Here comes the second last newsletter of the year.
I’m keeping this short, so you can quickly get this out of the way and enjoy some quality time with your loved ones. 😉
Today in 3 minutes or less, you’ll learn:
✔️ You’re in control
✔️ Quick goal-setting for 2025
✔️ The actual cost of overthinking (and a quick way to overcome it)
Doable ideas 💭
You have more control than you think.
Say “no” often.
Challenge the rules.
Apply first principle thinking.
P.S. The idea came from a gradual realisation of my people-pleasing and emotional eating behaviours. Deep dive later.
Reflections 🪞
If you could write a letter to yourself one year from now, what would you want to celebrate achieving? What small steps can you take today towards those achievements?
Mindfulness 🧘🏻♀️
This week I started doing annual review.
I’ve deconstructed success and distilled lessons learnt.
Goal-setting coming up next.
I let go of many things this year.
Unfortunately old habits die hard – one of them being overthinking.
Let’s be real – overthinking is like having a browser with 53 tabs open in your mind.
It’s exhausting, unproductive and stressful. When you’re caught in this mental loop, you’re not just wasting time – you’re burning precious mental energy that could be used for actual problem-solving or, you know, enjoying life.
There were nights I imagined certain scenarios over and over.
There were times when I was stuck in analysis paralysis.
My overanalysing behaviour also impacted the quality of my last romantic relationship.
“Excessive” worrying can mean differently for everyone.
if it starts to impact your quality of life, it starts to be a problem.
It is a form of self harm.
The fix? This is what worked for me in 2024:
The “zoom-out” method.
Will this matter in 5 minutes? 5 months? 5 years?
Or imagine you’re an alien looking into Earth – you’re just an insignificant living creature in this house, on this street, in this suburb, state, country, and planet.
Your worries don’t matter much.
You can loosen your grip.
Zooming out provides new perspectives. Which is all we need to get out of our head and get in touch with reality.
Hope this helps if you’re also suffering from overthinking.
It’s common, but it doesn’t have to be the way it is.
Ideas Worth Pondering 🧠
Without altering the facts of the situation I am facing and without ignoring the reality of what must be done, what is the most useful and empowering story I can tell myself about what is happening and what I need to do next?
– James Clear