It’s one thing to think things through in life, that generally keeps us out of some trouble and heading in the right direction. But it’s a whole thing to other to overthink everything into obsessive territory, which just ends up eating at our energy and wasting a lot of prime brain space. Here are some of the ways you waste time obsessing and don’t even realize it.
- Having FOMO. No one can say for sure that you aren’t going to miss on something — you probably will. But it’s likely that where you are while you’re missing out is just fine and you won’t even remember this in three days.
- Feeling fat. It’s one thing to decide it’s time to jump start a healthy living plan and another to wonder if you’re still lovable when you’re PMS bloated and a little snug in your favorite jeans.
- Getting stuck with too many options. Have you noticed that there are, like, seven different “shades” of black mascaras in some brands? Or 500 versions of cough medicine at the drugstore? Definitely not worth even five minutes of side by side comparison.
- Who did what. Someone was talking crap and no one is revealing the source… but that doesn’t mean you need to quit your day job to get to the bottom of it. Things usually surface and sometimes when they don’t it’s even better for everyone’s sanity. (Or safety.)
- Worrying we made the wrong decision. Ah yes, we finally make a decision and then we start to regret it because who knows what the alternative would have brought? No one knows, actually. Sometimes we just have to trust our instincts.
- Discussing our tiredness. Newsflash: we’re all tired. What’s actually worth talking about is how shockingly awake and alert we feel on a random day, because that’s great news.
- Complaining about being single. When you boil it down, you’ve got a guy or you don’t (or somewhere in between)… but that’s it. You can’t force the world to deliver in a moment’s notice, and feeling down about it isn’t going to help.
- Getting caught up in tabloid drama. Or any news for that matter. Consider yourself informed and then put down the phone and stop fussing over other people’s problems unless there’s actually something you can do something about it.
- Thinking about money in the middle of the night. Tell your daytime self to stop wasting cash on sale shoes you don’t even really love, because your nighttime self is missing out on her valuable sleep.
- How the date went. Breaking down the first date moment by moment isn’t going to give you any real clues as to whether he’s your future husband or not, so let’s be reasonable. Maybe date two.
- Assuming that someone is mad at you. You get one vibe or text that seemed a little off and start tailspinning into a fear that you somehow pissed your friend off and everything is terrible in the world. Guilty conscience much?
- Feeling blah. Waking up with mysteriously bloodshot eyes or a horrific hair can feel pretty serious, but it just isn’t. How can you kill it in that presentation if you’re trying to shield the world from your cold sore? Someone might notice it, but they probably get cold sores too.
