85 Overthinking Quotes on Regaining Control of Your Thoughts

Our latest collection of overthinking quotes that will help you relax and get out of your own head.

Do you find yourself dwelling too much on your shortcomings, mistakes, and problems?

Does your tendency to overthink everything hold you back from living a happy and fulfilling life.

Thinking too much about things can be dangerous to your health and well-being.

It increases your risk of mental health problems, interferes with your ability to solve problems, and impairs the quality of your sleep.

Also, when you over-analyze everything, you become less productive and end up in a constant state of anguish.

But the good news is, you can put an end to your negative thinking patterns.

With consistent practice, you can learn to make good choices in a timely manner with less distress.

Start by paying attention to the way you think and acknowledge that some of your thoughts may be exaggeratedly negative.

Instead of dwelling on your problems, focus on solutions.

In addition, find time for self-reflection, practice mindfulness, and find ways to distract your mind from destructive thought patterns.

To help you regain control of your thoughts, below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and helpful overthinking quotes, overthinking sayings, and overthinking proverbs, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Enjoy!

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.

Overthinking quotes on regaining control of your thoughts

1. “The more you overthink the less you will understand.” ― Habeeb Akande

2. “If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don’t do it, and it won’t happen.” — Desiderius Erasmus

3. “The more you rationalize, the more you move farther away from your authentic self.” ― Shannon L. Alder

4. “Stop worrying about what tomorrow may bring. Focus on what you can control. Stay positive. Enjoy today. Expect good things to come”.— Karen Salmansohn

5. “Overthinking, also, best known as creating problems that are never there” ― David Sikhosana

6. “Put your thoughts to sleep. Do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking.”.— Rumi

7. “Be careful not to appear obsessively intellectual. When intelligence fills up, it overflows a parody.” ― Criss Jami

8. “If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep.”— Dale Carnegie

9. “Overthinking will not empower you over things that are beyond your control. So, let it be if it is meant to be and cherish the moment.” ― Mahsati A

10. “Sometimes, you overthink things so much that you ruin something before it even begins, then you beat yourself up, replaying everything to your friends and in your mind.”— Kirsten Corley

Overthinking quotes to help you relax

11. “Don’t overanalyze what you see. I have a feeling that you’re over-thinking things. Give it some time, and the pieces of this puzzle might come together.” ― Jessica Park

12. “Don’t think. It complicates things. Just feel, and if it feels like home, then follow its path.”— R.M. Drake

13. “Overthinking ruins friendships and relationships. Overthinking creates problems you never had. Don’t overthink, just overflow with good vibes”.— Anonymous

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of good vibes quotes about feeling good.

14. “Stop overthinking, put more energy on what you really want to do.” ― Amit Ray

15. “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in’ – Napoléon Bonaparte

16. “Don’t keep things bottled up. It’s not good for you.” ― Kody Keplinger

17. “I think and think and think, I‘ve thought myself out of happiness one million times, but never once into it.” – Jonathan Safran Foer

18. “Your addiction to thinking will come back to haunt you.” ― Natsume Sōseki

19. “Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere” – Emma Bombeck

20. “Don’t overthink yourself out of something good!” ― Akosua Dardaine Edwards

Overthinking quotes that will make you mentally strong

21. “The more I think about it, the more I realize that overthinking isn’t the real problem. The real problem is that we don’t trust.” ― L.J. Vanier

22. “Stop thinking, and end your problems.” – Lao Tzu

23. “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute”  ― Tina Fey

24. “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking.” – Eckhart Tolle

25. “You know, it is a little known fact that thinking is entirely overrated. The world would be a much better place if we all did a lot less of it.” ― Laurie Viera Rigler

26. “Overthinking ruins moods and kills good vibes.” –  SupaNova Slom

27. “I’m too open-minded that I don’t know what to mind anymore.” ― Ahmed Mostafa

28. “Don’t overthink things. Sometimes you can convince your head not to listen to your heart. Those are the decisions you regret for the rest of your life.” – Leah Braemel

29. “We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It’s a death trap.” – Anthony Hopkins

30. “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” –Bruce Lee

Overthinking quotes to help you quiet the constant barrage of thoughts

31. “Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, “What else could this mean?” ― Shannon L. Alder

32. “Thinking too much leads to paralysis by analysis. It’s important to think things through, but many use thinking as a means of avoiding action.” ― Robert Herjavec

33. “To think too much is a disease.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

34. “The sharpest minds often ruin their lives by overthinking the next step, while the dull win the race with eyes closed.” ― Bethany Brookbank

35. “Too much thinking leads to paralysis by analysis.” ― Robert Herjavec

36. “Don’t get too deep, it leads to overthinking, and over thinking leads to problems that don’t even exist in the first place.” ― Jayson Engay

37. “Overthinking. A powerful drug of mentality.” ― A.M.L.

38. “Overthinking evaporates when you feel connected with your body, mind, breath and the soul.” ― Amit Ray

39. “Less thinking, more living.” ― S.R. Crawford

40. “Overthinking arises when you unconsciously provoke negative emotions and thoughts and avoid positive emotions and thoughts.” ― Amit Ray

More overthinking quotes to inspire you

41. “Don”t gaze too hard at your belly button Or you will unexpectedly hit rock bottom!” ― Ana Claudia Antunes

42. “Overthinking uses energy and leads to activity with no action. That is one particular problem many will face. Questology is the answer to cure this cancer.” ― Thomas Vato

43. “Stop overthinking. You can do it.” ― Avina Celeste

44. “Thoughts are like an open ocean, they can either move you forward within its waves, or sink you under deep into its abyss.” – Anthony Liccione

45. “To end hunger of overthinking, you need to eat positive attitude and happiness.” ― Genereux Philip

46. “Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” — Ray Bradbury

48. “The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds.” – Will Durant

49. “Thinking has, many a time, made me sad, darling; but doing never did in all my life… My precept is, “Do something, my sister, do good if you can; but, at any rate, do something”.– Elizabeth Gaskell

50. “If you’re stressing over happiness, you’re doing it wrong!” ― Shannon L. Alder

51. “Overthinking is often a product of underdoing.” – Yehuda Berg

52. “While you were overthinking, you missed everything worth feeling.” – Nitya Prakash

53. “When you overthink you originate obstacles that never existed.” – Amit Kalantri

54. “Once you start overthinking it, it’s like it ain’t a feeling no more.” – Dreezy

55. “We were made to be distracted by life, by story.” – Donald Miller

Overthinking Quotes To Calm Overthinkers

56. “My father taught me not to overthink things, that nothing will ever be perfect, so just keep moving and do your best.” — Scott Eastwood.

57. My mother said the cure for thinking too much about yourself was helping somebody who was worse off than you.” — Sylvia Plath

58. “Thinking will not overcome fear, but action will.” — W. Clement Stone

59. “A crowded mind, leaves no space or a peaceful heart.” — Christine Evangelou

60. “Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded.” — Buddha

61. “It’s a good idea always to do something relaxing prior to making an important decision in your life.” — Paulo Coelho

62. “Don’t get too deep, it leads to overthinking, and overthinking leads to problems that don’t even exist in the first place.” — Jayson Engay

63. “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” — Dan Millman

64. “The best things happen when you’re not overthinking it.” — Ben Zobrist

65. “What if instead of wasting our time overthinking, we focused on the good we might do?” — Anna Bogel

Overthinking Quotes To Ease Your Worries

66. “I admire the linear and decisive way a certain kind of man thinks, to my curlicue boundless overthinking.” — J. Courtney Sullivan

67. “Don’t let your mind bully your body.” – June Tomaso Wood

68. “Overthinking can lead to worrying which leads to anxiety. Anxiety can at times be crippling, leaving people frozen and unable to act”.— Brien Blatt

69. “I admire the linear and decisive way a certain kind of man thinks, to my curlicue boundless overthinking.” — J. Courtney Sullivan

70. “Everything is too easy. If you want to record a song, you can buy Pro Tools and record four hundred guitar tracks. That leads to overthinking, which kills any spontaneity and the humanity of the performance.” — Jack White

71. “Most of us never stop to consider our blessings; rather, we spend the day only thinking about our problems.” — Bernie Siegel

72. “Overthinking is parasitic. It’s viral. It’s deadly, even.” — Genereux Philip

73. “The main things to rebel against – overproduction, too much technology, overthinking.” — Jack White

74. “I have found that sometimes I do better working on a crazy schedule. It gives me less time to overthink things and forces me to be present.” — Torrey DeVitto

75. “I have to remind myself, stop thinking about the future. Stop thinking about what happened at work today, or another choice you could have made.” — Anna Gunn

Overthinking Quotes To Help You Relax and Take Action

76. “Overthinking is a dream-killer. Sometimes you can drown yourself in your own thoughts.” ― Steve Maraboli

77. “Nothing happens by overthinking; then why stress? Is it too hard to sit down and relax?” ― Sukant Ratnakar

78. “He never complicates a desire by overthinking it, unlike Mirabelle, who spins a cocoon around an idea until it is immobile.” ― Steve Martin

79. “If you want to conquer overthinking, bring your mind to the present moment and reconnect it with the immediate world.” ― Amit Ray

80. “Stop overthinking everything. Just let it be. Relax and go with the flow more. Worry less. And don’t take life so seriously… live a little!” ― Mandy Hale

81. “Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind, I tell you. In fact, others seem to be bothering you, but it is not other, it is your own mind.” ― Sri Ravi Shankar

82. “Don’t overthink, just do it.” ― Shia LaBeouf

83. “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” ―  William James

84. “Thinking too deeply will only drown me.” ― Greta Farrel

85. “Overthinking ruins you. It ruins the situation. And it twists things around. It makes you worry. Plus it just makes everything worst than it actually is.” ― Karen Salmanso

Thinking too much about things can take a serious toll on the quality of life you live. Whether you struggle to get things done because each choice you make takes up too much of your time, or you can’t stop worrying about how you’re going to succeed tomorrow, overthinking can bring you down.

Did these overthinking quotes help you?

The good news is, you can take steps to put an end to overthinking.

Though it’s easier said than done, with constant practice, you can find ways to quiet the constant barrage of thoughts.

Did you enjoy these overthinking quotes?

Which of the quotes was your favorite?

Let us know in the comment section below.