Episode #91 Don't Overthink It

Three Problems

• Thoughtfulness is healthy and helpful, but overthinking is often harmful.
• An unwillingness to move until we are absolutely certain tends to leave us motionless.
• Worrying is, in essence, borrowing sorrow from tomorrow and dragging it into today.

Four Reasons We Overthink

• We believe there is only one best option.
• We are afraid of failure.
• We have an aversion to risk.
• We would rather avoid doing something difficult.

Five Principles

• We don’t need to overthink things in order to take them seriously.
• If we believe in a God who has a will for our lives, we can also believe in a God who adjusts our trajectory when we are going the wrong way.
• Failure is not fatal but is merely a part of the journey.
• It is completely normal and entirely appropriate not to make decisions about career and calling until we are forty years old.
• Our trajectory in life often more closely resembles a zig-zag than a straight line.

Three Practices

• Take that single step forward as an act of faith, even when you are not 100% certain you are moving in the right direction.
• When failure leads you to doubt your talent and question your worth, consider whether the failure was actually evidence of a closed door.
• Consider the question, “What can I learn from this present experience, even if it turns out to be only temporary?”