It’s been proven that overthinking causes negative effects on your mind and body. It’s actually causes quite a bit of stress. Stress is never good for anyone.

We all battle with overthinking from time to time. Most of us battle with it daily actually. It’s something that just comes in this busy fast-paced society that we live in. It often seems like our minds are pushed to the extreme, overloaded with complexity and never turned off from the troubles and pressures of reality. This makes for an over- worked mindset which causes chaos and high stress in our lives.

I never realized how busy my mind was until I tried to meditate. I wasn’t in yoga class. I definitely wasn’t wearing yoga pants. I was in the show- er. That’s where I do a lot of my intense thinking. It’s actually the only place I can get peace and quiet, where my wife isn’t enlisting me in any do-it-yourself projects around the house, or the kids aren’t screaming in my ear. Come to think of it, the shower is my man cave. It’s the place that allows me to take a deep breath and digest my thoughts.

Anyway. Getting back to my meditation. No matter how far I tried to force my mind from stopping its cycle of thoughts I just couldn’t do it. I challenged myself to stop thinking; to have a clear mind, free of any thought for even just 60 seconds, but it felt nearly impossible. I tried over and over again, but every time I tried I failed. I just couldn’t free my mind from thought. I mean, I could put away a thought or two here and there but when it came to complete silence, free from all thought completely, it just wasn’t happening. I couldn’t believe how difficult this task was.

I then challenged myself to a much simpler goal of clearing my mind for 30 sec-onds – half the initial amount, but even that was difficult. Over and over I tried to clear my mind, for even just 20 to 30 seconds, but the most I could do was 15 seconds. This lesson taught me what the true challenges are in life – having a clear mind free from thought; to stop our minds from overthinking all the time.

I was able to put it into perspective for myself – how bad overthinking affected my own mind. I knew I was a busy minded individual and that I focus on multiple tasks each day but I never realized how busy my mind actually is all time until now. Even multitasking is a form of over thinking. It can cloud your mind.

When your mind is clouded with thought you miss out on the important opportunities that are staring your right at you. You fail to see what’s going on around you. You miss tidbits of important conversations, you miss the fun times. And you fail to experience the true meaning of living; to find peace and enjoyment in the moment.

Yoga is one highly recommended way to relax your mind. It’s a great way to exercise your mind muscles and learn to become one with yourself; to be spiritual. It also gives you an opportunity to reset your thoughts for more congruent images related to your values and happiness.

Slooooow your mind down and relieve the stress at least once a day. Take a walk, try yoga. Whatever you need to slow down the pace of your mind. You’ll be glad you did.