Overthinking
How to Stop Worrying, Eliminate Negative Thinking, and Control Your Thoughts
By Ashley Hill
Copyright 2019 - All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
There are plenty of things that we have to think about these daysthe money to buy all the things we need, our work responsibilities, our kids and families... you name it. There are many things to worry about. We also have an endless to-do list to be completed this week with deadlines every day that we may or may not be able to meet. The thing is, we are now busier than ever with many more responsibilities than we used to have. Previous generations also had plenty of things to do, but they still had some downtime. Now, no way, Jose. We are in a situation where our schedules are packed to the brim, and we are unable to sit down and rest after a while. Our bodies and minds are filled with stress and mental clutter, which are causing us anxiety and depression. Therefore, we are unable to concentrate on what we need to get done, and because of that, we become even more concerned and worried. So think of it as a stress mountain that is developing.
You may think that the entire world allows you to worry and that it is socially responsible and ethical to be worried all the time. Let me tell you. That is not the way to live your life. Instead of worrying about tomorrow, how about throwing those cares out the window? Use a bit of humor to get you perked up. Stop worrying about the useless things that pile up and infuse your life with more positive energy. Only then will you experience greater happiness and meaning in your life. It starts with looking on the bright side and believing that you can achieve your goals.
This book has been written as a starting point for you on the journey of self-discovery and help. You need to have a guide to get you out of the mindset of worrying about every little thing. This book will help you overcome your worst fears. Moreover, it will help you get over the things that are holding you back and give you the confidence to handle all the cares and concerns that can easily overshadow and overwhelm your life.
In this book, we will go over the causes of mental clutter. We will talk about how to have a positive mindset, how to be proactive about your life, and how to live a life that is going to get you on the right track again. It is easy to think that your life is spiraling out of control and that you have a lot to think about, but hold your horses. You need to stop letting your emotions take control of you and give yourself a break. That is the only way that you are going to feel free.
Dont allow the chains of oppression to cause you to go down a dark and unsustainable path. Instead, experience the joy of knowing that tomorrow is going to be okay and that you are going to get better. Every day will become better than the previous one, and once you know it, youll be freer and happier than ever before knowing that you can do your best to live a healthy life. Lets go on this journey together to defeat our worst fears, to worry less, and to live in a fruitful and peaceful tomorrow. Read on to find out how to slay the dragon of your worries and achieve the unthinkable.
Chapter 1: Causes of Mental Clutter
Youre thinking about your to-do list, which is racking up a lot of tasks: Your sons soccer practice is at 7:00 p.m. You have to finish up your latest project and might have to stay up until 2:00 a.m. to do it. Theres a ton of laundry to do because no one has done it in two weeks, and the dishes are piling up. Now, you have a lot of things that are cluttering your life. A lot of us have things to do that cause mental clutter. Every day, we have some fire drills that we have to address within our minds, making it easy for us to push the panic button, as we worry about what were going to do. Worrying, however, does not help things but rather makes them worse. The important thing we need to focus on is how we can deal with our mental clutter because that is the way we need to go forward with our lives. But before we do that, we need to discover what it is that causes us to worry and have mental clutter in our lives (Scott and Davenport, 2016).
What Is Mental Clutter?
Mental clutter includes anything that enters into our lives that causes us to feel burdened by the list of things to do. It includes the things on our to-do list, regrets over things that we have done in the past, unfinished work, including messages to send, bills to pay, among other things. We also worry about a lot of things, even if we dont know whether or not they will happen. Additionally, grumbling and complaining can be a source of mental clutter. Finally, perfectionism affects our ability to move forward because we worry about the things that we cannot control. We try to do our best but fear that we will fail to achieve it.
Cause #1: Procrastination
This one is a big one because many people do it all the time, and it only contributes to a lot of pain and heartache. More than a few of us tend to wait until the very last minute to do something, and then we feel overwhelmed by the task because we think it is too difficult to accomplish within a short amount of time, which causes a great amount of stress and anxiety. Then we start to worry about how in the world we are going to get it done. Procrastination is continually one of the worst things that we face every day, but it is something that can definitely be avoided with the proper planning and organization. But then again, many people struggle to prioritize tasks or put together a schedule. As a result, they dont know what to do when they have a lot of things to do. One of the ways you can deal with this is by writing down all the things that need to be done and then doing everything in the order that it should be done. This will help you deal with it well (Scott and Davenport, 2016).
Case Study
Jemima had too much to do on her list. Every day, she felt further behind on the things that she had to do because she wanted to spend more time on the things that mattered to her while less time on the things that burdened her. Moreover, she forgot about some of the things that were difficult for her, and then she would suddenly realize that she needed to do them. Thats when she realized she needed to change her mindset of being less of a procrastinator and more of a person who is proactive about changing their life. Therefore, she decided to get her life together and avoid procrastination as much as she possibly could. It helped and did wonders for her life.