I found myself stuck in a daily loop of having to make a decision and sitting in complete silence for far too long while trying to make it.
From the little things like figuring out what to defrost for dinner to the big things like debating whether or not to tackle a certain topic in a future article, I find myself overthinking and freezing when thinking of multiple options for a scenario. We know that most of you empathize with this problem and are always looking for ways to ease the tension that comes with it.
I thought ChatGPT would help me figure out the best way to avoid overthinking every little decision that comes my way every day. My trusty chatbot not only provided me with an overview of the concept of overthinking, but also gave me a different direction to go in order to avoid overthinking too often.
Find the best way to overcome overthinking
When we asked ChatGPT to suggest the best way to stop obsessing over every decision you have to make, he first explained what overthinking really means.
Overthinking usually comes from trying to eliminate uncertainty before acting. The problem is that in everyday life, we rarely have perfect information, and our brains stay in “analysis mode.” A good approach is to reduce the cost of decisions rather than trying to make every decision perfect.
After understanding that thoughtful explanation, I turned to ChatGPT’s list of 10 useful methods aimed at eliminating overthinking once and for all. Out of these 10, I incorporated 6 of them into my daily decision-making routine.
- Use the “good enough” rule: A lot of stress is caused by optimizing decisions that have little importance in the long run. Ask yourself questions like, “Is this important to me in a week?” “Would I advise a friend to spend this much energy?” or “Is this a 70% decision or a 100% decision?” For many choices, “pretty good” is more valuable than “perfect but lagging.”
- set a time limit on decisions: Overthinking expands to fill endless time. Try allocating 2 minutes for small decisions, 10 minutes for medium decisions, and up to 24 hours for large, unimportant decisions. If you’ve exceeded your limits and are still unsure, choose the option that provides the most flexibility and learning benefits.
- Separate “thinking” and “acting”: People who think too much often treat thinking as progress. The best framework you can adopt in this case is to define the problem, choose one action to take next, and then act before gathering more information. Actions generate feedback faster than rumination.
- Deliberately practice small discomforts: Overthinking often leads to avoiding uncertainty and regret. Small exercises that can help retrain this include ordering new things right away at a restaurant, sending texts without rereading them 15 times, making purchases after reasonable research rather than exhaustive research, and leaving small imperfections aside. Confidence comes from repeatedly overcoming imperfect choices.
- Utilize the perspective of your “future self”: Ask yourself, “What would the calmest, most grounded version of me do here?” The answer is usually simpler and more direct than the spirals your brain creates.
- accept that certainty is impossible: Three of the biggest mindset shifts are that most good decisions can be undone, most bad decisions can be survived, and confidence often comes after the action rather than before. Trying to guarantee perfect results is what keeps people stuck.
final thoughts
I have to pass it to ChatGPT. The suggestions made by ChatGPT have actually done a great job of helping me abandon my bad habit of ruminating at length about every decision I have to make.
Putting time limits on decisions based on their importance, asking your future self questions that put everything into perspective, and adopting the mindset shift mentioned above will put you in a better place mentally. Practicing these methods alleviated all the stress associated with constantly considering options for long periods of time and gave me the push I needed to make a final decision in a reasonable amount of time.
When I don’t have to think too much about what’s the best text to send on a future date, which place to recommend for a future friend gathering, or which task on my work to-do list should be tackled first, it feels great to not have the weight of those decisions on my shoulders.
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