Overthinking much?


I lived in Florida for 5 years. Palm trees and beaches were my backward day after day. Paradise all year long.

But when I landed in Paradise today, I didn't miss it. I was excited about the sun, the warm weather versus New York's chilling cold wind, but it didn't make me want to move back. Call me crazy, but it felt surreal. I wondered: how could I have changed so much? How could I have been totally happy living in one city for 5 years and then two years later not be able to fathom that idea?

I don't know.

But here is what I know: it seems I spend too much time asking myself questions that don't matter.


Why I changed will not change anything today? Thinking about it will probably not make me change again ... But don't we all wonder all the time? Don't we overthink most decisions, even something as simple and insignificant as which toothpaste is better for our teeth? We spend our time overthinking 
our lives, don't we?

Lately I have been overthinking my decision to self publish my first novel. It's already done, there is no turning back, but I still wonder. I have also been overthinking everything about BOOK #2: the title, the opening chapter, the end, the whole book really ... Is it worth anything or should I just put it aside and start writing another? Will anyone like it? And so on, question after question ... Never ending ...

I wish I could stop myself  but it is not that simple, is it?

However I read an interesting time management  article today with great advice and this interesting quote: "If you spend all day wondering what you might accomplish, you’ll never find out what you
actually can.”

According to a related article, there are two kinds of decision makers: satisficers and maximizers. In his book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains that maximizers spend much more time and energy reaching the most optimal decision - hence they are overthinking - and even after making a decision, they are unsure if it was the right one or not whereas satisficers don't look for the most optimal solution, they are content with an adequate solution that meets the requirements they had set.

Guess who is happier?

The satisficers ...

WHAT ARE YOU?


 Did overthinking ever make you happier? 

Comments

  1. AshleyJanuary 23, 2014 at 6:35 PM

    I personnaly think I am a little bit of both,and I think everybody think this is the case for themselves even if it is not true! I think that I am happy, but I also think about reaching the optimal decision (according to me)1 However once I took my decision, even if I think aftewards that it was not the best one, it is done and I cannot go back, so I look toward the future and that's it. Am I an "overthinker" for using the term "I think" more than 3 times in 2 sentences? lol.

    Anyway, I am sure of one thing: if I start thinking to much about what to do, where to go, what is the best decision to make, etc., I will definitely miss out on some things that usually happen without us thinking about it!

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