Hey folks, how are you doing? I hope well. This is the first time I've written about something unrelated to the technical side of things. The reason I'm covering this topic is probably because I'm the person who needs it the most — my biggest struggles and pains fall squarely under this very issue.
What I'm going to talk about
The biggest obstacles I've faced on my path toward self-development and self-purification were overthinking and a lack of organization. Overthinking caused me to stumble, fall, and waste time on things that didn't matter — often as an escape from pain, or as a way to avoid the fear of moving forward. The other side of it was excessive enthusiasm: ideas and emotions would take over before I'd stopped to breathe and properly think things through. Sometimes it was too much excitement. Other times, too much pain from an inability to accept reality and adapt.
And most of those things fall under self-doubt. I know — I haven't even defined overthinking yet and I'm already talking about something different. Anyway, let's keep moving.
Grab your coffee...
If I had to identify the root cause behind all of those events, it would be a lack of self-knowledge — a denial or ignorance of things about yourself that you can't afford to ignore. The consequences of that are severe: repeated falls, self-doubt, and the spiral of excessive overthinking. There are questions you have to answer honestly and stop running from. Otherwise, you'll never truly be yourself, and you'll never experience life as it actually is.
My own definition
Self-doubt comes from an individual's inability to recognize their own strength and capabilities — leading to anxiety, worry about their own performance, and sometimes a tendency to belittle themselves and become more vulnerable to psychological harm.
What about overthinking?
Human beings have complex chemical processes that govern how emotions and thoughts are generated in the brain. When we're exposed to sustained stress or anxiety, the brain can become overwhelmed with negative thoughts and worries, triggering a cycle of overthinking that's difficult to break out of.
How does it start — and how do we fix it?
When we're exposed to information in our daily lives, the brain sorts it into two categories: inputs that fall under short-term memory — like sensory memory — where data is classified as unimportant even if it still requires mental effort to process; and inputs stored in long-term memory, like academic knowledge or things that genuinely matter to us.
The problem isn't the memory system itself — it's that the brain sometimes classifies trivial things as important. When that keeps happening, it leads to overthinking and burnout, as the mind keeps processing and re-analyzing inputs that didn't deserve that much attention in the first place.
Here's how we can address it:
- Reduce the amount of input flowing into your brain. Focus on what actually matters in your life and let go of everything that doesn't.
- Know yourself. Be aware of your actual weaknesses and strengths — not the version you imagine.
- Be aware of your environment. Sometimes you don't need to change how you think to solve a problem; you need to change the environment you're in.
- Practice self-care and self-compassion. I always ask myself: why put crushing pressure on yourself and treat yourself harshly, when God who created you was never harsh with you?
- Organize your time. Know what you want to become. Put your goals in front of you and work on them step by step. Research, read, and build your own plan. Take it one thing at a time — you can't reach the top if you don't start from the bottom.
I believe the time has come to take a step forward, find the answers to the questions we've been avoiding, and strive toward what we were created for. I keep coming back to the saying of Prophet Yahya: "We were not created for play."
Author: GMM
buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/ghostman77506