Overthinking Taking Over?
You are out for the weekend with your friends and family, but you can’t get out of your head! While everyone else is laughing and appearing to enjoy the moment, you are lost in thought.
Sound familiar?
You are not alone. This happens to so many people. Analyzing or what ifing. Spending so much time lost in your thoughts, moments of life are passing you by. And you want to retrain yourself to be in the moment. To enjoy what is actually happening in front of you right now.
Not worried about what others will think of you or what may or may not happen. You want to enjoy the experience that life is offering you.
So what do you do?
One thing you can start with is catching yourself when lost in thought and then bringing yourself back to the present. This is definitely going to be a brain and self-awareness exercise. Literally pulling yourself out of your head and into the present. Tune into what someone is saying or what you are doing. Become very curious about the experience you are having by paying attention to it.
When you go back into your head, pull yourself out again. The more consistently you do this, the longer you will be able to stay in the moment. You may notice at first that you can only stay present for five seconds. This will build to a longer amount of time the more dedicated you are to pulling yourself into the moment.
Schedule time to think. If you just have to get lost in thought, schedule time every day to get lost in thought. Where you let your mind go wild with analyzing and overthinking. Set it like an appointment. Honor it. And then adjust it as you grow in your skill to be present.
You may be rolling your eyes at this idea. However, aren’t you doing this anyway and it feels a bit out of control, correct? Take back the control by scheduling it in. Try it for two weeks. If you hate it, then don’t continue it.
Keep a gratitude journal. This is another way to retrain your brain to look for the good things in your life. It is also directing your mind where you want it to go. Plus, when we practice gratitude only good comes from that.
Use hypnosis to assist in retraining your brain. This is a great way to get your subconscious involved in retraining your brain to be more present. I have included a free hypnosis for you to listen to. Use it as often as you would like.
What have you noticed helps get you out of your head and into the moment?