Overthinking is a sure path to an absence of clarity. Little good ever comes out of processing the same thing over and over and over again, because after a point, the thing becomes whatever we imagine it to be. Like overchewing a piece of meat, we’re left with a sore, aching jaw, and the tasteless, mangled remains of what was once flavorful. In like manner, revisiting an idea or a perception ad nauseam only leads to a weary, exhausted brain telling itself that it’s seeking “the answer,” but left to settle, and left to realize that “the answer” it purports to seek isn’t absolute truth, but rather what it most wants to hear at a given time.
It’s tiresome to hear the same thing repeated over and over again - self-loathing; self-pity; waxing poetic about the state of the world or intangible things like happiness. These self-indulgent thoughts are cyclical. Continually contemplating on the sad plight of life only encourages more self-pity, and invites pity from others. It paralyzes. It impedes progress and prevents one from acting, from doing the very things necessary to climb out of their funk.
How does one attain happiness? That question is impossible to definitively answer for everybody. But I may make one generalization: happiness makes a poor bedfellow with overthinking.
