How To Stop Overthinking And Start Making Better Decisions: 2 in 1 - Discover 7 Steps to Silence Your Inner Critic, Overcome Fear, and Make Confident Decisions: Master Your Mind

How To Stop Overthinking And Start Making Better Decisions

2 Books In 1 - Discover 7 Steps to Silence Your Inner Critic, Overcome Fear, and Make Confident Decisions

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Howard Hudson

© Copyright 2024. Howard Hudson. All rights reserved.

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​A Personal Thank You from the Author

Dear Reader,

I sincerely thank you for choosing How To Stop Overthinking And Start Making Better Decisions. I’m truly grateful to be part of your personal growth journey. Overthinking and indecision can hold us back from living our best lives, and I hope the strategies shared in this book help you find clarity and confidence in your decision-making process.

As you work through the steps, I trust you’ll find ways to quiet your inner critic and approach life with renewed courage. Thank you for letting me be a part of this important process in your life.

Wishing you all the best,

Howard Hudson

​​Table of Contents

A Personal Thank You From the Author........................3

Table of Contents.........................................4

Book 1: How to Stop Overthinking

Introduction..............................................8

The Science Behind Overthinking............................10

Chapter 1: Changing the Narrative in Your Head.................12

How to Silence Your Inner Voice and Flip the Script on Your Thinking..13

Strategies to Change the Narrative in Your Head...............14

Chapter Takeaways......................................18

Chapter 2: Look Toward What’s Coming and Not What Has Passed..20

The Fake Security of the Past...............................21

The Freedom of Forgiveness.............................22

The Importance of Balance...............................23

Stop Obsessing Over Your Mistakes........................24

Chapter Takeaways......................................27

Chapter 3: Focus on What You Can Control....................28

How to Focus on What I Can Control..........................29

Mindfulness..........................................29

Chapter Takeaways......................................31

Chapter 4: Find the Root of the Problem.......................32

Identifying Triggers......................................33

Root Cause Analysis...................................33

The Five Whys Strategy.................................35

Change Analysis......................................36

Chapter Takeaways......................................37

Chapter 5: Become a Participant, Not an Observer...............38

Steps to Improve Your Will to Participate.......................39

Overcoming Irrational Thoughts...........................40

Use Peer Pressure as a Motivator..........................41

Chapter Takeaways......................................42

Chapter 6: Manage Your Stress..............................43

The Four-Point Strategy...................................44

Avoid..............................................44

Alter...............................................45

Adapt..............................................46

Accept..............................................47

Chapter Takeaways......................................48

Chapter 7: Modify Your Response............................49

Take a Breather.......................................50

Step Away...........................................50

Celebrate the Small Wins of Today.........................51

Chapter Takeaways......................................52

Chapter 8: Why Distraction Is Not Always Helpful................53

Coping Mechanisms....................................54

Chapter Takeaways......................................56

Chapter 9: Popular Strategies to Overcome Overthinking and Why They Don’t Work......57

Popular Strategies and Why They Don’t Work...................58

Living in the Moment...................................58

Asking Yourself the Right Questions........................59

Chapter Takeaways......................................60

Chapter 10: The Art of Self-Confidence........................61

Establishing Unwavering Self-Confidence......................61

Comparison Is the Root of All Disaster......................62

Fake It ‘Til You Make It..................................63

Failures Aren’t Faults...................................64

Chapter Takeaways......................................65

Conclusion..............................................66

Book 2: How to Make Better Decisions

Introduction.............................................70

Chapter 1: Hustle Culture and Decisions.......................73

Chapter 2: Internal Biases That Affect Decision-Making...........76

Confirmation Bias.......................................76

Anchoring Bias.........................................77

Bias of Attention.........................................78

Availability Bias.........................................79

Functional Fixedness.....................................81

Misinformation Effect.....................................83

How Do We Fight Biases?.................................84

Chapter 3: People-Pleasing and Personal Decisions..............85

What Is a People Pleaser?.................................87

How Does People-Pleasing Impact Our Ability to Make Decisions?....88

How to Know if You Are a People Pleaser?.....................89

What Might Have Caused Your People-Pleasing Habits?...........91

How to Break Out of People-Pleasing Habits....................92

Chapter 4: Connecting With Your Core Self to Make Decisions......95

What Is Your Core Self?...................................96

Why Should You Care?...................................97

How Do You Use Your Self-Core to Make Better Decisions.........98

Chapter 5: Strategies to Help You Connect With Your Core Self and Clear Your Mind for Better Decision-Making......99

Start With the Known.....................................99

Self-Reflection to Help You Bring Out Your Self-Core.............101

Mindfulness.........................................101

Meditation..........................................102

Journaling..........................................102

Trying New Things....................................103

Engaging Physically...................................103

Chapter 6: Decisions and Goals.............................105

Where Are You With Your Goals?...........................105

Your Decisions.........................................107

Chapter 7: Goal-Setting Theory and Where Your Decisions Make a Big Difference......108

Goal-Setting Theory.....................................108

The STOP Technique....................................112

Slow Down.........................................112

Tune In............................................113

Observe...........................................114

Perceive...........................................114

Chapter 8: The Big Decisions...............................116

Slow Your Pace........................................117

Be Authentic..........................................117

Try to Reduce Your Stress................................118

Give Yourself a Clear Understanding of Your Options.............118

Let Yourself Feel the Emotions That Come With Your Decision......119

Focus on the Connection With Who You Are...................120

Trust Yourself.........................................120

Conclusion.............................................122

Thank You!.............................................125

References.............................................126

Book 1: How to Stop Overthinking.........................126

Book 2: How to Make Better Decisions.....................130

Book 1

How to Stop Overthinking

7 Steps to Silence Your Inner Critic, Build Unshakable Self-Confidence, and Calm Your Overactive Mind

​Introduction

The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heaven out of Hell, a hell out of Heaven. –John Milton

Overthinking is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can help us work smarter, not harder by urging us to engage in effective problem-solving in short amounts of time. On the other hand, overthinking can make us doubt, question and over-analyze every single thing that has ever happened to us in our lives. For example, overthinking leads to creating intrusive and fake scenarios in our heads in reaction to something that was said to us that day. I might have received a comment along the lines of That top looks crazy, when wearing a colorful shirt with loud patterns. To the other person, it was a harmless comment made in the heat of the moment. But to me, the overthinker, it was an open-captioned statement that will be analyzed until I can find the meaning and intentions behind it. I will undoubtedly lay awake all night, my mind running in infinite circles to unravel the complex comment, until I have found a conclusion to its intention and have finally found satisfaction in deciphering the innocent comment. Only then, am I able to sleep peacefully.

In another example, I may have an upcoming event that I feel unprepared for, like a gala or work seminar. In the weeks following up to the event, I may find myself thinking about it a lot; analyzing what might happen, how I might respond to certain questions (should I meet someone), will I even meet someone new? Will people even like me? How will I spend my off days leading up to the event? Where should I get lunch or dinner? I could also find myself scouring the boutiques near my home for something to wear in advance, practice social cues (such as when to make a joke or how to carry myself in terms of posture), research the topics that may be brought up, or try to make friends with the co-workers accompanying me so that I at least have a friend. These are just some of the examples that run through an overthinker’s head when certain situations arise.

But however awful it may sound, it’s not all bad; overthinking can heighten productivity and act as an inner motivator, inspiring a drive to achieve goals I would have never thought were possible of achieving. Overthinking can help us make decisions, see things from another perspective, and gain clarity on subjects that might have been difficult to understand at that moment. That’s the beauty of overthinking. When it’s good, it’s beautiful, inspiring, and motivational. But when it’s bad, it’s dehumanizing, disappointing, and discouraging. It’s a double-edged sword and it has no wielder, it’s an entity entirely on its own.

​The Science Behind Overthinking

Overthinking not only affects our motivation and the way we perceive things, but it also has a scientific effect on our brains. To better understand what happens to our brains during the inescapable trap of overthinking, we need to take a look at a few key characters. The first character is dopamine. The feel good hormone is mainly in charge of regulating the way we feel pleasure. When our brains have a healthy amount of dopamine we feel positive emotions, and we learn quicker. High levels of dopamine also increase our need to be social and can turn the deepest introvert into an exploding extrovert for the benefit of our mental health. Creativity is also simulated by the neurotransmitter and influences the amount of empathy we feel for others.

It’s all fun and games until