I constantly find myself over analyzing and over comtemplating many aspects of my daily life. For example, things my girlfriend might say... I will linger on them for ages and analyze them again and again. Situations as well. If a girl turns me down I will contemplate it over and over, often coming to the most pessimistic (sp?) conclusions. So, I ask you GC, does over contemplation lead to unhappiness or am i just a paranoid, pessissmistic nay-sayer. I honestly wish I could kick this habit of thinking too much, but i just can't
I believe you're right. I for one have been over analyzing life as a whole, and as a result I'm on antidepressants.
I agree and so does Wally. "We are always getting ready to live, but never living!" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
No. It just makes it difficult to find a balance. It's truly the burden of intelligence and introspection. It takes a long part of life to find out how to live and enjoy the present, and to use that cognitive ability only where it will help you. The only short term advice I can give you is to work on accepting those things that are out of your control.
Funny thing, I had this almost same exact thought last night driving in my car. Over-thinking decisions =/= better decisions
Although when the fact that we as humans have the ability to think - to disect and interpret situations - gives me a feeling of confidence, knowing that no matter what hand I am given, I will be able to reason, to turn the circustances over and over in my head and weigh out all aspects and outcomes. The ability to reason is truely magnificent. However, at times I wish nothing more but than to be able to turn off my mind to a situation, to be able to just shrug it off without giving it a second thought. Sorry if this paragraph is somewhat confusing..
I would say that the title of the thread is a fragment of a sentance. More like this: Over-contemplation leads to unhappiness with the status quo and brings on a drive to improve ones situation in life. But I am familiar with the overprocessing of past conversations, etc. That happens mostly to me when I'm trying to sleep. Melatonin shuts that shit off pretty effectively. I like the orange flavored sublingual ones. It's a form of insomnia, the overanalysing thoughts that won't quit. Of course, if it plagues you during the day, you might be stoned.
Fuck man I know exactly how it feels. I've always been a thinker and for that reason I find I'm not quite as good with women. When I'm drunk, I absolutely love it because I don't think twice about what I'm going to say next and it's usually funny or interesting. When I'm sober I find myself just over-thinking my next words and I usually fumble or there are awkward moments.
QFT I consider myself a very introspective person. I analyze the shit out of myself and other people; in 4th grade I was labeled "The Worrier" because of these anxieties, ha ha... Don't stop thinking/analyzing; the ability to reason has the power to turn hatred into compassion, ignorance into wisdom, blah blah blah. The trick is to be aware of when you're thinking logically and when you're giving in to fear. Fear is like the Devil in the Christian canon. It flies in under the radar and you accept it without giving it a thorough looking over. Ex: There's a girl who you've been seeing in the halls of your school between classes; for a few days now you've been chatting her up and she's been responding - nothing serious, just some light flirtation, flashing smiles. On Thursday after 2nd period you greet her, ready for a light convo. and she only manages a 'Hey' before walking on. You start thinking, 'Oh man she's not digging me anymore. Why? Is it because of what I said last time we spoke? Did I make a fool of myself? Am I just looking shitty today? Maybe she never wanted to talk to me in the first place and was just being polite, etc. ad nauseum. But think: did you actually know she was upset or in any way annoyed at you? No; you just saw and interpreted a response; your interpretation may or may not be the truth; you make errors in judgment just like everyone else. .... I feel like I'm rambling but I felt the need to respond here; this is a topic close to my heart. I would have saved myself a lot of anxiety-ridden nights back through Jr. High, high school, even the first year or two of college if I could just have known then what I know now. If only I could put it into proper words... In the situation I described before, fear is what screams 'you're right! when you hatch upon an unsavory conclusion'. Now, is it true that maybe your worries were accurate - that she doesn't have any feelings towards you anymore? Sure, that's a possibility. But don't let fear make you believe that one possibility is more likely than another... Blah I'm not saying exactly what I want to say but hopefully you get the picture. Trust your analysis, but be wary of assuming that the foundations of your thought are secure; both fear and overconfidence assure you 'they are' when they're not. Be humble; the more you find that you cannot know the less of a burden is on your shoulders to know it. Ha...