Yes, you can think too much.

Control. We think that this gives us an element of security while in fact, it's doing the opposite. When you try to control the things around you, you get chaos. It rarely ever goes as expect and that's because when you try to control the things around you, you're just setting expectations for how you want things to be not as they actually are. You are letting your mind and thoughts run loose and unruly in your head thinking that if you fixate on fixing one thing the rest will magically fall in place. That's just not how it works. There is a such thing as thinking too much and it's called being mindless. At the end of the day theres only one thing we can control and it's our emotions and actions in response to situations.

You select your thoughts like you select your clothes every day. You cultivate them. You choose which ones to listen to and which to simply say to, "This feeling/thought/emotion is no longer serving my purpose and well being and I choose to release its grip on me." You need to be honest with yourself. Letting your mind run wild is not in your best interest. The day you learn to control you mind and emotions your life will change. Surrendering to the moment and existing, to just "be." Living a life of gratitude and being present in the moment is the transition to "mindful" instead of mindless.

And let me tell you from someone with ADHD and anxiety, finding stillness in my mind felt like a nearly impossible task. I still struggle with it on occasion. I find myself distracted and finding complete stillness in my mind takes a lot of effort and belief in myself. It was initially extremely frustrating to me. I couldn't get the hang of it, my mind would wander every few seconds and I would stray off in the guided meditations. My negative self-talk would present itself. It was a mess. I really thought I would never get the hang of it. But never-the-less, I persisted and little by little cultivating my thoughts and being present became effortless. Bringing myself back from having a panic attack and honoring my emotions and feelings became effortless. I became at peace with myself and learned to listen to myself properly. It's been a large shift in my life and has impacted every facet of my life. I am so thankful to be wholly, and wildly alive everyday and in the moment.

So how does one learn to be mindful instead of mindless? Beginning a meditation practice can be a lot like trying on different hats to figure out which one is the best fit. Here's some tips and tricks to get started:

1. Try downloading headspace, an app with free guided meditation practices is great for beginners and has levels that allow you to slowly grow and cultivate your mind. There are a bunch of different apps for you to peruse through!

2. Spotify and Youtube are filled with guided meditations and breathing exercises! A couple of my favorites are Alaina Fairchild on Spotify and Wim Hof breathing method on Youtube.

3. Practice just laying in stillness with yourself, arguably the hardest method but just allowing your mind to go quiet for as long as you can is a skill to work on building. Try some sound bowl healing videos on youtube if the silence is just too much!

4. Look up meditation classes in your area! Reiki healers and many places offer meditation classes and a group environment is a great way to dip your toes in the water and get some accountability!

5. Journaling is another great way to "meditate" it allows you to process and focus on your emotions and thoughts.

   1. Gratitude journaling is something I practice every morning! It helps me frame my mind with positive emotions before I even start my day.

6. When your thoughts do start to go wild or you feel like you are spiraling, take a step back, ask yourself if this thought serves you. I tell myself that I am going to "release" the energy since this energy and feeling does not serve me in order to make room for positive energy to find me. It's the intentional letting go of negativity in order for this energy space to be opened up for the good. This is my personal favorite method in dealing with my anxiety when I feel it start to creep up.

   1. Another way I personally like to deal with anxiety starting to creep up is choosing 3-4 positive phrases such as, "I am capable. I am powerful. I am intelligent. I am worthy and deserving of all the good my life has given me." And continuously repeating them in my mind to drown out any other negative feeling that can creep up.

Learning to be mindful is going to be a long process, but learning to "be" present, loving, and at peace is going to be the best thing you can ever do for yourself. What are mindfulness practices that you practice?