Over-Thinking

[Footballman]

Does anyone else over-think?
Our culture seems to base an enormously high value on intellectual attainment and intellectual thought...even to the point of looking down on others who have jobs that require less intellectual prowess...but really for me I find I'm always over-thinking...and even dare I say, over-doing the self-help reading without applying everything I read.
Anyway, the main thing...over-thinking, is it a big deal?

[marinik]

Originally Posted by Footballman

Does anyone else over-think?
Our culture seems to base an enormously high value on intellectual attainment and intellectual thought...even to the point of looking down on others who have jobs that require less intellectual prowess...but really for me I find I'm always over-thinking...and even dare I say, over-doing the self-help reading without applying everything I read.
Anyway, the main thing...over-thinking, is it a big deal?

Oh yes!! You lose the all the good stuff along the way by thinking about it and analyzing it all the time!!! Life just swoops by you while you think.... it is so silly!!! In my country we have a saying that the blessed ones are the ones with no deep thought. It can't be translated literally unfortunately!

So you really need to stop thinking at times and just be. It is so much fun when you learn to do it!!! This morning after taking a wonderful shower I was putting lotion on my body and thinking about an event from last night... at one moment I thought what about the feeling of nurturing my skin... why don't I be here and feel it instead of going on and on about something that happened lat night I can't change....

[brendannz]

Originally Posted by Footballman

Does anyone else over-think?
Our culture seems to base an enormously high value on intellectual attainment and intellectual thought...even to the point of looking down on others who have jobs that require less intellectual prowess...but really for me I find I'm always over-thinking...and even dare I say, over-doing the self-help reading without applying everything I read.
Anyway, the main thing...over-thinking, is it a big deal?

I tend to over-think things myself.. I think everyone does to an extent. It probably can be a big deal, sometimes you've got to pay attention to your intuition, and shut the mental chatter up.

I know you mentioned nothing about dating, but here's a dating site, which explains why overthinking can be a big deal;
How to Be Confident Part Two: The Mind | Inner Game Reframe

It's true, that IQ is more highly valued than EQ (emotional quotiant) and SQ (spiritual quotiant). I don't know much about EQ, or SQ, but I tend to believe that EQ ask questions about what you would do in the situation, and you'd say what you think you'd do, rather than what you would do if the situation occured.. although, I could be wrong about that..

[Eric Roosevelt]

I've found that meditation is a good way of distancing yourself from your conscious thoughts, so that you can start seeing them for the tools they are instead of being overwhelmed by them.

And in my opinion the best way to meditate is to think about absolutely nothing.

[Xanafax]

Thinking is the way we interact with reality.

Never stop thinking. You may as well be dead.

[Footballman]

Thanks for the responses.

I suppose the issue is not so much about thinking per se, but over-identifying with thoughts - which has long been an issue for me. A lot of the thoughts we have are related to our culture or to our 'daily-lives'.

I went for a walk this morning just decided to think differently...outside the box - outside our culture.
I managed to snap into this new way of thinking that wasn't at the mercy of my thoughts...I noticed how everyone(well most) who went by seemed to be in a rush to get to work, most looked unhappy - or at least with something to worry about, most were dressed in dull suits..with little sign of colour or self expression...I wonder if any of you have ever noticed this?!?

Anyway, it felt good, like I was distancing myself from hectic everyday life...maybe I should do this more. By the way, some of the guys that didn't seem as stressed, were the road/construction workers lol

Marinik - I completely agree with you, some great people I know are ones who are simple people, don't seem to think much..one of them works in a sweet shop.

Brendan - Yeah, if I always had listened to my intuition, I'd be in a much better place right now, my life would be much more enriched..my dreams would probably have come true..it's what I intend to do from now on.

Eric - Thanks - I think meditation will help not to over-energize my thoughts.

Xanafax - I think it's hard to stop thinking ever. But I think over-identifying with negative thoughts is a problem and a bad way of interacting with your culture or reality.

[brendannz]

Originally Posted by Footballman

Brendan - Yeah, if I always had listened to my intuition, I'd be in a much better place right now, my life would be much more enriched..my dreams would probably have come true..it's what I intend to do from now on.

Now you're overthinking your past.. a good place to start using your intuition is in the now, (I guess)

[MrSuccess]

Way to go guys, interesting stuff!

[LifeFirst]

Originally Posted by Footballman

Does anyone else over-think?
Our culture seems to base an enormously high value on intellectual attainment and intellectual thought...even to the point of looking down on others who have jobs that require less intellectual prowess...but really for me I find I'm always over-thinking...and even dare I say, over-doing the self-help reading without applying everything I read.
Anyway, the main thing...over-thinking, is it a big deal?

This is nothing compared to how things work in China...or in India, where the caste system is present.

[MartinP]

I think a lot of this gets back to being in the present moment.

Over-thought can really only ever apply to thinking about the past or the future. If you are over-thinking, you are depriving yourself of being truly in the present.

[Orecle]

Originally Posted by Footballman

Does anyone else over-think?
Our culture seems to base an enormously high value on intellectual attainment and intellectual thought...even to the point of looking down on others who have jobs that require less intellectual prowess...but really for me I find I'm always over-thinking...and even dare I say, over-doing the self-help reading without applying everything I read.
Anyway, the main thing...over-thinking, is it a big deal?

The problem is not overthinking. The problem is ineffective/purposeless thinking and inefficient thinking

Ineffective/Purposeless thinking

This is thinking about things that wont get you a result, or the result you want. This could be tangible (things) and intangible (feelings). Bill Gates, Steve jobs even Steve Pavlina probably think more than most of us. However what separates them is their thoughts lead to creations. The amount of problems,abstractions and decisions they have to weigh up on a regular basis, would fry most of our personal CPUs. But we see the end result of their thoughts.
If we put as much effort into our thinking then produced nothing, then thats over-thinking. It is thinking and not producing that stresses people out. Not thinking in and of itself, no matter the amount.

In efficient thinking
I am Planning a 3 course meal for 30 people, with £ or $1000000 prize money. If I thought non-stop for 17 days, it wont be seen as overthinking. Even if I was sick, with worry.
Thinkin about how to boil an egg, for 16 and half of those 7 days, is in-efficient thinking. It wastes my time and energy. I should have efficiently planned the use of my actions and thoughts


If I am in a hurry. Going from Australia to America by plane is efficient. Going by bike is a waste of time and energy and highly inefficient


What to do
1. Don't waste your time on purposeless thoughts. Entertainment is not a waste of thoughts if purposed as rest and rejuvanation. It is if costing you time from your true goals.
2. Dont bring a nuclear warhead to an arm wrestle match.
Give each situation the approppriate amount of thoughts. Dont spend time thinking on things that dont have much reward or consequence. All things being equal, dont expend more energy or time on things than you have to. This includes both time and actions.alot of things in life are not that serious
3. Dont bring a knife to an international war
Under thinking is just as dangerous as overthinking. Its a mystery that people plan their holidays more than they plan their lives or relationships

Originally Posted by MartinP

I think a lot of this gets back to being in the present moment.

Over-thought can really only ever apply to thinking about the past or the future. If you are over-thinking, you are depriving yourself of being truly in the present.

I disagree with Martin. The life you enjoy or hate today is dependant on the quality of thoughts you had in the past, about where you would like to be in the future. Goals-setting is about improving the future. or the future version of now. It would not be a goal-setting if it was already in the present. Thinking about the future in the future is not wise, because oppertunites are not limitless and some times danger is irreversable if not dealt with beforehand. I partailly agree about the past. However, to learn from mistakes and failure(which is pre-requisite to improvement), you have to think of the past. Hence why failure is the route to success

Being purely present minded is dangerous because to provide the future you want, you have to think of the future. When you about to eat cake for the 4th time this week. It is thinking of how much you want to weigh in the future that will save you. When thinking of whether to save or spend the money on shoes, it is thinking of the future that will make or break you. We are not animals. Animals can stay present minded coz all they need is provided be nature. Humans are more sophisticated. Future thinking is a neccesity, not a luxury. If you dont future think for yourself, you are going to fit into somebody elses vision for your life

[Strawberry]

Actually I enjoy thinking, especially about mind-blowing metaphysical quandries that make me feel like a part of something bigger. I throw in some hard scientific cosmological lines of reasoning for good measure. (What is time? Are there other dimensions? Where do wormholes lead?) Sometimes I'm more spiritaul, and think about whether that dream I had last night about my deceased father was actually him speaking to me. And that leads me to imagine what it might be like on the other side.

What is unhealthy is rumination, or obsessive thinking about problems in your life. If you focus on solutions and then let it go, that's ok. If it is something you can't change, whether it be the death of a loved one or a war. Something that is out of your power to solve, it's ok to grieve for a while. But after a while you must let it go. It only leads to self-destruction.

[MartinP]

@Orecle

Thanks for the comment!

The difference is what Eckhart Tolle calls "clock time" and "psychological time".

I agree with you that, of course we need the past to learn lessons and the future to plan goals and life. That is clock time.

Psychological time is when you sit there obsessing over the past and having regrets or feeling guilty. It's also when you worry about the future and have anxiety. Neither of these two uses of the past and future serve you. This is what I think footballman refers to as overthinking.

I am not for a moment saying we can function in society without taking into account the past or planning for the future but to experience happiness you have to be in the present moment.