“To think too much is a disease”, said famous writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I couldn’t agree more. Overthinking is a modern plague for a sizeable part of the population, especially those who are mentally and spiritually active.

The thing is that overthinking the past or future consumes a significant part of your precious resources (time, energy, focus, and attention). Instead of focusing on action and how you can realise your potential, you focus on the past or the future.

If you regularly catch yourself ruminating and analysing your thoughts excessively, you are an Overthinking Champion. I like to call it that way to infuse a bit of sarcasm into the situation. In reality, you are no champion. Instead, you clear the path for others to become “champions”. 

Let me be clear on this (as a former overthinker): it’s NEVER black or white. There are infinite hues of grey in between. Black-and-white thinking destroys your healthy view of the world. You further condition your thinking to polarise; anything is good or bad, nothing in between. That’s monothematic and monotonous. Life is more than that, in all its richness of events and opportunities.

It’s not a catastrophe, either - unless you engage in personally or socially destructive behaviours. Catastrophizing destroys your healthy motivation and desire to change and break free from autopilot mode. As Mark Twain once said (or was attributed to saying), “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happen”. 

Overthinking is a game of illusions - and the Amygdala Hijack

Life and human behaviours are often guided by illusions, false beliefs about how things work and how unwanted situations can be reversed or avoided altogether. 

Illusions may work for magicians in their shows but never work in real life. Overthinking is no exception. 

People overthink because of two illusions, both of which revolve around uncertainty.

The illusion of control makes people feel compelled to overanalyse every detail and possible scenario to exert control over the situation and life in general. That’s no big news, but guess what? You can’t control everything in your life and this world. In fact, you can only control your mind (not even your body, as the ancient philosophers preached). You can’t control things outside your sphere of influence (let alone control).

The illusion of certainty urges people to analyse everything to the degree that they can extract certainty. I understand that certainty is perhaps the most desired condition in life, but it is as scarce as it is desired. No matter how much you analyse your decisions or future events, certainty will remain a scarce commodity.

The sooner you let go of those illusions, the better. There can be no magic wand to make our lives predictable. We can only assume we reduce a fraction of uncertainty with our behaviour and action.

Then what triggers those illusions? Illusions are not rational. They are emotional, an urge from within to improve our lives. It’s because your brain’s decision-center gets hacked. It’s what they call the Amygdala Hijack. It’s fascinating how biology can explain 99% of how people’s bodies and minds function (therefore, why people think and behave the way they do).

Amygdala Hijack is triggered when a stimulus activates a response that is immediate, overwhelming and often disproportionate. The information is processed directly to the amygdala (the emotional response centre in your brain) and not the frontal lobes (your rational thinking and decision-making centre).

We can’t blame the mechanism itself as it serves as a survival mechanism when there’s a need for an immediate decision in often life-threatening situations. However, we humans condition our brains to bypass that more often.

Stressful events or emotions, like fear, pressure or past trauma, make us more sensitive to stimuli, triggering the Amygdala Hijack more often.

The more often that rapid response is triggered, the more we fall into overthinking and the illusions of certainty and control. It's as simple as that.

Why do you overthink? 3 signs to watch out for and the root causes

As with any mental distortion, you don’t realise you overthink when you do it.

You have probably conditioned your brain accordingly, making those thinking patterns seem normal.

Watch out for these 3 signs: rumination, overanalysing, and future tripping.

This is what you essentially do:

• Continuously reflecting on the past: events, mistakes or failures (or what you perceive as mistakes and failures)

• Excessively deliberating on those situations to the point where it becomes obsessive

• Constantly worrying about the future: scenarios, errors or failures (or what you project as mistakes and failures)

All in all,  you focus on anything other than the present and action. You spend your finite resources in the past and the future.

You go in circles (from the past to the future) and fall into self-destructing loops of regret, disappointment or worry.

The consequences (although you may feel reluctant to acknowledge them) are dire.

You find it hard to concentrate on what you must do in the present moment (any present moment during the day), and your life and work tasks are constantly disrupted by intrusive thoughts (If onlys… and What ifs).

You become fixated on the worst-case scenarios (most rarely happen in reality) and second-guess every decision you make or have to make.

That’s exhausting, isn’t it? Yet, most people get caught up in overthinking loops.

Essentially, you prep your mind to identify anything that happens or can happen as stressors or negative stimuli that trigger anxiety.

If you are anxious, you most likely overthink more than others.

Although past trauma or unpleasant past experiences (often from childhood) can trigger overthinking, its root cause is perfectionism and a desire to control everything.

But here’s the thing. Perfection is a utopia; it does not exist. Control over things outside your sphere of influence (let alone control) is also unattainable.

When you realise that your output is not perfect (as your mind tells you it should be), a red alarm is triggered. The same happens when you try to control everything in vain.

That alarm causes what they call an “Amygdala Hijack”, a term coined by psychologist Daniel Goleman. Any information you receive is not sent to the rational centre of your brain (as usual) but to the emotional centre, triggering immediate, overwhelming and often disproportionate responses.

It all starts with a “broken” mindset. That makes you ruminate and overanalyse the past or the future. Trying to fix the past, reach perfection, or control the future, you realise you can’t do it. That triggers negative emotional responses, which in turn spark anxiety. 

Anxiety fuels this destructive thinking system and leaves you trapped in loops.

Overthinking & solopreneurs

Solopreneurs or one-person business owners wear many hats (sometimes too many) and have many responsibilities. They often struggle to find the right balance between them, which puts a lot of pressure on their shoulders.

Pressure over making the right decisions can be overwhelming and leads to overthinking one’s options.

Decision fatigue, combined with the constant uncertainty of solopreneurship, causes people to overanalyse everything, from the most crucial decision to the minor detail in a project, leading to paralysis.

Want more? Working alone (most of the time) can lead to isolation. Solopreneurs often don’t have someone to relieve their worries (meaning someone in their business, not a spouse or friend - who, by the way, can also help to a degree).

That’s the “dark” side of solopreneurship. Don’t get me wrong. There’s a “bright” side to it, and it’s immensely rewarding. Plus, there are always solutions to the problems one faces.

Overthinking is one of those problems that can be solved.

Overthinking & introverts

Many solopreneurs are more toward the introverted side of the spectrum. That’s no scientific conclusion, nor do I have any research to back it up.

However, it’s my intuition. As an introvert who chose to go solo and build a one-person business, I can verify that being an introvert and wanting to work independently leads to solopreneurship.

Now, we introverts have a different brain biology. Even when we sleep, we have more brain activity than extroverts. That means more information processing, which can cause overthinking.

Moreover, we are more introspective (that’s a good thing; I wish many extroverts were so) and like to reflect deeply on our thoughts and feelings. So, we often overanalyse ourselves and the world around us.

As a result, many introverts struggle to cope with decision paralysis, emotional exhaustion (paired with physical exhaustion) and social anxiety.

Let me highlight this again: it’s all about biology, so don’t blame yourself for anything. It’s just like having a more prominent nose, or you are taller or shorter. All is good; that’s who you are.

You simply have a greater tendency to overthink. Embrace and debunk that.

As famous writer Eckhart Tolle said, “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.”

There are ways to alleviate the consequences of overthinking and shift your mindset to a state where overthinking has no place.

5 strategies to help you combat overthinking

I will outline the most effective (and tried-and-tested) strategies for handling and overcoming overthinking.

There are 5 umbrella - strategies under which more sub-strategies and tactics fall. Here they are in order of significance, along with a few specific insights for solopreneurs and introverts (and both).

First, let’s address the root cause: sticking to the past or fixating on the future.

#1 Ground yourself.

To distract yourself (positively) from the past or future, you need to focus on the present moment. This requires mindfulness and staying in the moment.

When intrusive thoughts about past failures and mistakes or dire future scenarios threaten to take over, ground yourself in the present moment. Breathe deeply, go for a walk, and think of something cheerful. That has worked best for me.

You can also journal. Writing down your overthinking on paper takes some mental burden off your shoulders. Reading it afterwards can give you more clarity about reality (vs. your overwhelming thoughts) and what you can do instead of sticking to the past or future.

Mindfulness is a whole area of knowledge and practice, but I urge you to consider diving into it. Many mistake mindfulness for yoga. Yes, yoga CAN be a part of it, but mindfulness is a holistic mindset.

That mindset lets you stay in the moment, become aware of where you stand, set the right goals, and be kind to yourself despite setbacks. Being mindful reduces the power overthinking can exert over you and your life.

Mindfulness is especially helpful for introverted people because focusing on the present moment limits the overstimulation and overthinking that depletes their energy (mental and physical).

As a solopreneur, I often stop, breathe, and refocus on the here and now when problems arise or when I hit a roadblock with a problem. Again, go for a walk, observe nature and your surroundings, and let your brain work on the problems in the background without overwhelming you.

#2 Reframe cognitively.

Overthinking is what the word says: thoughts. Too many thoughts. Intrusive and overwhelming thoughts. Thinking is part of your cognitive system. To control the excessive thoughts, you need to do a cognitive reframe. 

Identify the negative thoughts (about the past or future) and challenge them. Ask yourself these questions: “Are those thoughts valid and true?” “Are they rational? Do they objectively make sense?” “Do they help me with anything practically?” “How likely is the worst-case scenario?”.  

The goal is to dissect those thoughts with a rational lens to see what’s inside and find a more balanced approach. Just remember: be kind to yourself when doing that. Don’t judge or beat yourself up.

Also, as a more long-term approach, set a specific worry time each day. Select a nonproductive time of the day (like 30 minutes) and label it “Worry Hour.” Similarly to a Happy Hour with cheaper drinks, the Worry Hour can act as your overthinking window. Just those 30 minutes are enough to prevent overthinking from dominating your day.

Cognitive reframing can work wonders for stressed solopreneurs. We wear many hats, and negative thoughts constantly pop up as we navigate our businesses. Checking your thoughts helps you identify the most urgent and vital problems you need to focus on in your work.

As an introvert, I can also verify that a Worry Hour helps preserve our precious energy in our mental batteries. It’s like a mobile phone’s battery that runs out the more you use it.

#3 Generate positive distractions.

Overthinking and all the negative and/or intrusive thoughts swirling around in your head are distractions from what really matters and what you should focus on. Balance them with positive distractions.

One way to stay positive is to engage in joyful activities, such as hobbies or activities you enjoy. I know firsthand that if you overthink, you feel too tired to do all the wonderful things in life. Reframe your daily life, even by pushing yourself to do something you enjoy.

When I slipped into overthinking, I forced myself to go for a walk, even though I was in no mood or energy for it. I sincerely knew, though, that it would be beneficial. The same goes for learning the piano. I forced myself to attend the lesson even though I struggled to find the mood and energy to go. Those activities always served as positive distractions.

Another way I also use a lot is to visualise positive outcomes. Instead of dreading future outcomes and focusing on the worst scenarios (most of which rarely happen), positively visualise the good scenarios.

Let me highlight this: I don’t recommend going all in for the best scenario as it often causes negative emotions in the end (perhaps you know it can’t happen in all probability). Opt for a good scenario, the positive one that you find likely to occur. Don’t go from extreme to extreme, from overthinking, fear and paralysis to overexcitement and false illusions. Take a balanced approach.

Focus on what can go right and not on what can go wrong.

As a solopreneur, I initially found it challenging to spend time on hobbies or activities outside of work. The “hustle culture” conditioned me to invest all my resources in work, which became counterproductive and led to frustration, breakdowns, and burnout. It’s better without them.

#4 Eliminate perfectionism.

One of the main reasons for excessive worry about what has happened or may happen is perfectionism, the desire to achieve perfection in everything. There is no best decision or action. Decisions and actions are just based on the information available at any given time and the actions that need to be taken (versus inaction).

My mantra (as a former perfectionist) is: Good enough is 99% enough. I also applied the 80-20 rule, reminding myself that 80% of success (or a positive outcome) comes from 20% of the effort or parts of the project.

Reframe your thinking and behaviour from depleting your resources on incremental improvements to effectively using your finite resources (time, energy, focus, attention) on what matters most.

You may ask now, “But you preach about depth!”. Sure. Depth is the foundation of significant progress over time. However, depth is about diving into the things that matter, not minor details that serve your perfectionism only. Depth is about impact. Perfection is a utopia. Excellence is an achievable reality (=good enough).

Focus on progress and not perfection that fuels overthinking. Remember that small wins and daily incremental improvements lead to significant progress over time (usually in a short time).

From the solopreneurship point of view, perfectionism is very common. We work independently, without a support team, so we must do everything ourselves. Sometimes, we feel the urge to do it perfectly (depleting our resources). Other times, we procrastinate, focusing on unnecessary details of one aspect of our business because we want to avoid the discomfort of engaging with another element that might be harder or more important.

As an introvert, perfectionism often takes over through words and actions. “I shouldn’t have said that. How stupid!”, “I acted not appropriately!”, “Let me prepare what I will say if asked about [you name it]!”. All that usually makes no sense. No one is perfect in terms of words or actions. We are all imperfect humans. Embrace that and act naturally without perfectionism and overthinking.

#5 Seek support.

I am no expert or therapist, but I always recommend visiting one in case your overthinking creates such a mental and psychological burden that makes your life and work unbearable.

Seeking help and support is no sign of weakness. It’s courage and commitment to improving your life.

The first step is to talk to someone who understands you and whom you can trust. Sometimes, a third party's objective opinion or viewpoint can help you relieve the stress, anxiety, and burden that overthinking triggers.

If that’s not enough, opt for professional help.

Is overthinking that bad? Yes. But also no.

By now, you should know that overthinking is bad. Period.

However, let me elaborate a bit on another viewpoint. Let me put it this way: a little bit of overthinking is not necessarily bad, BUT it comes with a condition that always needs to be met.

The condition is what the ancient Greeks called “metron”, moderation. To give you an estimate of what moderation means, let me do it with a scale of 1 to 100. Moderation is not 50; it’s 20 or less. Any more overthinking than that, the overall outcome becomes negative or catastrophic.

On the positive side, a little bit of overthinking can help you pay attention to details, thus improving the quality of your thoughts, actions, or work. It may even help you solve more complex problems that most can’t solve with surface-level thinking and approach.

Thoroughly analysing the pros and cons can lead to better decision-making.

Analysing potential scenarios increases your preparedness. Just keep it realistic (the worst-case scenarios are not the ones you should consider the most).

The key is moderation. There’s a fine line between overthinking and catastrophising. Go that extra mile with thinking (that’s also consistent with depth), but keep it productive.

What’s next?

Make friends with your thoughts, and don’t beat yourself up for them, no matter how much they suck or deplete your energy. Overthinking is very common. There’s nothing wrong with you.

You simply need to reframe your brain and shift to mindful and more productive thinking patterns that, combined with depth, can help you break free from autopilot mode.

You can live life on your own terms. You deserve to work and live with purpose, meaning, and enjoyment. Work on overthinking intentionally to ensure that it does not stop you from realising your potential as a solopreneur or introvert.

If you need support navigating the transition and journey, let me help. DM me on LinkedIn, and let’s explore how Mindset Coaching can help you move forward and claim what you desire and deserve.