How To Get Your Mind Under Control?

Over-thinking is a state where your mind runs at 100 miles per hour when you have to make a decision. It doesn’t matter how important the decision is, your mind will automatically go into overdrive if you are a textbook over-thinker. This situation can be dangerous for your mental health in the long run. Getting a control over your mind is not an easy task. Over-thinking is exhausting but the mind still does it every time something is to be done, and so letting go of this habit is not something that will happen overnight. It will require a conscious effort on your part.

HOW TO STOP OVERTHINKING?

1. LET GO OF YOUR PAST: Past memories keep a lot of people up at night thinking about that one embarrassing thing you did years ago that probably no one even remembers. Your mind however forces you to think that everyone does remember that and you go into a spiral at 2 in the morning. You need to get over your past experiences and know that you cannot change them. They re out of your control. You need to let go of all the negative emotions that are holding you back in order to move forward. This will clear up the mental space and help with the over-thinking.
2. DO NOT OVER-THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE: Just like your past, your future events are also out of your control. But this does not stop you from over-analyzing every aspect of it and soon you start to worry about the stuff that hasn’t even happened yet and might not even happen. Live in the present. Stop worrying about the things that have happened and the things that are going to. All of it is out of your control. Every time you start to over-think, just take a deep breath and ask yourself “Can I control it?” and if the answer is ‘no’, just let it go.
3. DISTRACT YOURSELF: Distraction can prove to be helpful when your mind is running amok. Perform an activity that you can control. For example cook something, go for a walk or do a workout, just keep yourself busy until your mind has made peace with the situation and is in your control.
4. MEDITATION: Meditation is a proven method to help you calm down. Start with meditating for 10 minutes daily. This might not sound tough but calming your mind for 10 whole minutes is not easy for an over-thinker. All you need to do is find a quiet place, light an incense stick, close your eyes and just take deep breaths. Calm your mind and get a hole of it. As an added advantage, meditating will put you into a good mood too. Keep increasing your time a little bit and you will be very happy with the results.
5. BE GRATEFUL: Most people over-think about their failures. They constantly emphasize on the fact that if they had done things differently, they would not have failed. What they don’t think about is how far they have come and how most people don’t get to be that lucky. Being grateful not only keeps you grounded but also keeps your mind at ease because you know that things are happening for a reason.
6. TALK IT OUT: Never underestimate the power of a good talk. Any time your brain plays tricks on you just talk it out with someone who you admire. Talking to someone will take a huge load off your shoulders. The other person might have a different perspective about the dilemma you are facing and they can help you with it.

Somewhere in the subconscious part of our mind there is a voice that warns us when we are about to over-think. But if you have no control over your mind, you will ignore that voice and let the mind run off to drawing its own conclusions. Over-think is a undoubtedly a part of human experience but if that part is not controlled it could adversely affect your mental well being. So, try the above techniques and stop over-analyzing every aspect of everything that happens with you. Don’t let it be the reason for your unhappiness.