Don't think, just do
“Don’t think, just do,” says one of my favourite Peloton instructors as the last interval approaches. It’s exactly what I need to hear. My mind is already questioning whether I can do it, thinking of ways to go slower, shorten the interval, stop sooner. My mind is giving up before my body. Time to quit thinking. Just do.
As this week began, I was feeling resistance and floating anxiety about all kinds of things. I knew that none of this was justified: my to do list was entirely of my own making, I have few deadlines, and most importantly, none of the items were high stakes. Still, I was turning each task over and over again in my mind. So I decided that the theme for this week would be, “Don’t think, just do.”
I suppose it would be accurate to rephrase it as “Don’t OVERthink, just do.” Especially when it comes to things that can’t actually be worked out or improved with more thinking. Writing, for example. I was going over a writing-related problem in my head, and just getting more stressed out about the project. But ultimately it’s only going to get closer to being solved by writing. Just do.
This imperative is not going to make a great overall life philosophy, of course. I don’t advocate for thoughtless behaviour or a lack of reflection. As a friend put it to me in a text recently, that’s how people who have no business climbing mountains with a kit full of Home Depot gear freeze to death on Everest. Some weeks, my theme is “Go slow and double check.” These affirmations can live beside one another, even if that seems paradoxical. It’s really about knowing which situations to apply each one to. Everest? Go slow and double check. Maybe don’t do at all.
I’m not going to send an important email without taking a minute to make sure it makes sense (I mean, I have, and then I’ve regretted it!). On the other hand, if I’m agonizing over each word and overthinking each comma, maybe I just need to press send.
As time goes on, I’m becoming more aware of all the ways we sabotage ourselves. As if the very real barriers in the world that hold us up aren’t enough, we also add our own little roadblocks by talking ourselves out of doing things we want and need to do. It makes sense: our brains want to keep us away from discomfort and difficulty right now, even if it leads to more discomfort in the future.
Let’s face it, though, most of us don’t enjoy overthinking. For a while it feels safer and more comfortable than doing a thing, but after a point it becomes its own kind of torture. Who among us hasn’t been super annoyed at all the time they wasted overthinking a task when doing it took minutes and was actually not all that hard?
I don’t have a cure for overthinking, unfortunately. Not one that doesn’t involve a whole lot of drugs and alcohol, anyway. I appreciate thinking, and thoughtfulness. But thinking alone isn’t always helpful, or what we truly need. A lot of our thoughts are really pointless noise! For such an amazing organ, the brain can really spout some crap.
Maybe it’s helpful to remember just that: thoughts are not necessarily facts, or helpful analyses, or connected to reality. Sometimes they’re just getting in your way. Maybe it’s time to just do.
What I’m reading: Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read such a deep dive into the world of alt-right conspiracies and general wackiness, but Klein is a very good writer and it’s quite a page turner.
What I’m watching: Bad Monkey. I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch a fast-talking Vince Vaughn Florida-based murder mystery, but once again, my thoughts were wrong and it’s very enjoyable.