How to Stop Overthinking

Three practices to quiet your mind and build self-trust. Have you ever tried to think your way out of something that was never actually solvable? Maybe it's when a coworker is annoyed with you, or whether an email landed the way you meant it to, or how a future conversation is going to go..? In part two of this two-part series on overthinking, Sandy picks up where part one left off.  The first episode was about understanding why we overthink; this one is about what to actually do about it. Using a story about driving home on a dark back road (and the two hundred feet of visibility her headlights actually gave her), Sandy walks through three practices for interrupting an overthinking loop when it starts. She borrows a concept from Designing Your Life author Dave Evans to help listeners tell the difference between a solvable problem and a "gravity problem," and introduces a simple way to shrink an overwhelming decision down to its smallest next step. Sandy also explores the connection between the Enneagram's Head, Heart, and Body Centers of Intelligence, and why some emotions aren't asking to be solved at all, but simply acknowledged and felt. She also gets honest about what happens when none of it works, and why sometimes what's underneath the overthinking isn't fear at all, but grief asking to be felt instead of solved. In this episode: Why overthinking often fixates on things outside your control, and what to ask instead A simple way to shrink an overwhelming decision into its smallest next step The role of the Head, Heart, and Body Centers in keeping an overthinking loop going A grounding practice for when logic alone won't calm an overactive mind Why courage and self-trust are built gradually, one small practice at a time If you listened to part one and found yourself thinking "okay, now what do I actually do about overthinking," this episode is for you. ___ Connect with me at SwansonCoaching.com   Previous episode: Why Do I Overthink Everything?https://www.swansoncoaching.com/podcasts/beyond-the-type-an-enneagram-inspired-podcast-about-being-human/episodes/2149233557   ___ overthinking, how to stop overthinking, quiet an overthinking mind, rumination, worry, self-trust, courage, fear, Designing Your Life, Dave Evans, gravity problem, Enneagram, Enneagram Head Center, Enneagram Body Center, Centers of Intelligence, personal development podcast, life coach podcast, leadership coach, emotional reactivity, nervous system, grounding, grief, self-awareness, holistic coaching, mental spirals, decision making, Beyond the Type, Sandy Swanson, SwansonCoaching