Overthinking and Underthinking

Overthinking is not the problem.  It’s underthinking.

When someone tells me, “You’re overthinking things,” it usually means my thinking is more than what they can handle.  Thinking ahead is perceived as worrying.  Outside-the-Box-Thinking is “too complicated” or mislabeled as “scatterbrained.”  This anti-intellectual culture conditions us to think less, and then any extra step in the thought process is called overthinking.  We should think more, do more puzzles, read, and exercise our minds.  It’s conducive to learning problem solving skills.  Organs are complex muscles, and if you don’t exercise, a muscle becomes weak; the brain is no exception to this rule.

Our eyes are flooded with cyberimagery – factoid memes, 5 minute videos, thousands of songs that lose our interest in the prelude, the list could go on.  The point is that our attention span is shorter and we jump to conclusions quicker without much thought – because otherwise that’s overthinking.

Yes, I know what people mean by overthinking.  When someone is worried and speculates on every possible worst case scenario.  That involves inductive reasoning, except it goes out of control, contributing to an anxiety attack.  That could be due to building upon an inaccuracy, or it could be trying to understand matters causing the worry.  As Gavin de Becker wrote in the Gift of Fear, anxiety is caused by uncertainty.  The thinking is an attempt to quell the uncertainty by fishing for an assuring realization.  In contrast - Underthinking involves snap decisions based on singular deductions.  In other words, people judge based on impressions.  This allows people to judge from the surface and not go any deeper.  This is great for corrupt governments who want to raise sheep.

Gone are the days of, “Far out, man,” and welcome is the present, “Don’t overthink it,” and “Omg, such a know-it-all!”  Why can’t we be far out anymore? – because we are told not to think too far.

With simpler minds trained to exercise their brain less, hearing someone speculate, analyze, and make comparisons might overwhelm.  Sometimes people confuse planning ahead or just thinking at all as worrying.  Inductive reasoning and speculation can be positive too. Look at all the storylines in your TV shows.  Someone had to speculate different plot twists and endings, and then deduce the best ones to captivate the audience.  Creativity is intelligence having fun, as Einstein once said.

If you really don’t want to be a sheep, exercise your brain.  Let the complicated challenge you instead of intimidate you.  Employ inductive and deductive reasoning.  Have discussions, debate your friends.  Be creative.  Use logic.  Do puzzles.  Read.  Write.  Think.

There is no overthinking, but the elaboration on the inaccurate.

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Later comment from me:

FYI: I took a couple of minutes to write this passage that is less than one page.  If you think this is overthinking out of irony, then you are admitting that 438 words is too much for you.  Don't let yourself be that weak.  Think, meditate, ponder.  Thinking leads to knowledge, and knowledge is power.

Originally a Facebook Note posted:  June 30, 2018

Updated:  March 5, 2020