Welcome back to the grand finale of our three part Sunday Evening Book Club ... a short, thought-provoking read, surely suited to the disquieting season we're navigating through.
I'm glad you've stopped by here and there, and as always, am especially grateful for all those who took a bit of their valuable time to hang around and chat when you certainly could have been somewhere else.
Love you guys. You're always the best part of any post. Truly.
Anne Bogel's Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life was absolutely birthed for 'such a time as this.' Its pages offered us substantial yet simple tools to incorporate into our lives in Anne's trademark friendly yet wise style, with no heavy verbiage or pontificating {which is certainly the last thing any of us need right now.}
And my friend, Carol, wrote it well - ''I also am seeing the ruts in my mind that I create with overthinking. Our minds get used to doing it so we fall into it easily. I have always said there are ruts in my soul that I can fall back into and I have to keep myself aware of the the potential to do so. Alas, daily inventories and support groups give me self awareness tools. This book is providing me with gentle reminders of what to look at in my inventories. Bottom line: I can’t stop these poor habits so I make note and ask God to change, change, change what He needs to change.'
Let's jump right in with standout quotes from Part 3 - Let the Sun Shine In
Spontaneity
{Chapter 10, page 151}
'When it's clear a decision is needed to move forward, the worst thing we can do is not act. Making a choice - any choice - is better than staying stuck debating our options, letting the moment pass us by ... Just pick something, anything! It's better than doing nothing, and besides, things that don't unfold according to plan often make the best memories. So what if, instead of resisting these sideways moments, we leaned into the decision, knowing that good things may await us on the other side?'
Rituals
{Chapter 11, pages 159, 161}
'You can take your daily routine and turn it into a ritual, one that invites you to remember who you are, what you value, and what you want to accomplish ... A ritual unites the rhythm of routine with focused attention - a powerful combination for avoiding overthinking. It's hard to overthink when we are focused on the moment. The ritual also forces us to slow down - and we deliberately slow our bodies, we slow our minds as well.'
Welcoming
{Chapter 13, page 185}
'We know overthinking pulls our thoughts in unhelpful directions, as we pursue threads of worry, remorse, or regret. But we may not realize that overthinking also prevents us from welcoming good things into our lives. We cut ourselves off from life's small pleasures, talking ourselves out of potentially good things and wasting a lot of mental energy in the process. We suspect we'll regret denying ourselves, yet we do it anyway.'
Abundance
{Chapter 13, page 187}
'We can learn to treat ourselves gently, and with kindness. We can go from closely monitoring the efficiency of our every move to giving ourselves the grace to not be so darn efficient all the time, from having to continually justify our decisions to feeling released from needing to get everything perfect.
We can give ourselves permission to enjoy something that exceeds the minimum we need to get by. We can appreciate the good things right in front of us without feeling guilty about them. We can trade a scarcity mentality for an attitude of abundance.'
What's your biggest takeaway from Don't Overthink It?
Linda
P.S. The Kindle edition is still an unbelievably ridiculously low $1.59. Get yours here! {As an Amazon associate I may receive a small financial profit if you use this link.}
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Set Yourself Up for Success
Take Charge
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