Leary - Overthinking

How many times in the past have you heard a coworker, a boss, or a loved one say the words, stop overthinking it? Maybe the question has been directed at you in the past, and youve responded with something like, Im not sure what you mean, or I dont know if youre thinking through it enough .

Many times, communication is one of the main factors in the misunderstandings that occur between people in relationships. We say one thing, but it is understood in a different way. This complication is made worse when we fall into the habit of overthinking, which is simply taking in and processing way more information than is necessary to complete a given task or figure out a problem. When we pull from a much larger pool of information than is necessary for what we are trying to do, whether its something as simple as picking out the appropriate tie or deciding whether to break up with that new boyfriend, we are guilty of overthinking and often make the task much harder on ourselves than it needs to be.

All those thoughts swirling around in your brain make even the simplest tasks difficult because it becomes nearly impossible to avoid distraction. Overthinking can lead to an emotionally damaging mindset, where you begin to think negatively about yourself, your loved ones, or even about the world. Too much negativity and worry in your mind will shut out any hope of positive thinking or finding the path toward becoming a more positive, productive person.

I am excited to take this journey with you, and I know that you are about to discover many things about yourself as a person. The simple fact that youve sought out help from this book is an important first step forward. Many people continue through their entire lives living with the chaos going on inside their minds while they try to seek out a pleasant existence. But were going much further than this. Were going to shed that old chaotic mindset and find the path to clarity.

The title of this book refers to finding a path through the noise inside your mind, but were not just going to walk casually by and leave the chaos where it is. Many people are very skilled at something called compartmentalization. This is where, in order to deal with many sources of stress, worry, and overthinking, people will carefully store different thought processes in different parts of their brains and train themselves to ignore one thing while they concentrate on another. Many men and women experience this after a trauma. In order to escape the grief, they will concentrate on something that is productive, like their jobs, and not think about the pain that must be worked through.

Compartmentalization is an avoidance of the problem, and though it can be helpful in traumatic experiences, it is essential to address what is going on in our minds if we are to move past it. So, if youre ready, lets get started!