CREATIVITY AND THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF OVERTHINKING
Various things can derail a person’s goals and aspirations, but one thing mostly stands out, especially for those venturing into new spaces or careers. I speak of overthinking. You know, the human mind, if not trained to rise above the pride of life, may think that thinking too much about an idea or concept before making a move is a sign of smartness or intelligence. But is it? It’s mostly a sign of fear and uncertainty.
And while overthinking is a killer of aspirations and new goals, not thinking at all is a driver of irrational tendencies to do things that later will either cause harm or loss. So, there is a need for balance.
I remember when my wife and I started this magazine in 2019, there were lots of questions on my mind, and deciding what the best direction to take for the magazine was a major challenge. What will the magazine look like in terms of design? Should we hire someone to design the template for the magazine? What will it cost to hire a designer? How do we promote the magazine? Will anyone be willing to read our content? How much will it cost us to put everything together? How are we going to generate articles and other content that will fill up a magazine issue? Etc. We didn’t have the funds for hiring a designer or an editor or writers, but we knew we were to publish the magazine. And we did just that.
Since there were no funds to hire someone, and because I was already doing a bit of graphic design before this time, the responsibility naturally fell on me to create the magazine design. So, I took the role of the designer and photographer, while my wife handled the editing. We researched and wrote all the articles for the first four or five issues of the magazine until other writers joined later.
First, I downloaded and watched tens and tens of YouTube tutorials on designing a magazine template. I had to learn how to use Adobe InDesign to create the magazine template, and because I was already used to Adobe Photoshop for editing photos, it was easier to get into InDesign because of the similarity of the interface of most Adobe products.
For the next two weeks, I worked for almost fourteen hours daily, working on the magazine template and also learning other things required to publish a magazine online.
On the 29th of June 2019, the first issue of the magazine was released. It’s been close to six years now since we started the magazine publication, and we are grateful for how far we have come. But more than that, I am particularly grateful for not giving up on the project or overthinking to the point of delusion.
What did I learn?
Every project or event that happens in our lives comes to help us understand life a little better. They come to show us that we do not need to have the complete roadmap ahead of the journey before stepping out in faith, knowing that every road sign we meet along the way is an indicator of the next possible step in the overall journey.
So, the issue of overthinking is not something to joke with, it comes with its many issues that can kill a dream even before one fully understands the dream.
Negative effects of overthinking
Paralysis by Analysis Overanalyzing ideas, which stems from overthinking, can make it difficult to start anything, leading to procrastination or creative blocks.
I am sure this is not new to anyone who has dared to take a step towards a new venture in life. Procrastination doesn’t just happen to us, it happens because most times, either we overthink the matter at hand, or we think of too many options. When a person has just one option, they don’t overthink; they just go ahead and get the thing done. And those who decide not to overthink or hang around too many options, most of the time, get the job done. And the beauty of getting the job done is also that the experience one gets in getting the first thing done also creates new ideas and confidence to get other things done, and better.
Loss of Originality Overthinking often leads to second-guessing your initial, authentic ideas, resulting in a final product that feels forced or derivative. This is also a thing that we must pay attention to.
Often, when ideas come to us from the realm where ideas come from, they might not come in their full image or range of possibility, and thus we will need some time to meditate on the idea to get the full grasp of what it is we are being shown or given. And this is an excellent way to relate to new ideas. But there is a difference between this time of meditation and the time we spend in overthinking the idea. The first is about getting to know the new idea better, understand how it will work, understand our role in making the idea come to life, learn how best to give it full expression and the likes and this stems from the positive energy that comes with the idea and which we are trying to embrace. While overthinking is mostly a negative aspect of things we are not certain about the idea. And it’s in this state of mind that we either stretch the idea beyond what it is and thus lose its original strength, or we reduce the idea to how we think or what we are used to. Either way, the original idea is lost.
Increased Anxiety
Dwelling too much on potential outcomes or judgment can heighten anxiety, diminishing confidence and enthusiasm. Nothing kills a creative person on the inside than a lack of patience and the anxiety that comes with not knowing how a thing will turn out.
Every creative person thinks they are superhuman and thus, any mistake or even creative block can create such a mountain of anxiety that if such a person is not careful or disciplined, they may just abandon the idea altogether. Creative people want to see their ideas magically come to light immediately they get the idea. But ideas don’t work that way. Every new thought or idea received must go through the process of creation, and creation takes the process of time.
Time Wastage
Excessive deliberation consumes valuable time that could be spent executing or refining the project.
I am sure we all are guilty of this. Simply put, we waste time when we spend time overthinking a thing. Every idea must be done within the lifetime of that idea. Nothing stays the same in our world. Everything is moving from one level of relevancy to another level of relevancy. And it is the same with ideas.
Imagine if a twenty-year-old guy had an idea for a Walkman four decades ago and he spent so much time overthinking the idea, saying to himself that he will work on the idea of a Walkman when he turns fifty, and sure he will wake up at age fifty to meet an iPhone and his idea of a Walkman would just be an embarrassment to him.
While it is great to take time to think, spending time overthinking is not great. It is dangerous and a killer of dreams.
Diminished Creativity
Overthinking can stifle spontaneity and experimentation, which are essential for creative breakthroughs.
I love the way spontaneity is used to put us on our creative toes. Nothing beats that feeling of not knowing something one minute ago, and in the next minute, you are bubbling with new ideas and ready to hit the world with a new thing that no one has seen before.
And while this is such a beautiful side of our creative life, have you been in such a state where you are bubbling with such creative bliss because of the new idea that you just received and then everything seems to evaporate like mist simply because a strange new thought just showed up doubting what you have received? And then you find yourself in the next few days overthinking that strange thought to the point of frustration, rather than spending time on the initial idea that gave you such inner creative bliss.
Self-Criticism
Hyper-critical thoughts during overthinking can lower self-esteem and lead to abandoning the work entirely. And this is so true.
Creative people are such amazing people, but just as their creative mind is their strength, so is their creative mind their weakness. The very mind that can create beautiful things because of the innate ability within them, that same innate creative power within them, when blocked due to overthinking and not finding a way of expressing what they feel inside, can also make them fall into self-criticism and depression. And because their mind is very powerful, their self-criticism will become a mountain that will make a mess of everything that they stand for.
And you know what happens to someone who has been defeated already in their minds, they cannot win on the outside against anything.
Decision Fatigue due to Perfectionism
The desire to “get it right” before starting may set unrealistic standards, making the process more stressful and less enjoyable. Constantly revisiting choices (colors, themes, angles) can drain mental energy, making it harder to focus on actual creation.
Creativity is very personal, even though most created things or ideas get to be enjoyed by the public. But every idea always begins from a personal level. But it is within this same personal level of creativity that most ideas die even before seeing the light of day. Why? People drain themselves of creative juice when they focus too much on getting things right. Mind you, when it comes to creativity, there is no single standard for measuring what is right in a new thing. It’s simply new.
Fear of Failure
Overthinking amplifies fear of negative feedback or failure, which may discourage risk-taking and innovative ideas.
Failure is not a badge for doing something wrongly, it’s feedback that you are doing something. And even if the thing you are doing did not come to the expected level that you had in mind, it’s still not a failure, but feedback. And you know what feedbacks are meant to do? They are meant to help us remember that we are humans after all; help us see the other perspective that we have not considered, and also to help us understand that success is not a destination but the journey itself.
Physical Fatigue
Mental overexertion can manifest physically, leading to tiredness, headaches, or an inability to concentrate.
Imagine feeling tired and exhausted without doing much physically, and then you realize that your mind has been overworking and it’s taking its toll on your physical body.
In conclusion
It is true that as a man thinks, so is he. It is also true that as a man overthinks, so he becomes a shadow of his real self. Life does not wait for anyone, and the purpose of a lifetime must be done within the lifetime of that purpose.
So, think critically about what you want to do, but also do all not to overthink yourself out of your true intentions.
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