Stop Overthinking
Caroline Flanagan
?? Helping black lawyers progress, all the way to the top ?? Author of “Be The First: People of Colour Imposter Syndrome and the Struggle to Succeed in a White World†?? International Keynote Speaker ??? Podcast host
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How many useful thoughts have you had today?
According to one study, the average person has between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts a day. Another study puts the number at 70,000. A third says it’s 6,200.
But how many thoughts you have a day isn’t the point.
The point is how many of those thoughts are holding you back and what you are doing to change them.
This is Overthinking
Here are some of the unhelpful thoughts clients tell me they have each day:
- What if I get this wrong?
- What if I don’t know the answer?
- Why is this taking me so long?
- I’m terrible at this.
- What should I do?
Thinking thoughts that hold you back is called ‘overthinking’. These are the thoughts that are driven by fear and don't add value. Overthinking is what your brain wants to do when your Imposter Syndrome has been triggered and you want to avoid the fear.
Overthinking holds you back
Overthinking may be instinctive. It may feel automatic. But it's unhelpful and unproductive and will hold you back in your career. Here's why:
- It feels terrible – so the more of your day you spend doing it, the more of your day you spend feeling terrible.
- It wastes time – so the more time you spend doing it, the less time you have for getting your work done, problem solving and getting out of the office early enough to spend time with loved ones or hit the gym.
- It hinders your focus – so the more you do it, the less you get done. And the less you get done, the more overwhelmed you feel.
领英推è
If you want to progress, stop overthinking
If you want to progress your legal career, stop overthinking. I know the idea of stopping overthinking can seem impossible.
“It’s my brain! I can’t control what it does!†A client protested to me recently.
Actually, you can. All you have to do, is get out of your head for long enough to get started. You can do this now:
- Notice when you're overthinking
- Choose to get out of your own head
- Direct your focus to what's infront of you.
- Just get started.
What you'll gain when you stop overthinking
Imagine if you could spend even one minute less time overthinking today? That would mean:
- A minute less time feeling terrible today.
- A minute less time wasted today.
- A minute less time being distracted today.
Perhaps this doesn’t sound like much. But if you get back a minute today, tomorrow you could get back two minutes. Maybe even five. And the more minutes you claimed back the better you’d get at it and very quickly you could win back an hour of your day, maybe more.
That’s an extra hour of not feeling terrible. An extra hour of focus. An extra hour to decide whether you’ll get some other work done, or go to the gym, or spend time with your family.
What would that mean to you?
Just get started
Putting a stop to overthinking is easier than you think. You just need to learn the skill of redirecting your brain and have a strategy for getting out of your own head. Don’t let the scale of the problem overwhelm you. Just get started.
Ready to stop Overthinking so you can start progressing? Imposter Syndrome Coaching for lawyers is now open for enrolment. You'll learn how to redirect your brain away from thinking that holds you back to thinking that serves you. I teach you the B.E.A.R Strategy for getting out of your own head. And everything else you need in order to progress. Enrolment is open for a limited time only. If you're a lawyer with Imposter Syndrome and you want to progress, apply by 3 oct 2022. Visit Imposter Syndrome Coaching for lawyers for details.