Do you place too much pressure on yourself by over-analyzing situations, circumstances or people? Most women tend to do this and I do it as well. Overthinking is not a mental problem. Overthinking is a natural part of life. But, you have to be careful because it can cause problems and lower your self-esteem.
I would like to share an idea I’ve been “overthinking” the last couple of months. The idea I have been contemplating and overthinking is the idea of whether I should post video blogs or not. I overthink this situation and it adds stress to my life and quite honestly, nothing gets resolved.
I have learned that overthinking is a result of a decision that must be made. Most of our decisions tend to be stressful so this stress actually makes it worst. I’m sharing this because this thought about moving forward with videos has even kept me up at night. I personally think that videos would be great for my business because women can actually see a real, vivid portrayal of what I have to offer. Providing value and establishing trust is what I aim to do. The thing that is holding me back is that I do not have a professional camera. My goal is to provide professional, polished videos that highlight my voice, passion and value-driven message. Why? Because I firmly believe my readers deserve the very best. And I would like to provide high-quality videos, I can be proud of. It is also the best way to communicate so I can motivate women around the world.
But of course there are a lot more excuses associated with this process. I also think about what happens once I post this video? Will my readers like it or despise it? When I think about those thoughts, I feel those unwelcomed, negative thoughts slowly surfacing. One of my tactics has been to distract myself with other work. In my assessment, I realize overthinking also comes from not being able to control this situation. The uneasiness kills our motivation and desire to move forward. When our motivation is diminished, nothing gets accomplished. We must be cautious about how much we overthink. This type of behavior makes you vulnerable and negative thinking can consume most of your daily thoughts, so be careful.
As for the videos, I have made a decision. Through self-awareness about my situation I have given myself permission to be imperfect. Life is about progress not perfection and one day I will make those beautiful videos. In the meantime, I will use my phone to record my message. It will give me practice and I will use the resources I have on-hand to promote my message. It’s not how the message is delivered that matters; rather, it’s how you pack a punch with the careful usage of your words in order to create value and meaning.
On a separate note, don’t fall prey to paralysis by analysis. Instead use the following tips to change your thought process and move forward from these unproductive habits and behaviors:
1. Self-Awareness about Stressful Situation. Pay attention to what exactly is making you overthink, over-analyze or is jeopardizing your movement forward. The best thing to do is to avoid circumstances, situations or difficult people that will spark this overthinking. There might be people at work who love to argue or gossip about non-sense. Stay away because they are vampires who are trying to drain your blood. They will leave you pissed off, frustrated and exhausted. Remember, you are better than that so stay focused on your work assignment. Overthinking is simply a self-defense mechanism that is magnifying the possible outcome of failure.
2. Strengthen and Diffuse. Strengthen your positive belief in yourself. Strengthening this belief that you are capable and competent, will motivate you to make a decision. Moreover, if these nasty, negative thoughts pop-up diffuse yourself from them and move forward with strength and conviction. Negative thoughts will always unfortunately pop-up. Learn to acknowledge them but manipulate your thoughts by practicing diffusion. In other words, disassociate yourself from them. This is the only time where you must utilize the power of distraction.
3. Structured Thinking. Turn this overthinking into structured thinking. Diminish it’s power by writing down how you will take control. Most of our overthinking stems from fear of the unknown or not having a structured plan to proceed. Make a decision and structure your thinking by brainstorming productively. Take bite-size chunks of the situation and strategize your next move productively. This decision alone will propel you into action and this will diminish paralysis by analysis. Good luck!
Originally published at medium.com