The lyric written below here makes perfect sense because it is the perfect definition of ruminating, which is what I’m slowly trying to conquer. Sine you are here I suppose you too. These books I am going to be discussing today are not conventional in their way of helping you stop overthinking. They might not be conventional but they do actually help so no to worry you are walking away with great tips on how stop ruminating.
‘’If I get it all down on paper, it’s no longer inside of me. Threatening the life it belongs to.’’
– Lyric by Anna Nalick.
How These Overthinking Tips Actually Help
I call them books because at the end of using them that is exactly what you will have. However these are not self-help books on ruminating that you buy but that you are going to create for yourself. Now onto how they actually help you stop ruminating. For me the process works as follows by writing everything down I’m actively focusing on the positive and my goals. My mind is forced to tag along because of the constant reminders of what to focus on. In order to reinforce this process even more I’ve started keeping three little books to stop ruminating in stead of just using any paper I could find.
Books To Keep To Stop Ruminating
1. Quote of the Day
The first book to stop ruminating is called ”quote of the day”, in which I write a line that sums up my day. The catch is that it always has to be a positive one, no matter how horrible my day was. This forces us to find the positive in each day and to end the day on a good note. Below this line I write, in a few short sentences, what I would like to improve about myself the next day. The improvement always has to have something to do with me personally, my character, my thoughts or my actions of that day. Now we have stumbled upon another important fact. Every written word in the quote of the day book has to be about that specific day. No looking back, only forward.
I know shooting for the moon with our hopes and dreams is the best thing to do but not here. The improvements on yourself that I was talking about in the previous paragraph can be small. The reason for this that if they are small you have less chance of them provoking even more ruminating which is counter productive when you are here for tips on how to stop ruminating. One of the tips is to keep it small, it’s okay!
2. To-Do book
The second of the three books I keep is, as I call it, a handy-dandy ‘’to-do’’ book. I do use it a little differently than what would be expected. On the first Sunday of the month I make a list of the tasks and/or activities that I want to get done for the upcoming month. Every Sunday of the week I make the same list but then for that specific week. I basically break down the monthly list to fit the week. Then I continue on to breaking down the week activities too fit the days. I always try to not over plan my day as that also makes the ruminating worse.
I try to find a good balance between making sure I have productive days and also having the actual time to do it all. It is a game of balance that I am always still perfecting.
Writing down my tasks for the day makes it easier to really focus on them because I am not constantly trying to remember them which at the end of the day would trigger my ruminating and that would be counterproductive as I am actively trying to stop ruminating.
This tip is really for you to have one less thing think about constantly.
Now you can use the same one I am using! It is optimized to follow the exact steps outlined above with the extra of your year plan in it as well!
3. Post-it
The third one technically isn’t a book. It’s a ”post-it”. I call it a book now because I have accumulated so many post-its it’s about as thick as the other two books. I told you that at the end of it you’ll have a book. Now of course how think your book is greatly depends on how much you ruminate but if you are a professional overthinking like me, that book will soon be reality.
On rough days I write positive reinforcements on a post-it and place it somewhere where I can constantly see it. The reinforcement mostly has something to do with a specific distractive thought that got stuck in my head. It is a quick fix, a way to continue my day without any disturbances from my own mind.
Just to be clear here it is not an affirmation. I am not trying to cement in my intrusive thoughts. By all means no, don’t do that! The reinforcement is usually the opposite of whatever it is I’m ruminating about. For example if you are wondering about being able to study all fourteen chapters for a test what you would write down is something along the lines of;
”I still have 3 days to study and I have already studied 7 chapters.”
With that you reinforce that you are worrying too much while you do have things under control. The other 7 chapter that you haven’t studied yet you can do in the 3 days you have left. All of this is important information to remind yourself of in order to stop ruminating.
Another way to stop overthinking is through Dear Diary Journaling.
The more there is on paper the more space there is in your head for positive things.
Love,
DCPR.
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