Are You Overthinking?...Keep It Simple!

Life can get really complicated in a hurry when we think and analyze too much. The human mind is a highly sophisticated entity capable of great feats but if left unchecked, it can take the pure and simple things in life and turn them upside down. Our minds are great tools and can serve us in numerous ways if we use them appropriately, but thinking is not meant to be our primary mode of navigating much of our worldly experience. We are spiritual beings first and foremost and as such, our greatest guides are our intuition and our feelings. When it comes to love, creativity, self-expression, service, purpose, connection and the really juicy stuff in life, the keys to fulfillment and growth are to BE wholly present in our experiences and to FEEL our way through them, including and ESPECIALLY any challenges and obstacles that come our way. Yet so often, we lead with our thoughts, and this can often lead to confusion and unnecessary complexity. There’s thinking and then there’s OVER-thinking. There’s analyzing and then there’s OVER-analyzing.

That’s one of my personal favorites and anyone who knows me well will tell you that’s my specialty. Having access to the great potential of the human mind and all of its intellectual capabilities can, as with any other powerful force, tempt us into misusing it. And there ‘s no doubt that the human mind is great at solving problems. The important distinction is to know which problems are made for the mind and which ones aren’t.

Scheduling, determining the necessary support structure of a building, planning a flight route given the day’s weather conditions, projecting sales based on last month’s numbers, plumbing - these are clearly fodder for the brain’s analytical capabilities. Going after the job of our dreams, moving to a city that’s been calling us for years, open-heartedly entering into a relationship with someone we have a strong connection with, giving a completely uninhibited and audacious performance, these are spheres of life where we must lead with heart and soul and where thought must inevitably come second.

When we use thought and analysis inappropriately as our go-to filter for processing matters of the heart and soul, we lose out on the experience and we risk missing the point of what life is offering us. Sometimes the greatest challenge is to keep things simple when we believe there is more to lose. If you hear the call to move to Los Angeles, commit to making it happen and the rest will take care of itself. If you care deeply about that guy or girl even though it doesn’t make sense on paper, dive in headfirst and work out the details as you go. If you wanna sing, paint, dance, write….then toss aside whatever’s getting in your way and sing, paint, dance or write your little ass off!

Life is short my friends. We are here today but who knows if we’ll get to have a tomorrow. Don’t overthink it, don’t overanalyze it, get out of your head and into your heart and LIVE! Live fully, live courageously, live fearlessly and soak up every little juicy drop of experience while you can. You might fall flat on your face, you might get hurt, you might screw up, you might FAIL in a big way but so f’in what??!! That’s how you learn, that’s how you grow, that’s the whole point and why we’re here to begin with.

So lead with you heart, keep it simple and play BIG. The final outcome is not as important as the amazing journey you’ll have getting there.

Sound crazy to you? You’re probably over-thinking it ;P

Much love,

Chris

Written for The Daily Love (Aug 4th, 2012)