioritize. Making the smallest decision of what to type, what font looks good, a better word, another adjective, or the decision on lunch or dinner—seemingly insignificant. Who knew this was why we are left with a melted brain, slow and too thick to operate like hot soup? What we call sabaw moments!
We can only handle so many decisions a day before the sabaw sets in. So, if you can automate and remove all the unnecessary decisions.
Maybe the brain giving up on thinking straight at the end of the day is what it needs. Sometimes, our mind needs our body to just wing it.
2. Why Winging It Works Sometimes
Planning and having everything down to a T is ideal for life-altering events. There are times when every detail helps for the best of everyone, especially yourself.
But there are days when the freedom of spontaneity and winging through change and life decisions is the only way. Things are out of our plans but need immediate action. Which eventually proves to be the right way for certain situations.
What is terrifying is that we will never really know if we chose right until cross that bridge.
After leaving my corporate job last year, I learned the beauty and perks of winging my way through what life offered,
There was a sense of guilt running away from the temptations of a structured, secure, and well-planned future with retirement and promotions to look forward to. But there was also a strange cry of the abyss, a call into the unknown that felt more like home.
And sometimes, like Elsa (or Brendon), that will work out in the end. No well-thought-out plans, no nitty-gritty decisions, and no timetables. Sometimes, allowing the brain to freely flow instead of forcing it to make the right decision is the best choice.
3. Let the Body Lead the Mind Will Follow
I started writing this post without knowing what it was to become. It was a full day of work followed by a ballet class where I could not seem to count like a normal person.
Even if exhausted, I had a goal to write every day (something I barely get to do). In bed, laptop on hand and a blank Word document open, I decided to type away.
Not knowing what the words were until they were all out on a page as fragments and rarely sentences, I found myself sitting with a concrete concept, ⅓ through a whole idea.
As I fleshed out ideas, my mind took over. Now, we have a 4-point piece about overthinking and ways that may help.
The body knows how to get into rhythm with the motions of matters we are used to. Gladly, as you get into the rhythm, the mind follows. Wandering thoughts can spark into something of concrete substance. Or not. But there is no harm in trying.
In some strange way, the mind lets the body type away or move in ways it thought best. Instead of doubting that the number 6 was after 5, I could have allowed my body to take over and say what it felt was right (even if I was wrong). In the world of dance, muscle memory follows the presence of the mind, and letting go of the mind can free dance into art. The body can work wonders once we let go.
4. When It’s Best to Let It Go
When all else fails, you can let it go. Elsa may be right!
Some thoughts and decisions may be best to ponder on and finalize tomorrow. But not everything is urgent and THAT important. Some problems may have just exploded over worry and anxiety. In contrast to other things, they are insignificant and maybe even irrelevant.
We are so caught up with what is in front of us we don’t realize how certain things do not matter at the end of the day.
Work deadlines and demands are frustrating, but then why do we have to work in the first place? Is it to make ends meet? Or, is it to live in a way to prove yourself to something or someone? I
In a perfect world where everyone can get paid enough, we will still want more. Look for more and work for more. There will always be a better laptop, a better job, a better house, and a better bag.
My future hangs in the gallows of security and certainty. At any time, I know I can lose my job and find myself on the hunt once more. Will I find anything as good as what I have now? Maybe not, but I don’t know. No one will ever know. But that is a problem, though significant, out of my hands. Something I have no control over, no say in, and no power to change no matter how hard I try. At the end of the day, I know that there is more to the hard work and more to making money.
It is laughable that I get so lost over small things and don’t think straight. But it also is pretty sad that the small things make me forget why I even do these things in the first place—taking the joy away from everything.
Instead of the worry and the fear, there is only 1 other thing I can do: trust by letting go. At the end of that day, what needs to happen will happen. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Busyzi 