Overthinking: What Is It That Is Being Protected?

“I overthink a lot.” Many people say this, and almost all of them want the same thing: to get rid of it. But to get rid of anything, it is important to first understand it. Without knowing, we will not understand who we are fighting. If we do not know our enemy, who will we fight against? So the first question is: what is overthinking, what actually happens in it, and what exactly is causing the trouble?

What is overthinking?

Generally, overthinking means thinking too much. It is the constant, persistent thought about a single thing in a single subject. When that thought becomes too intense, we lose control and start to feel uncomfortable with it.

When something gets out of our control, it bothers us. When even our thoughts get out of our control, it bothers us. To put it precisely, when our thoughts exceed the amount of thinking we are comfortable with, we call it overthinking.

But who decides when a thought turns from thinking into overthinking? It is decided at the moment you decide you do not want to think anymore, when you start to feel you should stop. By then the train has already left, and it will keep moving.

When the thoughts first arose, about a particular situation, person or outcome, if you had seen it clearly then, it would not have slipped out of your grasp.

The first thought is where it begins

Take a breakup. A breakup means either both people, or one of them, decided they do not want to be with each other. The other person wants the one who is leaving to stay. So what is the first thought that comes up? “How will I live if he or she leaves?” The first thought is fear. “What will I do now?”

If you had understood it right then, it would not have turned into overthinking. You would have seen it clearly the first time and asked why it was coming:

1. Is it because I want to possess the other person?
2. Is it because I am afraid I cannot live alone? Will loneliness torment me?
3. Is it because I am worried about what people will say?
4. Is it because I am worried about what will happen to me, and who will take care of me?
5. Is it because I have become accustomed to it?

When you start to see this clearly, your focus is no longer on what will happen next. Your focus is on why the thought arose. You begin to dig into its root, and you can clearly see the intention behind the thoughts.

In any situation, you will see that similar thoughts originate. There is a theory in biology called survival of the fittest. We all want to survive, and when you examine the thought closely, you keep finding that the reason behind it is survival. Go even deeper and you find that even this survival is false.

Look at that situation. Can you not live without that person? Of course you can. You existed before and you will exist after. But your body and mind have linked it to your survival: “What will happen to me now?” It connects in many ways. You have an ego, a self-image that has formed within you. In reality, it is all about the survival of that image. And when you look at it clearly, you realise nothing like that is actually happening.

The illusion behind “I’m an overthinker”

These days many people keep saying, “I’m an overthinker.” What that really means is that you are living too much in lies. Overthinking is not true. It is a complete lie, and saying “I overthink a lot” means you are far removed from reality. Whatever reality you actually look at, you will realise nothing like that is happening. To see that reality, you have to open your eyes. Do not get caught in the trap.

The greatest power of humans is the ability to think. An even greater power is the ability to observe your thoughts. You will not find this ability in any other creature. Examine your thoughts and try to see them clearly, and you will find that everything happening here is an illusion. Your overthinking is part of that illusion, which is nothing like what you see in reality. It is created by that image.

To protect that image, your mind keeps thinking. It keeps preparing to fight all kinds of fears that do not even exist. It lives on the probability of “what happens, what happens, what happens,” because it has to protect that image, a false image you have created. When you reach that place clearly, you discover this trap.

Have you ever seen a spider? A spider spins its own web, and sometimes it even gets itself trapped in it. Overthinking is just another name for that same trap in the mind.

It is not a weakness. It is a lack of awareness.

Do not mistake overthinking for weakness. It is simply a lack of awareness. If you are aware, you will never overthink.

People will tell you to meditate. But closing your eyes for 10 minutes will not eliminate overthinking. Perhaps, in those 10 minutes, if you understand why it is happening, how it works and what its mechanism is, you can overcome it.

And it is not that once you understand, you never have to do anything again. Once you understand it for the first time, try to apply it consistently. Try to understand awareness. Try to understand what image your mind is trying to protect. This game of thoughts is going on inside. What is it that is being protected? What is it that is afraid?

Once you understand this game, try to break that image. Because if that image, that ego, persists, it will come back again.

An example: the exam result

Imagine you have taken an exam and the results are about to come. You keep thinking:

1. How will my result be?
2. What if it is bad?
3. What will my parents think?
4. How will I face anyone?
5. What will society think?
6. What will my future hold?
7. Will I get a job tomorrow?
8. Will I be able to earn money?
9. Will I succeed in life?
10. Will I have a house and cars?

Look clearly at what is happening. You took the exam and you are waiting for the result. Suppose the result is bad. So what? You take the exam again. What do the facts say? Do all those who fail exams fail in life? Just look at the data.

But the image you have created in your mind, your ego, is not ready to accept this. That ego is afraid of being shattered. External information has seeped into your being, telling you that if you want to be successful the results must be good, and if you want a bright future the results must be good. Now it has taken the form of fear. And who is the fear? It is the ego within. If this does not happen according to me, then the image you have created of me breaks, and the fear of things not happening according to that image is what is bothering you.

In reality, it is not like that. Open your eyes and look outside. Observe these thoughts. Investigate them. Where are they coming from? Is there a fear of society? A fear of not succeeding? Fear means something will end. What will end? Will there be any harm to your body if you do not get the result? Will something around you break?

This is what you have created. This is the ego. This is false identification. As soon as you overcome it, you will be free from this trap. So start investigating. Start knowing. Do not get caught up in identifying. Investigate. And as you practise this consistently, you can easily break free from overthinking.