Taylin John Simmonds Profile picture
Jan 13 13 tweets 4 min read Read on X
One pattern I’ve noticed in all miserable people:

They overthink and underact.

The system I use to escape the cold, dark prison of overthinking:
“Energy goes where attention flows”

Your energy gets stuck when all your attention is on the thoughts in your head. This creates a downward spiral.

Pull your attention elsewhere to escape the vortex.

This is how: Image
1/ Develop meta-awareness

(Your ability to notice when you’re overthinking).

Understand that you are not your thoughts; you’re the thinker

I meditate 20 minutes a day, bringing my focus back to my breath whenever I catch myself thinking.
2/ Untangle energy knots

Overthinking is a byproduct of unprocessed trauma and negative emotions.

It’s like when your grandma’s kettle boils; the steam builds up until it screams.

Energy that you push down, corrupts your mind. In order to heal, you need to feel.
P.S. If you want more content like this, follow me.

I write about writing and share ideas that fascinate me.

Tap my profile pic + tap 'Follow.'

Thanks :)
3/ Overthinking stems from indecision

We fear the pain of making the wrong choices. And worse, we fear regret.

But once you understand that every decision has consequences, you can make a choice with certainty.

Choose the path that aligns with your values and don’t look back. Image
4/ You don’t have a thinking problem, you have an action problem

Miserable people try to think their way out of problems that can only be solved with action.

Make action your default mode.
(This tip alone saved my life)
5/ Overthinking is the opposite of focus

Overthinking = scattered consciousness
Focus = single pointed consciousness

If you allow yourself to be distracted by social media, messages, emails, calls, and cheap media…

You are training your mind to be chaotic. Image
If you can take control of your mind, you've joined the 1%.

Where your attention goes, you give power.

Do you want to give it to politicians and meme accounts who don’t know you exist?

Or do you want to use it to make your dreams come true?
6/ Abolish pesky thought loops

Looping = bouncing between 2 or 3 dark thoughts

Most people try to think their way out of a thought loop.

Thinking only creates thought loops. Writing breaks them.

Grab a journal and brain dump your thoughts… Image
The longer you journal the more stories you will notice.

Separate these stories from the facts.

Most of the stories you tell yourself are based in emotion. They’re created by your mind to validate your feelings.

Once the story is on the page, you realize it isn’t always true. Image
Writing brings order to the chaos of your mind.

And it might help you bring order to someone else’s.

Write in your journal to free your mind.
Write on social media to free the world.
Thank you!

I’m grateful to be able to make a living sharing ideas like this that have changed my life.

Follow me @TaylinSimmonds for more on writing and thinking.
And repost the tweet below to share with a friend.

Until next time,
TS

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More from @TaylinSimmonds

Jan 11
I’m convinced introverts will take over the world.

But 99% overthink, underact, and waste their potential.

If you want to turn your introverted mind into a weapon, read this:
Extroverts live mostly in the world.
Introverts live mostly in their head.

We are thoughtful but often over-think
We are self aware but often clouded by doubt
We are considerate but often paralyzed by choice
Some of the world's greatest minds are introverts:

Elon Musk, Albert Einstein, Ghandi...

But they turned their "curse" into a gift.

How?

They overcame 3 dark psychological habits keeping most introverts stuck:
Read 12 tweets
Dec 19, 2024
This method exposed everything about focus:

Monks, elite athletes and founders have exploited it for decades.

It’s why you can’t concentrate for more than 30 minutes (and can’t trust your brain).

‘Single Pointed Consciousness’ explained: Image
Scattered focus is an invisible epidemic.

Statistics say 55% of people have lost the ability to control their mind. Personally I think this number is far greater.

How do we take back control?

A Harvard-trained psychiatrist has the answer:
Single pointed consciousness (SPC) is a simple but profound concept I first heard from:

Famed psychiatrist Dr. Alok Kanojia.

SPC is your ability to intensely focus your mind on a single thought or task (without distraction).
Read 13 tweets
Dec 15, 2024
2024 is coming to an end. The greatest lessons I learned this year:

1) Short term sadness is a small price to pay for long term happiness.
2) Trust yourself. People think overthinking saves them from mistakes. It doesn’t. Trusting your intuition does.

3) Building a business? Simplify everything else. Chaos costs more than you think.
4) You can only be aggressively growing your health, wealth, or the quality of your relationships. Pick one and manage the rest.
Read 16 tweets
Dec 13, 2024
Anxiety is the emotional cost you pay for a lack of action. It cannot be solved by thinking. It must be solved by doing.

A thread on escaping the cold, dark prison of overthinking:
Understand that you are not your thoughts; you’re the thinker

To do this, develop meta-awareness (your ability to notice when you’re overthinking).

I meditate 20 minutes a day, bringing my focus back to my breath whenever I catch myself thinking.
Overthinking is your brain’s way of protecting you.

It thinks it’s “smart” to consider every option, catastrophize, and prevent you from taking action.

But thinking a lot does not make you smart.
If you were smart, you’d be happy.

Naval says it best: Image
Read 12 tweets
Dec 9, 2024
The medication doctors don’t want you to know about:

Fasting

It heals diabetes, heart disease, and even prevents cancer.

I did a 7 day fast - here’s what happened (and how you can experience the benefits): Image
Fasting is not new.

It’s an ancient practice that’s resurfaced in a world obsessed with constant consumption.

At its core, fasting is simple: You intentionally go without food (and sometimes drinks) for a specific period of time.

But the effects are anything but simple.
I've struggled with fat loss for half my life.

So when my friends told me about this "miracle cure" that:

• Burns fat
• Recycles dead cells
• Promotes mental clarity

I had to give it a try. Image
Read 15 tweets
Nov 26, 2024
You’ve been lied to.

You don’t need to be famous to make money as a writer.

You just need a laptop and a thirst for knowledge.

How I turned my writing passion into a profitable one-person business (without an expensive degree):
Most people think you need to be famous to make money as a writer.

That’s outdated thinking.

The truth is, there’s never been a better time to make money as a writer.
Modern writers understand modern opportunity.

They don’t get paid per:

- Word count
- Blog post
- Bestseller

Instead they focus on writing that sells and serves.
Read 11 tweets

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