Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Thinking about overthinking

One of the things that make us human is the ability to think. "Cogito ergo sum" I think therefore I am, and all that stuff. Sometimes thinking is quite simple, like tonight I thought "I'll make macaroni and cheese for dinner." It was quite good, by the way. Other times we may thing quite complex thoughts, like when we think about algebra.

As creative folk, we think all the time. Do I use a bright red or pale green? Create a retro design or futuristic one? Write about tornados or daffodils? Do I think about this project or that one? But we can overthink. We do it all the time. We spend so much time thinking that
  •  Nothing gets done.
  •  We never finish the painting, song, or book.
  •  We make molehills into mountains.
  •  We miss the deadline.
  •  We have too much going on because we think we can do everything.
For example, we turn molehills into mountains. I think I have to write a formal proposal for something I want to do. I try to think of all the information I should assemble to write this proposal. I think of all the information I should include. I think I should include other information, references perhaps. So then I realize that continuing on the path I was on that I would either not get it done at all or miss the deadline. What to do? What to do?

I sent a short inquiry and asked what information do you need? I got a quick reply. We have a questionnaire. Do you want us to sent it to you? That's it. Fill in the blanks. I can do that.

So my thought for you tonight is don't overthink. Breathe.

Oh, and another thing, that makes us human, is laughter. 

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