Overthinking Is Holding You Back, But Try Not To Think About It

Stuck in your head? Overthinking is keeping you from success. Let's talk about how to break the cycle and finally move forward.

If you've been thinking about your next move for six months, that’s not preparation - that’s a full-blown mental hostage situation.

Overthinking feels productive. It tricks you into thinking you’re being smart, responsible, strategic. You’re just “making sure.” You’re “weighing your options.” Being “careful.”

But if you zoom out just a little, it becomes obvious: you’re stuck.

Overthinking is just procrastination wearing glasses. It’s fear dressed up like logic. It keeps you circling the same decision for weeks, replaying conversations that already happened, and mentally rehearsing disaster scenarios like it’s your side hustle.

You tell yourself you need more clarity before you act, but the truth is, clarity doesn’t come from thinking harder. It comes from doing.

Here’s what most overthinkers don’t realize: You’re not solving problems. You’re avoiding action. You’re exhausting your brain while your goals collect dust.

You don’t need another pros-and-cons list or another week to figure it out. You need a decision. A first step. And the courage to make peace with the unknown.

This post will help you understand what overthinking really is, why it’s secretly wrecking your momentum, and how to break the cycle before your brain melts from indecision.

Because your future doesn’t need more thought loops. It needs movement. Let’s get to it.

What Overthinking Really Is

Overthinking isn’t deep thinking. It’s stuck thinking. It’s not about insight or strategy, like a mental merry-go-round that never lets you off.

You replay conversations, rehearse worst-case scenarios, and second-guess every decision before you’ve even made it. Then, to keep things spicy, you overanalyze why you’re overanalyzing.

You’re not planning. You’re spiraling.

What Overthinking Actually Looks Like

Overthinking shows up in a lot of sneaky ways.

You reread that email three times before hitting send. You write a to-do list, then spend two hours deciding which task to start. You'll replay something you said last week, convinced you sounded awkward. You delay launching your project because you’re “still fine-tuning.”

Sound familiar? That’s not thoughtful caution. That’s mental gridlock.

Overthinking isn’t helpful thinking. It’s a loop you get stuck in when you don’t trust yourself to choose, act, or let go.

Why We Overthink

At its core, overthinking is about fear. Fear of:

Failure

Making the wrong decision

Being judged

Not being perfect

So instead of taking a risk, you stay in your head. You try to “solve” your fear with logic. But fear doesn’t respond to logic. It responds to movement.

I used to think I was just a detail-oriented planner. In reality, I was terrified of getting it wrong. So I’d spend hours mapping things out, weighing options, building perfect plans - then doing nothing.

And honestly? That did way more damage than any “wrong” decision could have.

Why Overthinking Is a Problem

Overthinking isn’t harmless. It wastes time, drains energy, and destroys confidence.

You get decision-fatigue before you’ve even made a move. It keeps you busy but not productive. You feel exhausted by your thoughts, but you have nothing to show for it.

Worst of all? It delays your life. You wait to feel 100% sure or for the perfect moment. Putting off action until you’ve analyzed every angle.

And while you’re waiting, someone else - with half the doubt but twice the courage - is out there taking action.

Overthinking keeps you in your head when what you really need is to get back in your life. The only way to break the cycle is to stop letting every decision feel like a life-or-death moment.

Most of the time, it’s not. It’s just fear in a clever disguise. And you don’t need to defeat it. You just need to move anyway.

Why Overthinking Isn’t Helping You (Even If It Feels Smart)

Overthinking is sneaky because it feels responsible. You tell yourself you're being thoughtful, thorough, strategic. You're just "doing your due diligence," right?

Wrong. You’re stalling.

It might feel smart to overanalyze every possible outcome before taking action. But that’s not strategy. That’s fear pretending to be logic.

You’re Not Being Cautious. You’re Avoiding Discomfort.

Let’s be honest. You’re not trying to make a better decision. You’re trying to avoid the uncomfortable part of having made one. Because once you choose, you risk being wrong. You risk being seen. You risk messing it up.

Overthinking keeps you in the safety zone - no risk, no progress, and no movement. And even though it feels like you’re being productive, you’re not.

You’re just delaying what you already know needs to happen.

More Thinking Doesn’t Guarantee Better Decisions

We love to believe that thinking longer means choosing better. But some of the best decisions are made with just 70 to 80 percent certainty. You act, you get feedback, and you adjust.

That’s how clarity is built - through action, not mental gymnastics.

I’ve seen people talk themselves out of great ideas simply because they thought too long. While they were obsessing over step seven, someone else took step one and figured the rest out on the way.

Speed isn’t recklessness. It’s momentum. And momentum is what overthinking kills.

Overthinking Leads to Inaction

While you’re trying to make the "perfect" decision, time keeps passing. Doors close. Energy fades. Confidence disappears.

The opportunity doesn’t wait for you to be ready. And you know what? You’ll never feel ready. You become ready by doing, not by obsessing.

Every time you overthink instead of act, you teach your brain that fear wins. That indecision is safer than risk. And eventually, you don’t even trust yourself to choose anymore.

You’re Not Preparing - You’re Procrastinating

Let’s call it what it is. You’re not being wise or cautious. You’re procrastinating. And your brain has found a very clever way to make it sound respectable.

You don’t need more thinking time. You need a push. Because while your brain is spinning, your life is paused.

And the only way to move forward is to stop trying to outthink uncertainty, and start trusting yourself to handle whatever comes next.

How to Stop Overthinking and Start Taking Action

Overthinking doesn’t go away on its own. You can’t outthink your way out of overthinking. Believe me, I’ve tried. What you can do is retrain your brain to value action over analysis and progress over perfection. It’s not about being reckless. It’s about getting unstuck.

Here’s how to do it.

Set Time Limits for Decisions

If you give yourself unlimited time to decide, guess what? You’ll take all of it. You’ll spin and spiral until your brain feels like mush and still end up unsure. The fix? Decide how long you're allowed to think about something, then stick to it.

Try this: small decisions get five minutes. Medium ones get a few hours. Big ones? No more than a day or two. Set the timer. Make the call. Move on. This forces you to trust yourself and builds decision-making muscle over time.

Use the 80 Percent Rule

Waiting for 100 percent certainty is the fastest way to never move. Most successful people make decisions when they’re about 70 to 80 percent sure. Why? Because they know they’ll adjust along the way.

I used to think I needed to be completely confident before starting anything. But every major breakthrough in my life happened before I felt ready. Once I started acting, confidence followed. Not the other way around.

Take Imperfect Action

Overthinking is often a way to avoid discomfort. So lean into it. Take the step before you’re ready. Post the thing that isn’t perfect. Hit send even if your brain screams wait.

Imperfect action builds momentum. And momentum silences the voice in your head that says, “Let’s keep thinking about this for three more weeks.”

Ground Yourself in the Present

Overthinking lives in the future - in the land of what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. You need to pull yourself back into the moment. Right now is where all your power is.

Breathe. Feel your feet on the ground. Journal what’s true in this exact moment. Ask yourself: what’s one small action I can take today? Not later. Not tomorrow. Now.

Your brain might resist at first. That’s fine. Do it anyway. The more present you are, the less space overthinking has to run wild.

Trust Yourself to Handle Whatever Comes

Most overthinkers are secretly trying to prevent something from going wrong. But here’s the truth - something might go wrong. That doesn’t mean you can’t handle it.

I used to overthink every single move in my business. I thought if I just planned harder, I could avoid mistakes. Here's what happened: I still made mistakes. And I survived every single one of them.

You don’t need to get everything right. You just need to trust that you’ll figure things out as you go. Because you will.

Overthinking isn’t a character trait

It’s a habit. And like any habit, it can be unlearned. You stop it by doing. By choosing. By taking the next step even while your brain begs you to wait.

Because clarity doesn’t come from thinking harder. It comes from moving forward.

Something To Think About

You’ve probably spent more time thinking about your next move than it would’ve taken to just do the thing. I get it. Overthinking feels safe. It feels smart. But really, it’s keeping you stuck in your head while your goals sit there waiting.

So let’s shift the question.

Instead of asking, What if I make the wrong choice? ask yourself, What if I waste another year thinking about it and never even try?

What if clarity doesn’t come before action... but after it? Maybe the thing you’re stuck thinking about right now could be figured out in a week if you just started.

Overthinking steals your time, your confidence, your energy. It convinces you to stay safe instead of getting messy. But progress lives in the mess. Success doesn’t require certainty. It requires courage. Just a little bit. Just enough to take the next step.

You don’t need to feel ready. You don’t need to have it all mapped out. Just decide. And move.

So what’s one thing you’ve been overthinking?

Name it. Decide on it. Do something about it today. Your future isn’t waiting for the perfect plan. It’s waiting for you to choose.

Now go! You’ve got this.

This post was all about overthinking.