At last the sunshine has come out in the UK, and, for those of you living here, I hope you’ve been able to make the most of it. This is the view just down from my mother’s home in Berkshire where I had a lovely walk recently!
How well we work
In my last nudge, I shared how much nicer it can feel to navigate life by insights than the usual overthinking or problem solving that can quickly put us up in our heads and further away from solutions. Searching our memory bank for answers has its place, but when it starts to feel stressful or pressurised that’s the signal to, as best you can, leave your thinking alone.
I often say in my work if the answer was to be found in the database of what we already know, then we’d know what to do or say, or already be doing it. So, when the answer isn’t coming easily doubling down on more thinking with the resulting ratcheting up of stress levels can be extremely counter productive!
Yes, but how do I stop overthinking?
That’s so often what comes up in conversations I have, and as a recovering overthinker I get it!
I now know, and I mean experientially really know, that less is more when it comes to thinking, and how well we work from a clearer, calmer headspace. When we have less on our minds, fresh Thought and answers do invariably, naturally come, and with a different feeling of clarity and knowing that feels instinctively right.
Just noticing how that is already working in your own life can be so helpful. Checking in on your current state of mind, and how you’re feeling in the moment. I’m sure you know the difference between feeling up tight and in a lower mood or state of mind, and that calmer, more expansive feeling that feels more settled and peaceful.
Seeing that the latter is always more accessible and available from a quieter mind, and how that impacts the quality of your thinking, can be all that’s needed to slow thought down and for answers to come.
Internal guide
I also now know that feelings exist to guide me in a better direction…that they are not telling me anything useful about my situation or circumstances, but rather the quality of my thinking moment to moment. So, as such, uncomfortable feelings no longer worry or concern me like they used to. On the contrary, I trust that they are letting me know when I’m getting too caught up in unhelpful thoughts, and to quieten down.
I share more in other blog posts here, including, in this week of Mental Health, a video I recorded offering a fresh look on our mental wellbeing a few years back when we were coming out of the pandemic. Listening to it again today, the message of the value of a quieter state of mind resonates even more…but please don’t take my word for it, see what fresh insights it sparks for you.
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
All the very best for now
Tamsin
If you want to ‘live more in your life and less in your thoughts’ then I share more in my Living in the Flow series of insights. Just click on the link and you’ll receive a short nudge over the next 7 days. See it as a quiet moment of reflection to start off your day, and help minimise any overthinking.