From Overthinking to Action: How to Break Free and Learn

Imagine standing at the edge of a pool, toes gripping the edge, ready to dive in. The water looks deep, and your mind starts racing. What if it’s too cold? What if I hit the bottom? What if I can’t swim fast enough? You hesitate, overthinking every possible scenario. The longer you stand there, the more anxious you feel. Meanwhile, others are already swimming, learning firsthand how the water feels.

This is the danger of staying stuck in your head. The more you analyze and assume without taking action, the more you create a mental snowball that grows with every imagined detail. Soon, your model of the situation bears little resemblance to reality. You’ve built a problem that may not even exist.

🤔 The danger of staying in your head

Everything we think we know about the world is based on a mental model—our personal interpretation of reality shaped by experiences and surroundings. But this model is never perfect. There’s always a gap between our perceptions and how the world truly is, and mistakes are made within this gap.

If you remain in your head too long, continually building on your assumptions without meaningful interaction with the world to test them, you risk creating a snowball effect. One assumption leads to another, each slightly more distorted than the last. Soon, you might find yourself convinced of things that are far from reality. This is the danger of overthinking—you can trap yourself in a false narrative. Interacting with the world, and taking at least small actions to test your assumptions, will help you correct your mental model and build better assumptions for better action and outcomes.

🏃 The way out

🔹️ Escape the trap of the first assumption

Your first assumption about a situation is often flawed—either overly optimistic or pessimistic. To break free from this limited view, challenge yourself to come up with multiple interpretations. Ask, What could be another explanation for this? Continue asking until you have at least three alternative views. This opens your mind to new possibilities and prevents you from getting stuck in a single perspective.

🔹️ Take action!

Instead of ruminating endlessly, act! Test your assumptions by engaging with the real world. Have conversations, attend meetings, gather experiences. Every action you take brings you closer to the truth, often disproving parts of your mental model. Through these small experiments, you gain insights that pure thought could never provide.

🔹️ Reflect

Action without reflection is lost learning. After you’ve taken action—whether it’s a conversation or a new experience—pause and reflect. Ask yourself: What did I learn about the problem? What did I learn about myself? This reflection turns action into lasting knowledge. Learn more about reflection HERE.

📃 Example

Let’s say you’re working in a high-pressure job, and you’ve just been passed over for a promotion you’ve been aiming for. You put in extra hours, delivered great results, and even received praise from your manager. But someone else got the role. You feel disappointed and angry. You start questioning yourself: “Am I not good enough? Did I do something wrong? Should I even stay at this company?”

You might further spiral into a potential overreaction: “They just don’t like me!” or “What’s the point of working hard if it doesn’t get me anywhere?” or even, “I should just quit and find a different job!” But the problem here is that jumping to these conclusions might lead to bigger consequences down the road, like sabotaging your career growth or leaving a good job prematurely. It’s like walking away from a marathon just because you tripped once—the real goal is still ahead.

The real question is: what’s the actual learning here? Sure, something went wrong, but does it mean the whole system is broken? Instead of staying stuck in your head, you take action—you reach out to your mentor, a trusted colleague, or even your manager for feedback. You realize, through these conversations, that others have been passed over for promotions before but found ways to improve and eventually succeed.

In the discussion, you might learn that the person who got the promotion had specific skills or experiences you haven’t yet developed.Aha! That’s the learning—not that you should give up, but maybe you need to focus on gaining those specific skills. With that clarity, you can create a precise action plan to work on those areas, making you even better prepared for the next opportunity. This way, instead of closing yourself off from future growth, you move forward with confidence and clarity of what it will take to achieve your next career goal.

🫂 Don’t do it alone!

Remember, your mental model is always incomplete. You only hold part of the puzzle, and others hold pieces too. This is the power of working together and having access to diverse perspectives—each person brings a different view, allowing you or your team to build a more accurate picture of reality. When we combine our insights, we can act more effectively, benefiting not just ourselves but society as a whole. This is the essence of teamwork, inclusion, and democratic leadership—thinking, acting, and learning together.

Action is the highest form of learning, but it becomes even more powerful when combined with reflection and collaboration.

⚡ Action Item

Over the next two weeks, challenge one assumption you’ve been holding onto. Instead of letting it stew in your mind, test it in the real world. Have a conversation, ask for feedback, or take a small action to see how it holds up. Then, reflect on what you learned and adjust your mental model accordingly.

📚 Book Recommendation: "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

This book is a transformative guide that emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment, which directly ties into the dangers of overthinking and staying trapped in our mental models. Here are 3 main takeaways:

1️⃣ The Present Moment is All That Matters

Tolle argues that most mental suffering comes from being too focused on the past or worrying about the future. By anchoring yourself in the present and engaging in what is happening now, you can free yourself from the negative effects of overthinking.

2️⃣ Observe Your Mind, Don’t Identify with It

Instead of becoming trapped in the endless stream of thoughts, Tolle encourages readers to observe their minds without judgment. This detachment helps you recognize when your mental models are inaccurate, allowing you to take action based on reality rather than assumptions.

3️⃣ Take Conscious Action, Not Reaction

Tolle emphasizes the importance of mindful, intentional action rather than impulsive reactions to challenges. When you pause, reflect, and act consciously, you make decisions based on clarity and presence, rather than letting fear or frustration drive your response—similar to how challenging assumptions lead to more informed and productive actions.

✊ Until next time, remember: leadership is about action and acting upon your values!