How many times have you been worried sick about a problem, turned over restlessly in bed all night without sleep, and had the exact same problem 8 hours later when the sun came up? A bunch? Yeah, me too.

Honestly, there are some problems where over-analyzing just doesn’t help at all. Sometimes the best answer is obvious, it sucks, and thinking about it for hours won’t change that. You can go for a walk, exercise, or meditate, and those things can make you feel better. But staring at the problem for hours won’t.

If you want to get really scientific, most problems are solved unconsciously. Matthew Walker explains this beautifully in his book Why We Sleep on how many amazing processes occur in our sleep and how incredible problem solving occurs when our conscious mind is far away from the steering wheel. So if the problem is really a doozy, maybe take a nap. 

But don’t put so much pressure on your overanalyzing conscious mind. Most problems are hard, but the answers are simple. You probably know what you need to do. If it feels awful, don’t do it. Work hard and learn from your mistakes. That is the most basic recipe for a good life, and overanalyzing is not part of it. 

Most problems aren’t improved by overthinking. Exercise, nature walks, meditation, and quality sleep might help. But at some point, you need to turn off your brain and get to work. If it’s something new and scary, only jumping in and trying it will make it less scary. The known is less intimidating than the unknown.

So stop analyzing and jump in. It’s probably not as bad as you think, but you won’t find out until you stop overanalyzing.