7 Deadly Habits That Destroy Your Ability to Think Clearly
If you know what keeps you trapped in overthinking, you can easily come out of it
The roots of overthinking do not lie within a single event or experience.
They are buried deep in your unconscious habits and thought patterns that you actively cultivate without realizing it. What’s worse? These habits can become so deeply ingrained that you don’t even recognize their power over us.
I discovered this subtlety 5 years ago when I started morning journaling and bedtime reflection — writing down every thought, emotion, and feeling.
What I found was that my overthinking habit all stemmed from 7 toxic thought patterns and habits, which can be summed up as follows:
Habit 1: Get Stuck in the What-Ifs
What if I fail?
What if they don’t like me?
What if I’m not good enough?
What-ifs are imaginative monsters in your real mind. They can paralyze you and keep you from taking action. They can instill a fear of “worst-case scenarios.”
My solution? Replace the what-ifs with something else — Something positive:
What if I succeed?
What if they love me?
What if I’m amazing?
Just replace the words and see the difference. The what-ifs can either hold you back or propel you forward.
The choice is yours!
Habit 2: Jumping From Idea To Idea Too Quickly
I’m sure you’re thinking. “Darshak, isn’t having a lot of ideas a good thing? Isn’t that what creativity is all about?”
Well, “There’s a difference between having a lot of ideas and jumping from one idea to the next without taking action.”
When you’re an idea hopper, you don’t give any of them the time and attention they deserve. You constantly second-guess yourself, and you don’t justify the time to fully explore each idea.
This leads to a cycle of overthinking, where you analyze every decision you make and never take action.
Creativity is not about having a million ideas. It’s about taking one idea and making it great. It’s about putting in the time and effort to develop that idea into something amazing.
My mantra is to take no more than 24–48 hours to fully explore each idea and take action. If I can’t make a decision in that time frame, I move on to next. This rule gives me enough time and energy to feed on a particular idea and know if it’s worth the effort or not.
It’s better to take imperfect action than to wait for the perfect opportunity that may never come.
Habit 3: Expecting validation
We all have a deep need for validation and acceptance. What we don’t realize is that when we constantly seek validation, it can lead to ruminations and overthinking.
You start to question your decisions and second-guess yourselves because you are too focused on what other people think. You become obsessed with looking good and trying to please everyone around you. This leads to a cycle of overthinking, which can be difficult to break out of.
What to do:
Focus on creating something that serves others rather than seeking validation from them. What matters most is how you feel about yourself and the impact you have on others.
Focus on creating value, and the validation will follow.
Habit 4: Overanalyzing Everything
You know the drill. You spend hours and hours analyzing a situation, trying to get to the root of it, only for your mind to go in circles.
What was initially a simple question can quickly turn complex and overwhelming.
The best approach is usually acceptance rather than analysis.
What I mean by that is this: instead of diving into an endless spiral of analysis, simply accept the situation as it is and make a conscious decision to move on.
To make the acceptance process simpler, ask yourself, “Will this matter in a week? A month? A year?”
If the answer is no, then let it go.
Habit 5: Zeroing in on What You Don’t Have
It’s a psychological tendency to focus on voids rather than what’s already present. Such a mindset can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and envy, which in turn can cause you to overthink and spiral into a depressive state.
The antidote? Gratitude. When you start to feel overwhelmed, switch your focus to everything you are thankful for instead of what you don’t have.
It’s a simple yet powerful practice that can help you break the cycle of overthinking and pave the way for clarity and inner peace.
Habit 6: Taking Things Too Personally
We all have triggers — situations or people that tend to evoke strong emotions in us. What we often don’t realize is that our reactions can be disproportionate to the situation itself if we take things too personally.
The key is to try and look at the situation objectively, as if you are an outsider. This will help you gain perspective and make better decisions.
When emotions start to get the best of you, take a few deep breaths and practice some mindfulness.
Habit 7: Choosing the wrong remote control
Why do they come late?
Why is their behavior rude?
Why don’t they understand me?
Questioning others’ behavior = wasting time and energy.
When you focus your energy on questions like these, it can quickly lead to more questions and stress.
The truth is people have their own reasons for doing things the way they do.
Just the way you can’t stop thinking about “why people don’t change,” they can’t stop thinking about why you don’t change.
When I catch myself in this pattern, I like to remind myself that it’s not my job to control or change others. What matters is how I react and how I choose to respond.
Closing thoughts
You don’t have to stay trapped. You have the power to break free from these habits and live the life you want.
So, take action today. Start by identifying which toxic habits you need to break and then take the necessary steps to overcome them. It won’t be easy, but nothing worth having ever is.
Remember, it’s your life, your dreams, and your goals. Don’t let overthinking and toxic habits hold you back.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this letter helpful.
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Lots of love and respect,
Darshak Rana
For me its 2 and 3.
I often have shiny object syndrome. Before starting my substack I would flit between different ideas that I'd read online. Maybe a blog this week, an website creation business next week and then maybe a shopify store!
My substack, Never Stop Learning, has enabled me to do both! The weekly boulder chasing me that is the weekly newsletter keeps me focused on getting that weekly post out but I get my creativity from what I put in that post! Win win!
Number 3 is important to me because I know im a people pleaser. That's my weakness.
https://neverstoplearning1.substack.com/