Do you ever get stuck in your head and can’t get out? It’s easy to become locked in a thought or obsess about something, which can lead you to feeling helpless. Here are 3 ways to get out of your head and get on with your life.

1. Is it really that important?

Ask yourself if the thought or obsession your thinking of is important enough to spend all of your time worrying about?

If you have to make a big decision and your trying to figure out what to do then it’s important. However, many people spend more time worrying about making a decision versus actually doing the work to make the decision.

If the thought or worry you are having isn’t of major importance then ask yourself why you are spending so much time thinking about it.

Assign a time later in the day to worry about the thought. It’s not that important so it can wait. For example, plan to worry about it on your drive home from work. That way you give yourself permission to file it away for later and move past it in the moment. Don’t worry; it is likely you won’t even think about it later.

Yes, this may take some work, however, your already working really hard in your head and not getting anywhere.

2. Get present

Get in the present moment and increase your awareness. This will help you focus on what the priority is. If you are stuck in a thought or obsessing about something then you can’t be present and aware.

Here are 3 techniques to try:

• Try changing your surroundings by getting outside or go into another room.
• Call a friend and ask how they are doing. Getting outside of your own issues for a few minutes can help you refocus on the moment.
• Take a walk, go for a run, or do something active to help you take a break from obsessing. This can help you get further clarity you need as well as be in the present moment.

The goal is to be in the present moment versus stuck in your thoughts.

3. Write it out

Staying stuck in your thoughts and worrying about things you have no control over is hard work. It’s time to work smarter and not harder.

Take out a sheet of paper, journal, or notebook and write everything that you’re thinking about. All of your thoughts and worries that your having at the moment.

Dump it out and don’t hold back. It doesn’t matter how it looks on paper. This is for your eyes only. It’s important that you put down all of the thoughts that are racing through your mind.

This will help you purge the distressing thoughts and allow the cycle to stop. Look back at what you wrote. Now you can separate what is a real concern versus an irrational one. You can now figure out a game plan of how to tackle your concerns from a logical perspective.

Take Away

There are things you have worried excessively about in the past that never happened and it is likely you are doing the same thing now. Use these techniques to get out of your head and give yourself a chance at freedom from your thoughts.

What helps you get out of your head? Feel free to share any that you think would be helpful for others to know in the comment section below.

Let’s work together