S4E4: Am I strategising, or am I overthinking?
Full transcript:
Good morning, happy Thursday, and welcome back to the LCP, the daily dose of language courage for people who love languages, and those who really don’t, but have to learn one anyway.
And today’s episode is for all the overthinkers among us, who are currently sitting and wondering, are we overthinking like we always do, or are we just hatching a really good plan for the project or the day, that’s set for any eventuality?
Because that’s the problem with overthinking, isn’t it? It always feels productive. It feels like the most sensible thing we could be doing. That, barging straight in without a plan is reckless, and irresponsible, and we risk wasting so much time and energy that way so why wouldn’t we take the time to iron out the issues now?
Except then, we don’t start. We get stuck in thinking. We think we’re strategizing and making all decisions, but we’re not. We’re using thinking to avoid doing.
So I was thinking about this, and thinking, how can we know whether we’re strategizing, or just caught up in overthinking. And this is by no means a definitive answer, but it might be a starting point for you to do your own journaling on, and it might well be something I come back to in a few months.
And this is what I came up with.
Do I feel like I have more options or fewer?
Overthinking makes me feel like I have fewer options. Maybe that means, no options, or no right options, or that there are options out there somewhere but they seem out of reach somehow.
When I’m strategising, it gives me the opportunity to say no to options that don’t work, but makes me feel like I have options that do work.
Do I feel like I have more problems or fewer?
Overthinking makes me leave feeling like I have more problems. And that’s because for all the considering I thought I was doing, my brain wasn’t actually facing the problem and then finding a solution. Instead, it’s just been caught in a loop, avoiding asking the hard questions and instead going over and over what I know about the problem, what other people have said, how serious it could be, or how I feel about it. Over and over.
Strategising, on the other hand, makes sure that I leave feeling like I have more solutions. And even if I don’t have the answer I was looking for, I feel equipped to deal with it, because I’m armed with a list of questions to research, or preliminary steps I can take that might get me closer to that answer.
Do I feel more ready or less ready to take action?
Overthinking increases my hesitation about taking action. Strategising compels me towards that first step.
And my final test is, how involved am I getting in what could possibly go wrong, or be hard or uncomfortable for me? When I’m overthinking, I’m fully immersed in imagining bad outcomes or replaying actual past events that felt bad. When I’m strategizing, I’m still acknowledging likely issues, planning for them, but it’s not a high definition experience. It’s the difference between driving past them, vaguely registering their existence, on the way to my good outcome destination, versus seeing the welcome signs, pulling over, and spending the day there.
And if this resonates with you, language learners, I’d love to invite you to share your thoughts with me. How do you recognise when overthinking is stopping you from getting started? And can you recognise it while you’re in the middle of it?
Leave a comment on today’s episode on a positit on Instagram, send me a DM, or even better, book a call as part of the 100 Conversations Project with me! Last season, I started the 100 Conversations Project, where I would love to speak to 100 listeners of the Language Confidence Project, to meet you, to hear about how your language journey is going, and to find out what carving your own path means to you. It’s a really informal 30 minute Zoom chat over tea or coffee or whatever beverage you should like to bring, it’s completely free, and we can just hang out and chat about languages. If you would like to book a call, I have a calendly link in the shownotes, and it’s also in my Instagram bio at @teawithemily. Have a wonderful day, and I will see you tomorrow.