Overthinking Is Fine… If You’re Focused on Problem-Solving
Four questions to ask yourself when you feel like you’re overthinking to move from a problem to a solution
I have a bone to pick with the modern mindfulness and non-reactivity narrative. It overgeneralizes all types of thinking and imposes constraints on the human mind that would make even the most enlightened monks struggle to fit the ideal.
I’m half Tibetan and a lot of people in my family are or were Buddhist monks. I’ve talked to them at length about the modern wave of mindfulness training.
Per Tibetan Buddhist monks, overthinking is losing control of the monkey mind. My uncle says it’s like a pinball game — the ball just bounces around uncontrollably. So your mind just bounces from thought to thought.
However, overthinking can be beneficial if it is directed and controlled. This is where my family collectively disagree with pop-mindfulness. Modern mindfulness states whenever your mind is removed from the present, you aren’t being mindful. Traditional mindfulness differentiates between an uncontrolled and a controlled monkey mind.
A controlled monkey mind is powerful. It is creative. It is imaginative. And it is excellent at solving problems.
