The Overthinking Trap
It was 45 minutes before I was supposed to do a guest speaking engagement. I was prepared but my mind was still racing.
"I should add a video example right here."
"There needs to be more research discussed so that people will believe me."
"It needs to be more practical, I sound too much like a professor."
These were all thoughts that rushed around in my head. It was making me anxious and a little insecure.
Like my talk was going to be a dud.
I was talking myself down before a performance! Literally telling myself that things weren't going to be good unless I changed things!
That's when one of my small communities kicked in to help me get my head right.
Here was the plan they gave me.
Pick your big idea
Discuss why it's such a problem
Empathize
Share how it turned out
Then invite them to participate
The only difference between what I had before that discussion and what I had after was ...
A framework.
As humans, our brains are built to recognize patterns. We see them, we look for them, we perform well inside them.
Do you struggle with overthinking? Over analyzing? Check out the resources below and let me know in the comments how you deal with overthinking.
More talk on Overthinking:
LinkedIn LIVE Episode from 5/14: Overthinking or Preparation?
Resources:
What I'm reading 📚:
Leadership and Self Deception by The Arbinger Institute
What' I'm listening to 🎧: