“Overthinking: The Prison You Built, The Freedom You Forgot.”
- Santhosh Sivaraj
- 3 days ago
- 16 min read
Last week, I went to Puducherry on an official trip.
Yes—Puducherry. The same place where I once went with my childhood friends, laughing like idiots on Gandhi Beach, eating till we couldn’t breathe at those famous cafés, and clicking pictures as if we were the first humans to discover sunsets.
Back then, Puducherry tasted like freedom.
This time… it tasted like responsibility.
The roads were the same.The beach was the same.Even the smell of sea breeze was the same.
But I wasn’t.
When you visit a tourist place as a tourist, everything feels like magic. When you visit the same place as an employee… everything feels like a meeting.
Gandhi Beach—once the symbol of joy, now the background of my thoughts about presentations and targets. The restaurants—once a celebration of taste, now a place where I checked emails between bites. Even the calm sunrise felt like a reminder of deadlines.
At one point, I stood there and smiled to myself.
Places don’t change. Purposes do. And when your purpose changes, your mind changes the way you see everything.
That’s when a powerful insight hit me:
It is not the city that looks different. It is the state of mind that paints the city.
And if a place can feel beautiful or stressful just based on what’s happening inside my head…then what about life?
What if most of our “problems” are just the mind wearing a different set of glasses?
That thought stayed with me.
A Small Peek Into My Life
I’ve lived many versions of myself.
A sailor. A banker. A writer. A speaker. A man who has failed, risen, laughed, burnt out, rebuilt, and still keeps evolving.
In this evolving process, something else was also growing inside me—Mind Flow.
Not as a brand. Not as a concept. But as a need.
Because I realized this:
Humans don’t suffer from lack of opportunities. We suffer from the noise inside our own head.
Mind Flow was born when I started observing the patterns of why people succeed, fail, break, rise, and repeat the same cycles again and again.
And every time I went deeper, one culprit kept appearing, wearing different masks.
Not fear. Not laziness. Not even lack of talent.
The real enemy was something subtle. Something we all do. Something we even justify as “normal”.
Overthinking.
The Sunday Morning That Changed Everything
Last Sunday, I went for a morning walk with my wife. The air was fresh. The world was calm. Zero noise.
Out of nowhere, she asked me:
“What exactly is overthinking?”
Simple question, right?
I opened my mouth to give a standard answer...
… and I stopped.
Because the truth hit me hard:
We all keep saying “Don’t overthink”…but how many of us actually know what overthinking is?
Is it worry? Is it fear? Is it planning too much? Is it thinking about the future? Is it replaying the past?
Where is the line between thinking and overthinking?
Why is it so easy to fall into it? Why is it so hard to come out of it?
And most importantly…
How many years of our life are silently being stolen because of it?
That question didn’t leave me.
In that moment, I realised something powerful:
Overthinking is not one of the problems.
It is THE problem behind every other problem.
It kills peace. It kills action. It kills confidence. It kills relationships. It kills health. It kills dreams before they are even born.
Silently. Slowly. Respectfully. Like a polite assassin.
And that’s why…
This blog had to be written.
Not tomorrow. Not next month. Not “when I get time.”
Today. Right now. Before overthinking kills one more dream.
Welcome to the journey.
Let’s break the biggest invisible enemy of our generation—once and for all.
What Is Overthinking? (The Tragic Irony We All Live In)
Let’s be blunt.
Overthinking is not “thinking a lot.” It is thinking in circles without moving forward.
It’s when the brain keeps replaying the same situation, the same fear, the same question—again and again—without producing action, clarity, or any real benefit.
This is the simplest way to put it:
👉 Thinking is useful.👉 Overthinking is mental noise.
The Presentation Example (Let’s get practical…)
Imagine this:
You have an important office presentation coming in two months.
Logically, that is more than enough time to prepare.
In a perfect world:
You plan it slowly.
You design it peacefully.
You polish it confidently.
You present it powerfully.
But in the real world, this is what happens to most people:
The presentation starts two days before. The stress starts two minutes after the announcement.
For 60 days, you don’t actually work on it. You just keep thinking about working on it.
“I should start.”
“Not today.”
“What if I mess up?”
“What will they say?”
“What if I forget?”
“I’ll do it next week.”
“No, after this meeting.”
“Okay, tomorrow for sure.”
The presentation takes only a few hours to make. The mind spends hundreds of hours worrying about it.
This is overthinking.
The Worry Never Changes — Only the Time Changes
The worry you feel:
2 months before…
2 weeks before…
2 days before…
2 hours before…
…it’s almost the same.
Same tightness in the chest. Same restlessness. Same tension in the body.
You just keep dragging the same mental burden across time.
Life is moving. But you are stuck on the same screen.
Work vs Worry
Let’s keep this very simple:
✅ Work follows a process.❌ Worry has no process.
✅ Work has a beginning, middle, and end.❌ Worry has no end.
✅ Work needs energy.❌ Worry drains energy.
The presentation gets done at its own natural pace anyway. But the months spent in worry are gone forever.
That’s the real loss.
Not the mistakes. Not the outcome. The wasted life in between.
“Think to Act” vs “Think to Worry”
There are only two kinds of thinking:
1. Thinking that leads to action. Moves you forward.
2. Thinking that leads to more thinking. Locks you in place.
Most people live in the second category, and they don’t even realize it.
“Easy to say… hard to do.”
People often tell me this.
And I agree. Overthinking feels natural because the brain is designed to protect us.
But here’s the mistake we make:
We treat some problems as “serious” (like smoking, drinking, unhealthy food)…and treats overthinking as “normal.”
Overthinking is not harmless. It quietly damages sleep, focus, confidence, mood, performance, decisions, relationships, and even health.
It just doesn’t make noise like other problems. That’s why people ignore it.
This is not about “positive thinking.”
I am not asking anyone to become overly positive or fake strong.
I am saying one thing:
If a thought is not leading to action or clarity, it is a useless thought.
And useless thoughts have no right to live in your mind.
Mastering Thought Is the Real Upgrade
In today’s world, everyone is fighting external competition.
But the real victory is internal.
The people who win in life are not the ones who never worry. They are the ones who know when to stop.
They know:
When to think.
When to decide.
When to act.
When to let go.
They use their mind as a tool, not as a torture device.
And because of that, their life moves forward while others stay stuck.
That’s why those who master their thinking become unstoppable.
Not because they know everything. But because they don’t waste time fighting imaginary battles.
Overthinking is not just a bad habit. It is a mental trap.
The Mind’s Logic During Overthinking
The mind is a strange thing.
Sometimes, it listens to us like a loyal friend. Sometimes, it behaves like a drunk monkey on a sugar rush.
One moment, we feel completely in control. The very next moment… we don’t even know why we’re upset.
This is why I say:
The mind is the easiest to control… and the easiest to lose control.
And overthinking knows exactly how to take advantage of that.
Why Progress Keeps Slipping
Have you noticed this?
You decide to improve something in life. You take one solid step forward. You feel good about yourself.
Then suddenly…you lose momentum. You slip. You go back to the old pattern.
And you wonder: “Why does this keep happening to me?”
Here’s the reason:
What is easy to do… is also easy to undo.
It’s easy to sleep early.
It’s also easy to scroll for 2 hours and sleep at 1 AM.
It’s easy to start working.
It’s also easy to “take a small break” and never return.
It’s easy to calm your mind.
It’s also easy to let one unnecessary thought ruin your day.
This is the harsh truth about the mind:
If you don’t actively direct it, it will automatically drift.
And drifting is the birthplace of overthinking.
The Real Problem? We Don’t Treat It as a Problem.
People know smoking damages health. They know junk food is harmful. They know lack of sleep is dangerous.
These things are visible. Tangible. Obvious.
But overthinking?
No one takes it seriously.
“I just think a lot.” “I’m just being cautious.” “I just like to analyze.”
We glorify it. We justify it. We even wrap it in words like “perfectionism” or “responsibility.”
But let’s call it what it actually is:
Overthinking is self-created mental torture.
It drains energy. It kills confidence. It delays action. It ages the body. It weakens the immune system. It spoils relationships. It fuels anxiety. And in long-term, it leads to depression and burnout.
It is not harmless. It is silent damage.
Overthinking Is an Invisible Poison
If someone drinks poison, we panic and rush them to a hospital.
But when someone silently poisons themselves with thoughts every day, nobody notices.
Why? Because overthinking doesn’t always scream. It whispers. It hides behind “I’m just worried.” It disguises itself as “I care too much.”
The worst part?
Overthinking feels like you're doing something…but you’re actually doing nothing.
It tricks the brain into believing it’s being productive just because it is busy.
Busy mind ≠ productive mind.
The Harsh Reality People Don’t Want to Hear
Overthinking is not a small issue.
It is expensive.
Every time you overthink, you are paying with:
Your peace.
Your time.
Your energy.
Your health.
Your clarity.
Your happiness.
Your life.
Can anyone who wants a successful and peaceful life afford to lose all that?
Overthinking is a luxury we simply CANNOT afford.
Not anymore.
Not in this fast, demanding world. Not when our goals need action, not hesitation. Not when our families need our presence, not our anxiety. Not when our dreams require courage, not mental chaos.
The mind is powerful.But it is also playful.
If you don’t train it, it will trick you.
Caveman vs Modern Man – How Anxiety Evolved and Became a Monster
Let’s go back in time for a moment.
Imagine a caveman sitting outside his shelter thousands of years ago.
His brain had one job: Keep him alive.
If he heard a sound in the bushes, his mind asked one question:“Is there a tiger?”
That’s it.
If there was a tiger → he either fought or ran. If there was no tiger → he relaxed and continued life.
Problem appears. Problem is handled. Mind resets.
Anxiety lasted only a few minutes because real danger couldn’t last all day.
Now let’s look at us.
We don’t deal with tigers. We deal with thoughts.
“What if I fail?”“What will people think?”“What if I’m not good enough?”“What if my future collapses?”
No tiger.No actual danger in front of us.Yet the brain still reacts as if our life is at stake.
The caveman’s fear ended when the situation ended.Our fear never ends because the situation is inside our head.
There is no off-switch when the enemy lives in our imagination.
Anxiety Duration: Then vs Now
Caveman anxiety: 5 minutes Modern anxiety: 5 months, 5 years, sometimes an entire lifetime
Our bodies were built for short bursts of stress. Now we live in endless mental stress.
And the body is paying the price.
The Science Is Brutal
Modern psychology and neuroscience have repeatedly proven this:
Chronic overthinking = chronic stress.
Chronic stress leads to:
High cortisol levels (stress hormone)
Poor sleep quality
Weakened immune system
Digestive issues
High blood pressure
Inflammation in the body
Early aging of brain cells
Increased risk of heart attack and stroke
Anxiety disorders
Depression
Burnout
Harvard research shows that people who ruminate (think excessively about problems) have a much higher chance of developing depression and anxiety disorders.
Stanford studies found that constant worry increases activity in the brain’s fear center (amygdala) and reduces activity in the logical part (prefrontal cortex).
In simple terms: Overthinking physically rewires the brain to become more anxious.
The caveman fought for his life.We fight our own thoughts.
And unfortunately, our thoughts are winning.
The question is — how do we break this pattern?
Because the brain has evolved in complexity…but our stress response hasn’t updated in 10,000 years.
This is the war of the modern mind.
And now that we understand where it comes from…we can finally talk about how to break the loop.
The Infinite Loop – Why We Invent Tragedies
Overthinking is simply this:
We suffer more in imagination than in reality.
And the worst part?
Most of the things we fear never actually happen.
The Brain’s Design Flaw
The human brain has a genuine problem: It reacts to imagined situations almost the same way it reacts to real situations.
So when you “think” about something going wrong:
Your heart rate goes up.
Stress hormones increase.
Muscles tighten.
Sleep gets disturbed.
All this… without anything actually happening outside.
Your body pays the price for a thought.
The Numbers Are Embarrassing
A study published in Behavior Research and Therapy found:
91.4% of things people worry about never happen.
And of the small percentage that did happen, 79% of people said it was easier to handle than they imagined.
This means: Most of our stress is self-created. We are scared of ideas, not events.
The Real Problem: Living in “Tomorrow”
Overthinking always lives in the future.
We constantly ask:
“What if I fail?”
“What if something goes wrong?”
“What if people judge me?”
“What if I’m not ready?”
While worrying about tomorrow, we completely ignore today.
And tomorrow never really arrives… because when it does, we start worrying about the next day.
So life keeps moving forward…but our mind stays stuck in the future.
The Loop Explained (Very Simply)
A thought comes.
We imagine the worst-case scenario.
The body reacts with stress.
Stress makes us think even more.
Repeat.
No new information. No new solutions. Just the same fear on repeat.
That is the infinite loop.
Why the Present Moment Is So Powerful
This is not philosophy. This is neuroscience.
When you focus on right now, the logical part of your brain (prefrontal cortex) is active.
When you jump to the future, the fear center of your brain (amygdala) takes over.
Result?
Present = clarity and problem-solving. Future = fear and paralysis.
This is why most solutions appear the moment we stop panicking and start focusing on the current step.
The Smart Way to Live
Handle situations when they actually come, not months in advance in your head.
Think about your own life:
How many things did you worry about?
How many of them actually destroyed you?
And even when something did go wrong… didn’t you somehow manage it?
We are much stronger in real situations than we think we are in imagined ones.
Two Kinds of Thinking:
1. “What should I do?” → leads to action, clarity, progress.2. “What if it goes wrong?” → leads to hesitation, fear, delay.
The first moves life forward.The second keeps life on hold.
Overthinking doesn’t show the future.It only ruins the present.
And until we understand this, the loop continues.
The good news?Loops can be broken.
How to Stop Overthinking (Real Talk, Real Methods)
People always say, “Don’t overthink.”
Okay… HOW?
Nobody tells us the steps. Nobody gives the tools. So we just sit there, stuck inside our own head.
Let’s fix that.
1) Stop thinking “Why?” and start asking “What next?”
Overthinking loves open-ended questions like:
Why is this happening to me?
What if I fail?
Why am I like this?
These questions have no answer. They keep you stuck.
Replace them with: “What is the next small thing I can do?”
Action kills overthinking. The brain relaxes when it senses movement.
Even a tiny step beats 100 perfect thoughts.
2) Give worry a TIME SLOT (Yes, schedule it.)
Sounds weird? It works.
Yale researchers made people choose 15 minutes a day ONLY for worrying.
Results?
50% drop in overall anxiety
Better sleep
More productivity
Why?Because when worry has a scheduled time,the brain stops throwing panic at you all day.
When worry shows up, tell it: “Not now. 7 PM only.”
You take control.
3) Write it down. Seriously. Dump it.
The brain keeps repeating thoughts because it thinks you’ll forget them.
When you write them down, it stops looping.
University of Chicago study: Writing worries before a task improved performance by 22%.
You don’t need to write beautifully. You just need to empty your head.
Think of it like clearing RAM.
4) Take REAL breaks (not scrolling breaks)
Scrolling Instagram is not a break. Your brain is still overstimulated.
A real break = silence + awareness.
Examples:
Deep breathe for 2 minutes.
Sit quietly.
Drink tea in peace.
Walk without phone.
Notice your surroundings.
Stanford research:5 minutes of mindful awareness can reset the stress system.
It’s like pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL on the brain.
5) Move your body. Don’t argue. Just move.
You don’t need gym. Just move.
Walk. Stretch. Clean. Dance. Play.
When the body is stuck, the mind starts spinning.When the body moves, the mind calms down.
50+ studies show 20 minutes of movement can cut anxiety by 40-50%.
No pill can do that.
6) Set decision limits. Stop thinking forever.
Overthinking = endless options + no decision.
Set rules:
Small decisions → 5 minutes.
Medium → 24 hours.
Big → gather facts → decide → move.
Steve Jobs wore the same outfit daily. Not for fashion. To save mental energy.
7) Fix your dopamine. (Hidden reason nobody talks about)
When dopamine is low:
You feel stuck.
You don’t feel like doing things.
You think more, act less.
Low dopamine = overthinking mode.
How to fix it (naturally):
Sleep on time.
Less junk scrolling.
Sunlight.
Protein food.
Exercise.
Small wins.
One task at a time.
Read “Dopamine Nation” (Dr. Anna Lembke).She explains how overstimulation (phones, Netflix, sugar) ruins your brain’s motivation system.
Fix dopamine. Overthinking drops naturally.
8) Ask: “What’s the REAL worst-case scenario?”
Not the dramatic one your mind creates. The REAL one.
90% of the time, the honest answer is:
“It might feel uncomfortable.”
“Someone may not like it.”
“I may need to try again.”
That’s it.
Dr. Daniel Kahneman (Nobel Prize):Humans triple the fear in their head compared to real life.
Once you see reality, the fear loses power.
What science says (straight, no fancy words)
Overthinking = amygdala (fear center) overheats.
Taking action = prefrontal cortex (logic center) activates.
Writing = frees working memory.
Mindfulness = lowers cortisol.
Exercise = releases serotonin & BDNF (repairs the brain).
Decision rules = prevent mental fatigue.
Balanced dopamine = stable mood, clear focus.
You’re not “weak.” Your brain is just running old software. Update it
Marcus Aurelius: “You have power over your mind, not outside events.”
Seneca: “We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
Bruce Lee: “If you think too much, you never get it done.”
Naval Ravikant: “The mind will create problems if it has none.”
Tim Ferriss: “Overthinking kills more dreams than failure.”
Lessons from Nature & Legends
Sometimes the best way to understand life is to stop looking at complicated theories…and just observe.
Nature has been running successfully for millions of years. No chaos. No confusion. No “what if” syndrome. Everything just flows.
PART 1: OTHER LIFE FORMS – HOW THEY LIVE WITHOUT DESTROYING THEIR PEACE
Look at a bird. It wakes up, flies, finds food, builds a nest, rests. No bird sits on a branch thinking, “What if tomorrow there are no worms?”
Look at a butterfly. Its whole life is short. It doesn’t waste time in doubt. It spreads beauty, pollinates flowers, lives fully. Not once does it think, “Am I good enough?”
Look at a tiger. When hungry, it hunts. When full, it rests. It doesn’t think, “What will other tigers think if I fail the hunt?”
Look at a tortoise. Slow, steady, peaceful. It doesn’t compare its speed with a rabbit. It just lives at its own rhythm.
Look at a tree. It faces storms, heat, rain, cold. It bends when needed, stands when needed. It doesn’t ask, “Why is life so unfair?”
Animals don’t waste energy on questions that don’t matter. They don’t live in past or future. They live in purpose.
Nature’s rule is simple: If it doesn’t help survival, growth, or contribution…don’t spend energy on it.
Humans are the only species that can destroy a peaceful day…just by thinking.
PART 2: HUMANS WHO DON’T OVERTHINK (AND WHY THEY WIN BIG)
We admire high performers—athletes, soldiers, artists, entrepreneurs, musicians—not because they are fearless…but because they act even when the mind tries to create fear.
Let’s look at how they operate.
1) Athletes
They don’t have the luxury to overthink in the middle of a match. If they stand there thinking, they lose. So they train their brain to react, decide, act.
Serena Williams once said: “I don’t think. I trust. ”That’s the difference.
2) Soldiers
A soldier in the battlefield cannot keep asking “what if.”He follows training, makes fast decisions, moves.Overthinking = death.
That’s why military training focuses on discipline, clarity, and instinct over hesitation.
3) Performers (stage, music, dance)
Ask any great performer what happens right before stepping on stage: There IS fear. But they don’t sit and analyze it. They walk through it.
Actor Hugh Jackman said: “The only way to kill stage anxiety is to go on stage anyway.”
Action is the cure.
4) Entrepreneurs
Successful entrepreneurs don’t wait to be “fully ready.” They try. Learn. Adjust. Repeat.
Jeff Bezos says: “If I have 70% information, I decide. Waiting for 100% is too slow.”
Speed beats perfection.
5) Artists & Creators
Great artists don’t wait for “perfect ideas. ”They start. Most of what they create isn’t genius—but they keep going.
Michelangelo said,“ If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn’t call it genius.”
They don’t overthink the outcome. They focus on the craft.
REALITY CHECK
The people who do great things are NOT the ones with zero fear. They are the ones who don’t sit with fear for too long.
They move.
They understand a simple rule of life:Action creates clarity. Hesitation creates confusion.
They don’t chase motivation.They build discipline.
They don’t depend on mood. They depend on mindset.
They don’t wait for the perfect time. They make the time perfect by acting.
THE COMMON PATTERN
Every successful person from any field—sports, art, business, leadership—has one thing in common:
They think just enough to decide. And then they act.
Most people: Think → Think → Think → Think → Think → Freeze
High performers: Think → Decide → Act → Adjust → Grow
That’s it.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Nature doesn’t overcomplicate life. Legends don’t either.
The world doesn’t reward the person who thinks the most. It rewards the person who moves with clarity.
Overthinking never produced a masterpiece.
Overthinking never built a company.
Overthinking never won a war.
Overthinking never changed the world.
Action did.
The Final Awakening
Let’s end this the way real life feels—honest, direct, and personal.
Overthinking is not just a “bad habit.”It is one of the biggest reasons people don’t live the life they’re capable of.
People think failure kills dreams. No.
Overthinking kills them long before failure even gets a chance.
You know what’s even worse?
Most people don’t lose life in decades. They lose it in thoughts—repeating the same worries, same fears, same “what ifs” again and again… until life just passes quietly.
And the saddest part?
Nothing outside stopped them. Their own mind did.
Let’s be brutally clear:
If we want freedom, we must take back control of our mind. If we want success, we must stop negotiating with fear. If we want peace, we must stop replaying pain. If we want joy, we must stop expecting disaster every time something goes well.
Your mind is powerful. But it should work for you… not against you.
Train it to serve you, not scare you.
Stop living in imaginary futures. Start living in real moments.
Because life does not happen tomorrow. Life does not happen in “what if. ”Life happens only in NOW.
And the “now” is always manageable.
Here’s the good news…
Overthinking is not your personality. It is not “just the way you are.” It is not permanent.
It is simply a habit your brain repeated for too long.
And any habit can be reprogrammed. One honest moment of awareness at a time.
Let me leave you with this:
The day you stop overthinking, you don’t just become calmer…
You stop delaying. You stop doubting. You stop surviving.
And you finally start LIVING.
Not tomorrow. Not someday. Now.
This is your mind.
This is your life.
Take it back.
