Overthinking, And How It Can Be Detrimental To Our Lives.

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One of the most infamous sayings that many of us have heard throughout our lives is that too much of anything can be bad for you. I'm sure that at some point or another that we've all had moments where we've had to ponder on that saying. We really had to sit down think to ourselves if there could be anything in this world that we could overdo without it being harmful to us. One of the things that I changed my tune towards some years back was the idea of drinking too much water. I mean we're told that we should drink as much water as we can because it is healthy for us right? So I thought to myself that too much water can't really be bad for us, that is until I read a story of a person that consumed so much water that they died from it. That's pretty scary if you ask me, but the point is that I've yet to find a direct challenge to the idea of how too much of anything can be bad for us. Now every single one of us engage in the idea of "thought" through various points throughout the day. What exactly is thought? Thought is defined as "the action or process of thinking". Since nearly every action and decision that we make requires thought in order to come to a decision, the idea of thinking is something that is both normal and healthy for us. The idea and action of thinking is part of life, but as with the saying that I brought up in regards to the idea of too much of anything can be bad for us, thinking too much aligns with this idea also. Overthinking is something that we all engage in, some of us more than others. However, regardless of how little or much we overthink, too much of it can be detrimental to our lives.

Yo! What is going on once again people? This is your boy Brad H. back on the mic, and I'd like to welcome you all once again to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I am back to bring you all another topic that I think would help us to move forward in our lives. How has everything been going for you all? Good I hope! Well I thought I would be giving an NBA talk a rest since the finals concluded, but I gotta bring up the big trade that happened between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. So the Rockets sent Chris Paul and some draft picks to the Thunder for Russell Westbrook. Wow! I think most of us figured Westbrook would be leaving OKC since they are clearly reloading their roster, but I didn't expect to see him dealt to the Rockets. It's going to be very interesting to see how two high usage players like James Harden and Westbrook play together. I know they played together previously when Harden was in OKC, but that was a different situation. Neither player were the players that they are now, so the dynamics are different. As for Chris Paul, I can't really say that I feel all that bad for him in this situation. He clearly prioritized getting paid over winning when he signed that max contract with the Rockets last season. Maybe he knows he is on his way out of the league in a couple of years and wanted to get paid, but he probably has very little chance of winning a title now. We'll have to see if he ends up playing the entire season with OKC, but with their roster going younger, I don't see it happening. Like I told one of my buddies the other day, seems like the off season of the NBA is more interesting than the regular season. Well that's enough talk for my soapbox, so lets talk more about this week's theme of overthinking and how it can be detrimental to our lives.

Before I tackle this week's topic of overthinking, I want to emphasize that the detriments it can create in our lives isn't singled to only one thing. I'm going to provide a couple of examples of how I personally feel that overthinking hurts us, however, these examples are only a small portion of how overthinking can be a detriment in our lives. I just wanted to get that out there before going into the points that I'm trying to make. Now when it comes to the idea of a person being in thought or the act of thinking, I can see how it may be hard to grasp how being in too much thought can be a bad thing. After all, the action of thinking is how nearly everything in this world that we live in operates and functions. For there to be roads, computers, and any other thing that operates in this world, someone had to have an idea to create those things. This means that there was thinking involved that went into those ideas coming to fruition. The process of thinking isn't a bad thing, so I'm not implying that thinking is bad. As I have stated already, it is the overthinking that can create the problems. Now in saying that overthinking can create problems, I'm not even necessarily saying that overthinking is that bad of a habit if it is practiced within proper context of what it's aiming to accomplish. I know that may sound a bit counter-intuitive, and a direct contradiction to this week's topic, but the overthinking, though not entirely bad is what gives birth to the potential problems that we create.

Now that we've talked over the act of overthinking, it is time for me to provide a few examples of why overthinking can be hurtful us. One of the statements that I've heard my mom say a lot throughout my life is how we as people "get in their own way". She'll be like; "You keep getting in your own way", or she'll say something along the line of; "so and so are getting in their own way." Now I'm just speculating what I believe she means by saying that, but when I hear a statement like "getting in your own way", I instantly think how we as people often times block our own door towards the path that we need to take. I think of this quote when it comes to the act of overthinking, so I guess I have to thank her for that statement, though I'm sure she isn't the only person that uses it. Some of us right now have something that we want to do or accomplish, yet we haven't made an progress towards it because we're thinking too much instead of just acting. This hurts us from reaching our full potential, and can even keep us away from opportunities that await us. There are some of us right now that have something that we want to say to someone that care for, but because we're wondering what their reaction to what we want to tell them will be, or how we will look while saying it, we'd rather just not say anything and keep it inside. For those of us that have engaged in these type of habits, we're well aware of how bothersome it can be when you keep things bottled up inside of you. Quite frankly, keeping things inside for too long can affect both our physical and mental well-being.

Now that we've established a general definition of what overthinking is and touched on a couple of examples of what I believe are instances where we tend to overthink, the question to this week's topic is why exactly can overthinking be a detriment to us? Well from my own perspective and besides the examples that I talked about previously, overthinking in my opinion causes us to be too much in our heads rather than just living in and enjoying the moment. When we're overthinking and dwelling on the "what ifs", it drains us from being able to be present and in the moment. We don't want to live our lives thinking way too much because when you're overthinking things in this life, you are playing out scenarios that likely will not even play out in the manner in which you're thinking about. Furthermore, it is also possible that these scenarios won't even come to fruition, which means you ultimately spent time and energy towards something that wasn't worth it in the end. Also, I could be wrong saying this since I'm not a medical expert, but I believe overthinking plays a big role in why so many people struggle with some form of anxiety. So in summation, thinking isn't a bad thing, but we want to find a healthy balance of doing so. Life is for the living, and thinking too much doesn't allow us to live. Rather that being thinkers, we should strive to be doers. Overthinking and being too much in our heads will cause life to pass us by, and if that's not what we should want since we only get one shot at life.

Well we have reached the end once again, so I'm going to sign off for now. Thank you all once again for those of installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I hope this topic was able to touch someone out there, and I hope there was some understanding that could be taken away from it. Please feel free to leave any feedback below, or you can connect with me via Twitter at the handle @BradrickH. Also, everyone stay cool out there. I know there is a major heatwave going on in the country right now. I was mowing the grass the other day, and I had to take more water breaks than normal because it was so brutal outside. Be safe and be smart my friends. Alright guys, I'll see you all in the next one. Thank you all, and peace out!

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