“You yourself will always be the worst enemy you can encounter; you yourself lie in wait for yourself in caves and forests.” – Friedrich Nietzsche. Overthinking is one thing we can never change in our life, it’s our inner thoughts and is always sticking to us, but it’s up to us to figure out how we’ll react to it.  Nobody can really overcome or get rid of overthinking, but if you change the ways you deal and cope with it, overthinking can actually become beneficial. Most of the time, Overthinking is seen as a negative. Many people who treat this as a negative often feel stressed, unmotivated,  and worried. It keeps your mind away from not thinking in the present and leads people to feel depressed or anxious. If you treat Overthinking as a positive, it could help you improve yourself as a person with your own criticism and judgment.

In the story of Othello, he is manipulated and played with by the antagonist, Iago to think that his wife was cheating on him with Casio. He starts overthinking while Iago starts to feed him words of reverse psychology so he will look at them for inspiration, “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock. The meat it feeds on. (III.iii.)”. He starts to not think properly, he starts getting extremely anxious and jealous by these facts and murders his wife. This story probably wouldn’t have happened in real life with that sort of ending, but learning how to deal with overthinking properly can help you in the long run and see situations more clearly. If you or someone you know is having anxiety, overthinking, or even feeling overwhelmed use the 333 method to calm them down. First, start to breathe in and out calmly, relaxing your breathing. Then, Look for 3 objects, 3 sounds, and 3 body parts to help you focus and ground yourself when feeling overwhelmed. This is used as a technique to handle it in the moment, but it isn’t a treatment. 

Thinking about the future is something many people stress and overthink about. There are no ways to actually get rid of these stressful and terrifying thoughts, but you have to learn how to accept that time goes on and there is nothing to be afraid of. The story of the Mojave phone booth is a story about a man who loved to call a phone booth without knowing what or who was on the other side. It shows that you shouldn’t think too much about the unknown and what’s on the other side(the future), and should focus on the now. According to Tobe Hanson, “If you feel anxiety or depression, you are not in the present. You are either anxiously projecting the future or depressed and stuck in the past. The only thing you have any control over is the present moment; simple breathing exercises can make us calm and present instantly.” I often get stressed out and overthink when thinking about the future, but I’ve learned that It’s okay to think about that and you shouldn’t constantly think about the future but rather think about now in the current moment. Things happen and we aren’t in charge of time and the future, It’s up for you to decide how to live your life and accept that time moves on.

The song by Lupe Fiasco, “SHOES” (you should definitely check it out!) relates to this topic. This song is about a man named Ahmaud Aubrey, his ideas, and achievements. The quote; “They connect man and earth, they allow you to run. That running is freedom, accelerated heart rate by design through design.”  This quote expresses freedom and reaching for above and beyond. Overthinking can be a great example of this because when you overthink, you start to think about all sorts of possibilities you are able to do but also blocks you sometimes to refrain you from doing your goals or achievements. 

Finding something you enjoy can help improve your anxiety and overthinking, helping you relax and concentrate. For me, I like listening to music, my favorite song to play to cheer me up is “Good Days” by SZA is like a sunny day with clouds, It helps keep me in a good mood while uplifting my spirit. Finding and making time for doing things you like will actually increase your mental health and keep your mind off of your worries, which helps you in the long run and prevents you from being stressed all the time.