Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present (The Path to Calm Book 1)

by Nick Trenton

Identify and acknowledge the emotion and experience it without judgment or interpretation Look at the thoughts this emotion is causing you to have, as well as the behaviors it encourages. Do you like these thoughts and behaviors, do they bring you closer to your goals, and are they in line with your values? Are they overpowering or working against you? If so, identify the opposite emotion. By trying to cultivate this emotional experience instead, you bring some balance to your state of mind and steer your thoughts and behaviors in a healthier direction. For a fixed period of time (whether it’s five minutes or a day), fully commit to maintaining the opposite emotional state. If you waver, try to remember why you’re doing the technique at all. Remind yourself of the cost of thoughts and behavior driven by strong negative emotions, as well as the better state of mind you want instead. Observe the results. Notice how you feel compared to at the start, and notice how your thoughts and actions change when you deliberately choose to feel differently. Remember these results the next time you experience a similar strong negative emotion.