10 Reasons to Think Less

Think less? That can’t be right, can it?

We’re taught from a very young age that the key to a better life is to use our brain more, to think more clearly, and to develop stronger reasoning skills.

But what if I told you that the path to happier and calmer days could be in letting go of the need for hyper-rationality and leaning into the intuitions that you’ve developed over a lifetime of living.

In this modern age, we have more information than ever before, and we’ve come to think of our brains like computers. We think we need to analyze more information, consider every possibility, and then weigh our choices rationally. 

But we aren’t computers. We’re glorious humans. We’re a complex web of emotions, desires, and tacit knowledge— all of which are important.

The Trouble with Overthinking

As a long-time overthinker, I’ve personally experienced the downsides of relying too much on the analytical side of my brain. 

I know the feeling of overwhelm when you’re faced with too many options and you’ve already spent way too long weighing them. I know the brain fog that results in spending way too much time ruminating on your thoughts.

Even more troubling, overthinking can lead to obsessive rumination which is implicated in causing or exacerbating multiple psychiatric disorders according to an article published last year in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

But that’s all changing for me. I’m learning to tap into my intuition and embrace a gut feel that has been refined by real world action. It’s not an either or, of course, but there is a real beauty in living with less control and learning to go with the flow.

Here are some of the benefits I’m enjoying from thinking less:

Tapping into a deeper type of knowledge than logic alone. Sitting down and thinking directly about a topic is only one way to gain insights. And considering the many variables in our complex world, it may not be the most efficient. Often we know something in our gut way before our brain can articulate the reasons. 

Living more in the moment. Let’s face it, deep thinking pulls you out of the flow of everyday life. And overthinking makes it even worse— making you feel like real life is drifting by while you are lost in your thoughts. I find that living more intuitively keeps my head in the game of life and helps me to engage more fully with each moment.

Feeling less stressed by all the things I can’t control. The more you think about a problem, the more you feel you ought to have it figured out and be able to influence the outcome. But that’s often far from the case. Many times, the longer I toss around a decision in my brain, the less certain I become and the more stressed I feel about making the wrong choice. Living intuitively means humbly admitting we don’t know everything and letting go of trying to control life with our thinking.

Solving problems faster than I ever did before. Ironically, for many decisions in life, the fastest way to get an answer is to take the first few steps in a direction. The real world, combined with your emotional response to the situation, is often the exact feedback you need to make necessary adjustments. This kind of knowledge isn’t always discoverable in the abstraction of our thinking.

Discovering opportunities that I never considered. If you’re  like me, your thinking tends to oversimplify the complex reality of life. You might imagine that there are only two choices, and you have to choose between them. You can drive yourself crazy trying to consider every possible trade off, when in truth there are far more options and shades to the choice than you ever considered. Your brain can’t possibly weigh all of this, but many times taking action reveals these nuances in a way that you can’t miss.

Enjoying a satisfying sense of progress and momentum. One of the best parts of thinking less, and replacing that time with pure, intuitive action is the amazing confidence you begin to feel from making progress. All the time I spend overthinking a problem usually only makes me feel less certain, but action is the exact opposite— I feel the breeze of momentum blowing around me and want to keep going as my understanding grows.

Living with a weight off my chest. Constantly thinking is an exhausting state to live in. Your brain is never at rest, and you never feel completely at ease since there’s always some other factor you could be missing in your analysis. When you realize you don’t have to live like that any more, that it’s always been a choice you were making, you feel light as a feather since that huge weight has been lifted.

Feeling more confident that I can figure things out. Ironically, by deciding to think less, I don’t feel my decisions in life have suffered one bit. If anything, without the weight of overthinking, my mind feels more agile and awake, and my decisions feel more in tune with my values. Best of all, I’m building confidence that I don’t need to punish myself with worry and rumination about everything important, I can trust my instincts to figure things out as I go.

Having more fun in my everyday life. I’d be lying if I didn’t mention how much more fun I’m having now that I’m thinking less. Whereas life was beginning to feel like a test with high stakes that I had to pass, it feels more like play now. I’m more aware of how I’m feeling, and more excited to see how things work out. There’s an element of spontaneity in my life now that has been missing for some time.

Spending less time in a state of overwhelm. In summary, for any of you considering my advice to think less, I would offer this lesson learned: many times it is our thinking that makes our situation overwhelming more than the situation itself. We live with the expectation that we should be able to figure everything out in advance, when in reality it’s much simpler, for most decisions in life, to trust your gut and make adjustments as you go.