10 things overthinkers always do (but never talk about)

Overthinking things can put a real damper on life, especially if overthinking stops you from moving projects forward or getting on with your life in a meaningful way.

Overthinking has its good qualities and its bad qualities.

Here are 10 things you have no idea you are doing because you can’t stop overthinking things.

1) You Apologize Too Much

Before you even have time to consider whether something is your fault, you are already apologizing for it and leaving yourself exposed to more trouble.

Sure, it’s nice to take the blame for things to take the heat off of someone else, but not if you are doing it because you worry about what others will think.

Overthinkers are always trying to smooth over the rough patches, and it can cause you more grief than it’s worth.

2) You Seem More Insecure Than You Really Are

Because you are always overthinking things, even if a good way, it can make you appear as though you are unsure of your own decisions.

This is especially true in work situations where you are taking too long to make a decision about a client, account or project.

Sure, you end up with the right decision in the end, but all that thinking makes others worry about your confidence levels.

3) You Are Really Good at Critical Thinking

One thing that comes out of overthinking that is a positive result is that you are likely really good at critical thinking.

Because you analyze the crap out of everything from milk to money, you end up with good results in the end.

You can see the forest for the trees, but only after you have examined every single tree in the forest, which is time-consuming and difficult, but it gets the job done for you.

As the “urban monk” Jay Shetty says in the video below, you’re very good at focusing your mind.

4) You Don’t Sleep Well

Your brain is spit-firing at 1000% all the time, and that means that restful sleep in not in your vocabulary. You try to sleep, but the world keeps turning and so must your brain.

5) You Worry About Making Others Happy

Instead of focusing on what makes you happy, the overthinking you do causes your brain to focus on how the external world will interpret your actions, thoughts, feelings, words, and decisions.

That doesn’t actually leave you much time to accomplish anything if you are always worrying about how to make decisions that please others before yourself.

6) You Are the Life of the Party if You Can Relax Enough

Despite being a chronic overthinker, you do know how to let loose and have a good time.

Unfortunately, it usually requires some alcoholic beverage to get your brain to turn off long enough to enjoy yourself.

You might find that you make poor decisions while intoxicated because your brain is enjoying the break a little too much.

7) You Think Every Headache is a Brain Tumor

Overthinkers are often thought to be hypochondriacs by their peers and family members because even the smallest headache or pain in the head leads an overthinker to believe they have a brain tumor and rush to the clinic as fast as possible.

It’s hard to live your life when you always fear for it.

8) You Ask for a Second Opinion Too Often

You’ll spend way too long shopping because you need to take pictures of everything you try on and send it to your friends for approval.

You think that you need their opinion on what you wear, but you don’t. Trust your own sense of style once in awhile, and you might be surprised by what you come up with on your own.

9) You Wait for the Phone to Ring

Because you overthink everything, even a date can be torturous.

Worrying about a comment, joke, question, and even the goodbye kiss can send an overthinker right over the edge when you spend too much time thinking about what it all means.

10) You Look for Reasons to Stop Overthinking

You know that you are an overthinker, and you’ve tried many times to overcome your overthinking ways, but you just can’t seem to kick the habit.

The good news is that you don’t need to get rid of the act of overthinking altogether; instead, try focusing on the positive things.

Overthink the good things in your life instead of the “what ifs” and “how comes” and you might find that life gets a whole lot better.

Are you interested in learning how to turn overthinking into your greatest strength? It is possible! Ideapod founder Justin Brown learned how to do this. Find out more here: How to turn overthinking into your greatest strength (free video).