How to Stop Overthinking in 7 Days
You’re not making progress. You’re planning. And planning without experience isn’t planning. It’s overthinking with extra steps.
You’ve convinced yourself that thinking harder will get you closer to your goals. That if you just figure out the perfect strategy, the perfect timing, the perfect approach, then you’ll finally be ready to act.
But you’re never ready. Because there’s always one more thing to think about.
What if it doesn’t work? What if people judge you? What if you pick the wrong path? What if you fail?
So you keep thinking. Keep planning. Keep preparing.
Meanwhile, your life stays exactly the same.
I used to be the same way. Sitting in my room thinking about all the ways to make money. Watching endless videos. Reading every strategy. Planning the perfect business.
And nothing changed until I stopped thinking and started doing.
The voice that disguises fear as logic. The one that keeps you stuck in comfort land.
Overthinking is that same voice wearing a different mask. It pretends to be productive. It pretends to be strategic. But it’s really just fear dressed up as preparation.
In the next 7 days, you’re going to break the cycle. Not by thinking your way out. By acting your way out.
Bookmark this now. You’re going to need it the next time you catch yourself spiraling.
The water bottle problem
Let me paint a picture.
You’re sitting there dehydrated. Fatigued. Tired. There’s a bottle of water right in front of you.
But instead of drinking it, you start thinking.
What brand of water should I drink? Should it be sparkling or still? How much should I drink? Maybe I’m not ready to drink water yet. Maybe I need to be more dehydrated first. Maybe I should research the optimal hydration strategy.
Meanwhile, the water is right there. Just drink it. You’ll be hydrated. Problem solved.
This is what overthinking looks like.
The exact life you want is on the other side of just doing the thing. But you keep resisting because you want conditions to be perfect first.
You want to know the best business model before you start. You want to find the best workout plan before you go to the gym. You want to figure out the right thing to say before you talk to her.
Just drink the water. You’ll figure out if you need more after.
Be honest right now. What’s the water bottle you’ve been staring at instead of drinking?
Why your brain tricks you into thinking
Table of Contents
Here’s what nobody tells you about overthinking.
It feels productive. That’s why it’s so dangerous.
When you’re planning, researching, and strategizing, your brain releases dopamine. You feel like you’re making progress. You feel like you’re doing something.
But you’re not. You’re just spinning.
Planning when you have zero actual experience is not planning. It’s overthinking disguised as strategy.
Success gurus convinced you that planning is always a good thing. And it is, once you have data. Once you know what works and what doesn’t. Once you have experience.
But until you have that data, you need to stop thinking and start moving. You have to turn off that overthinking hamster brain and stick to the process.
The better you get at sticking to the process, the better your life gets.
Here’s what I’ve learned: Overthinking is just imaginary problems.
You’re creating suffering in your mind about things that haven’t happened. And that suffering makes you less effective at actually solving real problems.
Every minute you spend overthinking is a minute you could spend taking action that gives you real feedback. Real data. Real experience.
Experience breeds confidence. Not thinking. Experience.
The comfort seeker’s favorite disguise
In my article on self sabotage, I talked about the two versions of yourself fighting for control.
The planner thinks long term. The comfort seeker wants ease right now.
Overthinking is the comfort seeker’s favorite trick.
It lets you feel productive while staying safe. You’re not risking rejection because you’re still “preparing.” You’re not risking failure because you haven’t started yet.
But here’s the thing: You’re not making progress by planning. The only progress that happens is through taking action.
The comfort seeker knows this. That’s why it keeps you trapped in your head. Because as long as you’re thinking, you’re not doing. And as long as you’re not doing, nothing changes.
Nothing can hurt you. But nothing can help you either.
You stay exactly where you are. Comfortable. Safe. Stuck.
Is that what you want?
What you put your mind on expands
Here’s a principle that changed everything for me. My tens of thousands of students have been taught this principles as well. Now it’s your turn.
What you put your mind on expands.
If you focus on problems, you see more problems. If you focus on fear, you feel more fear. If you focus on what could go wrong, you find endless things that could go wrong.
Overthinking is putting your mind on the wrong things. You’re expanding your doubts instead of your abilities. You’re growing your fears instead of your skills.
Flip it.
Put your mind on the process. Put your mind on the next action. Put your mind on what you can control right now.
When I was broke, working a job I hated, the only thing that got me through was having a clear vision of where I was going. I could see it. I could feel it. And I kept taking action toward it.
I didn’t overthink whether it would work. I just kept showing up.
That clear vision is what excites you through the boring stuff. It’s what keeps you moving when nothing seems to be working. It’s what separates people who break through from people who stay stuck.
Stop putting your mind on the what ifs. Start putting your mind on the what’s next.
Everything is initiated by you
You act, and then the whole machine starts to turn.
Not the other way around. You don’t wait for the machine to start and then jump in. You initiate it.
If you don’t take action, and even worse you don’t act on things that matter in a focused way, nothing moves. Nothing changes. Nothing improves.
It is actually in the world’s best interest that you work and live at full capacity. We need you. Your family needs you. Your future needs you.
But you’re sitting there overthinking instead of initiating.
The income you want is on the other side of you stopping the planning and starting the doing. The relationship you want is on the other side of you stopping the strategizing and starting the approaching. The body you want is on the other side of you stopping the researching and starting the training.
You will figure it out as you go.
That’s how everyone who’s ever succeeded has done it. They didn’t have it all mapped out. They started, got feedback, adjusted, and kept going.
You’re not going to think your way to clarity. You’re going to act your way to clarity.
Drop a comment: What’s one thing you’ve been overthinking that you just need to start?
Stop chasing shiny objects
One of the biggest traps for overthinkers is shiny object syndrome.
New AI tool drops. New business model gets hyped. New strategy goes viral.
And suddenly you’re back in research mode. Back in planning mode. Back in overthinking mode.
“Maybe this is the thing that will finally work.”
No. It’s not.
The thing that will work is the thing you commit to and execute on consistently.
I’ve watched people jump from opportunity to opportunity for years. They’re always “about to start” something new. They’re always “researching” the next thing.
Meanwhile, the people who picked one path and stuck to it are building real results.
The income you want is on the other side of picking one business model and hitting the problem with more moves.
Post more content. Send more outreach. Have more conversations. Make more offers.
It’s not complicated. It’s just not exciting enough for your overthinking brain.
Your brain wants novelty. It wants new information. It wants to feel like it’s discovering something.
But success doesn’t come from discovering new things. It comes from executing on the things you already know.
Bookmark this section. Read it every time you feel tempted to chase something new instead of executing on what’s in front of you.
The 7 Day Overthinking Elimination Protocol
Here’s exactly how to break the cycle.
Day 1: Identify the water bottle
What’s the thing you’ve been overthinking? The business you haven’t started? The conversation you haven’t had? The content you haven’t posted?
Write it down. Get specific.
Now ask yourself: What’s the smallest possible action I could take toward this today?
Not the perfect action. Not the complete action. The smallest action.
Take it before the day ends.
Days 2-3: Build momentum
An object in motion stays in motion.
Your only job for these two days is to take one small action toward your goal each day. It doesn’t have to be big. It has to be consistent.
Set up the shot. Write the headline. Send one message. Do five minutes at the gym.
Momentum kills overthinking because you’re too busy moving to spiral.
Days 4-5: Allow yourself to suck
You’re allowed to be bad at this.
Overthinking comes from perfectionism. You think it has to be right the first time. It doesn’t.
Your first video will suck. Your first outreach will be awkward. Your first attempt will be messy.
Good. Now you have data. Now you can improve.
Detach from outcomes. Focus on reps.
Days 6-7: Fear inaction more than rejection
At the end of your life, you will regret inaction far more than rejection.
For every person who regrets starting a business, there are a thousand who regret never trying.
For every person who regrets approaching someone, there are a thousand who regret staying silent.
The pain of rejection is temporary. The pain of regret is permanent.
Let that sink in. Then act accordingly.
The Alter Ego Unfair Advantage
Your alter ego doesn’t overthink.
Your alter ego sees the water bottle and drinks it. Sees the opportunity and takes it. Sees the fear and acts anyway.
When you catch yourself spiraling, ask: What would my alter ego do right now?
The answer is almost always simpler than what your overthinking brain is suggesting.
Your alter ego doesn’t need perfect conditions. Doesn’t need more information. Doesn’t need to feel ready.
Your alter ego just acts.
Become that person.
What’s on the other side?
Let me tell you what happens when you stop overthinking.
The income you’ve been chasing becomes possible because you’re actually doing the things that generate income instead of planning to do them.
The dream relationship you want becomes possible because you’re actually speaking your mind instead of rehearsing conversations in your head.
The body you want becomes possible because you’re actually training instead of researching the perfect program.
The confidence you want becomes possible because you’re stacking real experiences instead of imaginary scenarios.
I’ve been to 27 countries. Built multiple businesses. Helped thousands of people change their lives in my programs and TRW. None of that happened because I figured it all out first.
It happened because I stopped thinking and started doing. Then adjusted. Then kept going.
Your dream reality right now is nothing compared to what you’ll have if you just stop overthinking and start executing.
The Dark Truth About Overthinking
You’re never going to feel ready.
That feeling you’re waiting for, where everything clicks and you finally feel prepared, it doesn’t exist. It’s a mirage your overthinking brain created to keep you safe.
You bring yourself to a conclusion now, or you keep pushing it off forever.
There’s no perfect moment. There’s just this moment and what you choose to do with it.
The people who win aren’t smarter than you. They’re not more talented. They’re not more prepared.
They just decided to act before they felt ready. And they figured it out along the way.
You can keep sitting there staring at the water bottle. Planning the perfect way to drink it. Researching hydration strategies.
Or you can just drink it.
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Always the best,
Dylan Madden
