This is how I stop myself from overthinking:

If I can’t point to it, if there’s nothing I can actually do about it right here and right now, then I know the thought is bullshit.

It might sound very legitimate.

It might come with that sense of urgency, like I have to do something about it, but if there’s really nothing I can do about it right now other than keep thinking, then it’s not real.

The trick is to give yourself a problem to solve. Don’t fight the thought, but also don’t engage with it. Don’t take it seriously, just catch it, like: “Oh, I’m ruminating.”

Sometimes I give myself a slap and say, "Stop it, just stop it." If I’ve gone down a big resentment track, explaining to myself why my wife is unjust in whatever decisions she’s made, I’ll just go: “Stop. Stop. Go write an article. Go for a walk. Do some push-ups. Prepare your lunch. Find a problem you can solve.”

That doesn’t completely solve the problem of rumination, though.

Even rumination itself is a meta concept. If you take it too seriously, you’re just enabling it.

If I start thinking, "I’ve really got to work on my rumination," now I’m ruminating about ruminating. That’s not a step forward, it’s a step backward.

You catch yourself and say, "Oh, here I am ruminating about ruminating again. I’m short-circuiting." Then you find something to do.

The solution to overthinking is action. Any action.

To dive deeper into this topic, check out the original video here:

https://youtu.be/xnzAzYMaEPs

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