There are many quotes to live by for those who overthink, and they’ll all help you stop the habit. It can be hard to do alone, but others have spoken out about the struggle of overthinking. With their wisdom and experience, you’ll likely be able to help yourself.
Overthinking can ruin relationships, experiences, and opportunities. It can cause unnecessary pain to you and your mind. You have to work on it if you find yourself regularly thinking negatively and making assumptions.
It can be unhealthy if you continue allowing yourself to overthink. Luckily, others have struggled and made it through, and then spoke about it. These quotes to live by can help you think more positively and make the best of each situation.
Quotes to Live by for Everyone Who Is Overthinking
1. “I think and think and think, I’ve thought myself out of happiness one million times, but never once into it.” – Jonathan Safran Foer
The more you think, the closer you are getting to unhappiness. When you choose to let go of those thoughts and begin to act, however, you will find the happiness returning. As Foer stated, you can’t overthink yourself into joy.
2. “The more you overthink, the less you will understand.” – Habeeb Akande
When you are overthinking, you are adding incorrect details. You do this without even realizing it, and you make the situation seem much worse than it is. If you allow this to happen, you’ll understand even less than you did in the first place.
3. “Thinking too much leads to paralysis by analysis. It’s important to think things through, but many use thinking as a means of avoiding action.” – Robert Herjavek
When you overthink and overanalyze, you are causing your mind to become paralyzed. You will not be able to think positively, and your actions will show it. Don’t avoid activity by paralyzing your mind with analysis.
4. “If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don’t do it, and it won’t happen.” – Desiderius Erasmus
Thinking doesn’t make things happen; action does. You have to stop thinking about what you want and take action to make it happen.
5. “There is nothing in this world that can trouble you as much as your own thoughts.” – Unknown
Thinking about something too much will cause you to have thoughts that are not exactly right. They will cause more trouble and more negativity.
6. “Don’t overthink things. Sometimes you can convince your head not to listen to your heart. Those are the decisions you regret for the rest of your life.” – Leah Braemel
You have to listen to your heart and ignore the thoughts that keep going through your head. When you allow your thinking to overrule your heart, you will end up regretting the decisions you made.
7. “Stop worrying about what tomorrow may bring. Focus on what you can control. Stay positive. Enjoy today. Expect good things to come.” – Karen Salmansohn
Worrying about what may happen tomorrow is only causing overthinking and despair today. Instead, let go of the thoughts of what may happen and focus on what you can control today. When you do this and expect good things to come, you will live a happier life.
8. “Time isn’t precious at all because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time, but the one point that is out of time: The Now. That is precious, indeed. The more you are focused on time — past and future — the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” -Eckhart Tolle
As Tolle explains, it isn’t time that is precious, but being out of time makes it appear to be valuable. What is precious is right now. Stop thinking about the past or future, or you’ll miss out on what is right in front of you.
9. “Don’t ruin a new day by thinking about yesterday. Let it go.” – Unknown
Of all the quotes to live by, this could make the most significant impact on your life. You can’t change what happened yesterday, so stop thinking about it. Focus on today and the good that you can do right now.
10. “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
At the end of the day, don’t overthink about all that happened. Instead, let it go and remind yourself that tomorrow is new. There will be new opportunities and new happiness to be found.
11. “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking.” – Eckhart Tolle
When you notice negative thoughts setting in about a situation, force yourself to change that thought process. By being aware of your thinking, as Tolle suggests, you will be able to stop yourself when necessary.
12. “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Of course, you should think things through, but you can’t overthink it. Once you have thought it through a time or to, you have to become active. Stop second-guessing and get it done, or you might make it all harder than it needs to be.
13. “Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, “What else could this mean?” – Shannon L. Alder
This type of thinking often leads to misunderstanding. You should think about what else the situation could mean, rather than torturing yourself with negative thoughts. Ask questions if it keeps bothering you, but never get lost in thought over it.
14. “Forgive the past. It is over. Learn from it and let go. People are constantly changing and growing. Do not cling to a limited, disconnected, negative image of a person in the past. See that person now. Your relationship is always alive and changing.” – Brian L. Weiss
You can’t change the past, so focus on the present. This decision will make your future better.
You can’t keep attaching yourself to thoughts of what is bothering you. Everyone and everything change, and thinking about it obsessively, it isn’t going to help.
15. “Thoughts are like an open ocean, they can either move you forward within its waves or sink you under deep into its abyss.” – Anthony Liccione
Overthinking tends to end up negative, which will make matters worse. On the other hand, as Liccione describes as an open ocean, positive thinking will empower you. Don’t overthink any situation; instead, act on your positive thoughts.
16. “We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday’s burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.” – John Newton
Don’t allow the problems of yesterday or tomorrow ruin your day today. You can only safely carry today’s, and that will enable you to act positively.
17. “Overthinking is parasitic. It’s viral. It’s deadly, even. Letting yourself fall victim to overthinking doesn’t just kill your happiness, it destroys who you are. The mind is a beautiful and complex thing, and the only person who can hurt it is yourself.” – Genereux Philip
If you only allow yourself to think positively, you’ll be saving yourself from hurt and negativity. Only let yourself to mull it over for a safe amount of time, and then shift your thoughts to the positive.
18. “Sometimes, you overthink things so much that you ruin something before it even begins, then you beat yourself up, replaying everything to your friends and in your mind.” – Kristen Corley
When you overthink, you confuse yourself and fixate on the negatives. You’ll convince yourself of something that isn’t true, and when you ruin it, you’ll reflect in despair. Shift your thoughts to the positive, and you can’t avoid the negativity.
19. “You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” – Unknown
Thinking about something will not get it done. You have to get started and take action immediately, or it’ll never happen.
20. “Overthinking ruins friendships and relationships. Overthinking creates problems you never had. Don’t overthink, just overflow with good vibes.” – Unknown
As stated before, this type of thinking causes confusion and negative assumptions. It can interfere with your relationships and cause problems that would have never occurred otherwise. Stay positive and never assume something negative, or you could lose those you love the most.
Final Thoughts on Quotes to Live by for Overthinkers
Overthinking happens to everyone, but you have to learn to break the habit. Teach yourself to shift your thought process, and you will be able to limit it.
To remind yourself of your favorite quotes to live by, keep them handy. Print them out and post the quotes where you can see them. You could also write out a new one each day and keep it somewhere that you’ll often see it.
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