The Curse and Blessing: Over-Thinking
Hmmm… I wonder why she decided to wear the red dress instead of the blue dress she specifically bought last year in preparation for this event? She is mysteriously calling me Dave when she usually calls me David. I think that I smell a hint of polo cologne on her neck…or maybe it’s just a faint smell from the orange that she ate a few hours ago in the left-wing section of the cafeteria while she was sitting next to the strange kid wearing a blue lacoste shirt with three earrings in his left ear and a small rip on the right side of his J Crew pants. I wonder if he’s a skateboarder? He probably is because his vans sneakers have small wear marks on them, probably from the sandy grip tape of the board.
That was just a typical session of my mind going crazy thinking and over-thinking things that we all encounter on a daily basis.
Now imagine what happens when I think about business. Though I consider myself a person who likes to keep things simple and focused, the actual experience that leads up to that moment of simplicity can be pretty complex.
Ever meet one of those people who seem to over analyze every situation? Well, I’m one of them. From my experiences it has been both a blessing and a curse.
The Blessing:
I am able to connect the dots where many people aren’t, that’s just how my mind works. I consciously and subconsciously absorb everything from every situation and somehow I am able to make – almost mysteriously – connections between various different situations.
It’s like one long game of constant chess in my mind. I am always thinking of every situation and filling in the blank spaces, creating new ideas to fill holes, stitching together fragments of concepts and ideas that my mind generated and indexed from basically everything I encounter throughout the days.
It’s weird because when I spend a lot of time thinking and over-thinking about something that I feel in my gut, I’m usually right about it in the end. Maybe it’s not that weird because all I am really doing is following where my mind is leading and trusting my own instincts.
The same thing applies when it comes to ideas: I allow my mind to think and think about things which usually produces pretty unique concepts and original ideas. But the thing is, you have to find a way to control and harness these urges to constantly over-think and analyze minute detail, especially if it’s getting in the way of actually getting things done.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to allow that type of thinking, but specific time should be allocated for it.
The Curse:
Over-thinking has also been a curse because there are times when I’m not able to shut my mind off to the point when I am thinking more than doing – which leads to becoming unproductive at times.
It’s one thing to analyze a new idea or concept in an effort to improve it, but when you get caught up in thinking and thinking about that idea you can fall into a trap of never really implementing or completing what you originally planned out.
There will be times when it’ll be appropriate to allow your mind to wonder and think without limits(say, while in bed or in the shower), but when you have set goals to complete and tasks to manage, you’re just going to have to take your mind off cruse control and just get things done.
Control your thoughts, don’t let them control you.
To add to the ‘Blessed’ part, when I think about anything I’m about to say or do, I always think about the consequences and what the different outcomes would be.