How To Stop Overthinking (Ask One Simple Question)
Learn how to stop overthinking.
Are you an overthinker, constantly stuck in your head? It feels like you're engaged in problem solving, but it's really just fueled by anxiety.
In this episode of Built Resilient Motivational Speaker Bart Walsh offers a simple question to shift your mindset, encourage positive thinking, and help you overcome mental fatigue, ultimately boosting your self help journey.
The Science Behind the Spiral
When your mind starts looping, your prefrontal cortex goes into overdrive, collecting data and building scenarios. Meanwhile, your amygdala screams that something's wrong, creating an endless feedback loop between logic and fear. Your body joins the party, breathing becomes shallow, shoulders creep toward your ears, and your world narrows until all you can see is the problem.
Most of the time, what we're really afraid of isn't the decision itself, it's what we'll feel afterward.
The shame, embarrassment, or rejection that might follow if someone sees us fail.
The Golden Question That Changes Everything
After years of battling his own overthinking patterns, Bart discovered one simple question that cuts through all the mental noise:
What would I do if I wasn't afraid?
This question works because it bypasses your mental chatter and connects directly with your intuition. It moves you from your head into your body, and when you ask it, you don't analyze, you feel the answer. That first quiet response is usually the truth.
A Four-Step Framework for Breaking Free
In this episode, Bart shares a practical four-step process that helps you move from overthinking into action:
- Pause and acknowledge when you're spiraling—awareness creates space between you and the thought
- Breathe intentionally to signal safety to your nervous system
- Ask the golden question and let the answer rise before your inner critic jumps in
- Take the smallest possible action right now—momentum before masterpiece
From Fear to Freedom
You'll also discover why courage isn't the absence of fear, it's taking the next step while fear is still whispering.
Whether you're avoiding a difficult conversation, hesitating to pursue a dream, or simply stuck in analysis paralysis, this episode gives you the tools to break free from the prison of your own thoughts and start living presently instead of fearfully.
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