Ali Abdaal Profile picture
Sep 2 20 tweets 4 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
Overthinking nearly stopped me from starting my Youtube channel.

A decision that changed my life forever.

5 proven strategies that helped me stop overthinking 👇 Image
Most people I know struggle with overthinking.

Even creators with millions of followers that look like they have it all figured out.

Overthinking is basically when we stop ourselves from doing things because we are too much in our heads.
We think that by analysing everything, we get more information and can make better decisions.

But that’s simply not true.

What we often end up doing is paralysing ourselves, not taking action.
There’re two types of overthinking.

Past overthinking is when we construct a narrative around something in the past and overanalyse what a person said to us.

But that’s not what I want to focus on.
It’s overthinking the future that stops us from acting.

We analyse up to the point of being paralysed.

We don’t follow our dreams.

We live a life we regret.

We’re anxious.
But we’re not worried about our survival.

Most of the overthinking in today’s world is about social risks.

What we really worry about is what other people think of us.

Will I be judged for uploading a video to YouTube? For taking that career jump?
Strategy 1: Think in terms of experiments 🧪

This is pretty magical.

I think of my decisions as experiments. It takes away so much pressure.

I used to make decisions with a sense of wanting things to be a certain way.

Now, I approach them with a sense of curiosity.
That’s what I did when I first uploaded my singing covers, and it helped me so much.

I reframed my mindset.

I thought of my first YouTube uploads as an experiment.

I don’t have to continue if I don’t like it. I can stop and change course.
Strategy 2: The idea of expected value 📈

I took this concept from poker.

Instead of being focused on the outcome, I think about the quality of my decisions.

Similar to a Poker player, I consider all the information I have.

Then I decide.
I judge myself by the quality of my decisions rather than the outcome.

Sure, I might lose in the short term.

My experiment might not work out at this moment.

But if I make enough high-quality decisions, I’m pretty likely to come out on top in the long term.
Strategy 3: Fear is my compass 🧭

I first came across this concept thanks to my friend @nathanieldrew_

It’s something I realised over the years.

Whenever a decision scares me, it’s probably the right thing to do.

Most times because they are out of my comfort zone.
If I think back to my life, anytime I went with the safe option, I regretted it.

These days when I’m at a crossroads and I find myself overthinking, I use fear as my compass.

I always choose to go with the option that scares me more.

Because that’s what makes me grow.
Strategy 4: Consistency as the foundation ⛰️

I’ve seen this over and over again.

The people who succeed are the ones that treat consistency as the fundamental bedrock of what they do.
The best YouTubers hit “publish” on their videos even if they worry that they’re not perfect.

The best entrepreneurs say yes, even when they don't feel ready.
This is what stops people from eating healthy or working out.

What’s the point of doing these things if I don’t do them perfectly.

This is overthinking at its best.

But life is not about being perfect, it’s about persevering.
Strategy 5: A mental board of advisors 🧑‍🏫

@tferriss , @Calnewport_ , and @RyanHoliday are my advisors.

I ask them for advice whenever I’m overthinking.

At least in my head.
We all need mental advisors.

It’s people that we admire, dead or alive.

People we can turn to when we’re stuck in analysis paralysis to guide us towards action.

What would Tim Ferriss do?

Probably not sit around and wait.
Obviously, my advisors are not going to predict the future perfectly.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that I need to have a bias towards action, rather than anxiety and paralysis.
Want to know more about each strategy? I’ve filmed a video where I explain them in more detail: .
That's a wrap!

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1. Follow me @AliAbdaal for more advice on how to build a life you love
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More from @AliAbdaal

Aug 17
Everyone’s #1 goal in life:

Happiness.

Follow this 3-step process to live a life you love: Image
Step-1. Identify. 🆔

The first step is to identify what a life you love would look like.

You can group your life into 3 categories:

1. Health
2. Wealth
3. Relationships
For each group, write down what a life you love looks like.

My goal is to be a Gymshark athlete & have a body like Sam Kolder.

It doesn’t have to mean you don’t love the life you have now, but identify something that you would love to be true for your life.
Read 12 tweets
Aug 16
Most people work until they’re 70 & don’t get freedom until they retire.

Here’s how you can retire in the next 10 years starting from $0: Image
1. 3 levels of retirement. 3️⃣

Level 1. Traditional retirement.

This is the most common type of retirement, which involves working until the age of 65 or 70 and then relying on welfare.
With traditional retirement, you don’t really get to live how you want until you’re 70 years old, which a lot of people become unhealthy or sick due to the poor lifestyle it provides.
Read 11 tweets
Aug 4
To grow a YouTube channel to 10k, 50k, 100k and more, you need systems 🧵 Image
If I could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to make it on YouTube, it would be this:

👉 Create a system around your video production that stacks and creates repeatable habits, so it fits into your life and you stay consistent.
In the early scrappy days of my channel I did everything myself. But if you’re looking to do YouTube part-time then the closest thing to a magic bullet is a system.

It will allow you to grow your channel sustainably and to plug in other people when the time comes to have a team.
Read 9 tweets
Aug 1
Everyone dreams about working for themselves while living anywhere in the world.

Here’s a 3-step process to turn your dream into a reality: Image
The Key Ingredient: 🔑

Money 💰

To be able to live anywhere you want in the world, you need to figure out a way to make money to afford that.

To work for yourself from wherever you want in the world (aka be a digitial nomad), there are typically 3 paths you can take:
Path 1: The creator 🎥

Although I’m a creator myself, this path is the one I recommend the least if you want to be a digital nomad.

I say that because being a creator is more of a long-term game that takes time for you to start making money through things like:
Read 16 tweets
Jul 31
I’m the most followed productivity YouTuber in the world.

Here are 12 productivity myths that are wasting your time: Image
1. “I should have been more productive.” 😔

Everyone tells themselves this often, but it’s counterproductive.

Feeling bad about not being productive isn’t going to change anything.

Instead, don’t beat yourself up about it and make up for the next day.
2. Consistency is more important than intensity 📈

While being consistent is good over long periods of time, there'll be times when you need to be intense.

When you have a deadline or a project due, it’s ok to have short periods of intensity to get it done.
Read 14 tweets
Jul 30
Nicolas Cole has made millions writing online.

He’s changing the game for ghost-writing.

Here’s how you can make six-figures as a ghostwriter: Image
1) Clients are everywhere 🌍

Anyone with an online presence wants someone to make them stand out:
· Creators
· Small businesses
· Youtubers
· Dentists
· Hairdressers

They all want someone to write for their websites.

Reach out and you will instantly find clients.
2) One thing ☝️

Hop on a call with a potential client and ask them this:

What is the one thing I can help you say?

Nicolas says that most ghostwriting is actually deleting - cutting back the tangents to get to the core message.
Read 8 tweets

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