MSS #0126: Stop Overthinking – 5 Steps to Reclaim Mental Clarity

MSS #0126: Stop Overthinking – 5 Steps to Reclaim Mental Clarity

7 June, 2025

🕒Read time: 2.5 minutes
🚀 In a hurry? Jump to “The 5-Step Reset for Overthinking” for a reduced reading time of 1.3 minutes.

Do you ever find yourself stuck in a mental loop?

Replaying conversations, worrying about what might go wrong, or analysing a decision from every angle?

That’s overthinking – and while it can feel productive, it’s often exhausting.

This week I’ll show you five practical ways to break the cycle and protect your peace of mind.

The Invisible Thief of Mental Energy

Overthinking is like running on a treadmill that never stops.

You expend energy but get nowhere.

It can feel like control – but it’s often fear disguised as analysis.

Fear of getting it wrong, being judged, missing something.

So your brain tries to think its way to safety.

But instead of clarity, you get fatigue.

The mental fog thickens.

The solution?

You don’t think your way out of overthinking.

You interrupt the loop.

You act.

The 5-Step Reset for Overthinking
(Start here for a 1.3-minute read time)

Here’s a simple, highly practical toolkit to interrupt the loop and re-centre your thinking:

1. Thought Parking

Your brain is trying to keep track of too many things.

So, give it somewhere to “park” the thoughts.

• Keep a small notebook or open a notes app
• Dump all your thoughts – don’t filter or organise them
• Say to yourself: “I’ll come back to this at 3pm”

This relieves your brain of the need to “hold onto” everything at once.

You’re not suppressing – you’re scheduling.

2. The 3-Bucket Filter

Once the thoughts are parked, sort them:

• Actionable – something you can do. Plan a step.

• Acceptable – can’t be changed. Breathe. Let it be.

• Let Go – not helpful. Acknowledge. Release.

This teaches your mind to categorise instead of catastrophise.

 Be very intentional about which bucket each thought is parked in.

3. The Morning & Evening Mental Bookends

Overthinking thrives in uncertainty.

Anchoring your mind with simple routines creates a calm container for your day.

Morning:

• One question: What matters most today?

• One intention: “Today, I choose…”

Evening:

• Reflect: What went well today?

• Release: Write down lingering worries, then switch off

Doing this trains your brain to start and end the day with clarity – not clutter.

4. The Rule of 5s

Ask yourself:

• Will this matter in 5 days?

• 5 weeks?

• 5 years?

If the answer is no, release it.

This resets your sense of scale and importance.

Most overthinking comes from magnifying things that won’t matter long-term.

5. The “Decider Mindset”

One powerful mantra: “Decide and move.”

Overthinking loves delay.

So, decide quicker – and trust yourself more.
Even if it’s imperfect, a decision brings clarity.

Stuck between two options? Try this:

• Flip a coin

• Pay attention to your first emotional reaction

• If you feel relief, you likely wanted that outcome

• If you feel disappointment, your gut was hoping for the other – and that’s your real answer

It’s not about leaving the decision to chance – it’s about using the flip to reveal what you already feel deep down.

Bonus Tip: Move Your Body
Physical movement – a walk, some stretching, even standing up – breaks the thought-feeling-thought loop. It disrupts the chemical momentum of worry.

Summary

Overthinking is not a flaw. It’s a habit.

And like any habit, it can be replaced.

You don’t need to eliminate all your thoughts.

You just need better boundaries between you and your thinking.

Quick Recap:
Overthinking is fear disguised as logic – it creates fatigue, not clarity.
Use the 5-step method to reclaim calm:

• Thought Parking

• The 3-Bucket Filter

• Mental Bookends (morning & evening)

• Rule of 5s

• Decider Mindset (with the coin flip reveal)

See you next week. One more thought 👇

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That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, really hope this helped. Contact me if you think I can help you further at [email protected].

Happy thinking.