How to stop thinking? Our brain is like a thinking machine. Unfortunately, it sometimes makes too much noise and prevents us from living serenely. It is possible to stop thinking. Here are 3 techniques to calm your mind.

3 reasons why we think too much

It’s important to realize that we have no control over our thoughts, just as we have no control over our emotions. They happen, they’re there and that’s that. The only “control” we have is our reaction to them.

Do I let them? Do I let them control my actions and therefore my life? Or do I step back and live my life according to my values and goals, rather than my emotions and thoughts?

On average, we have 60,000 thoughts a day. That’s a lot of thoughts! And 95% of our thoughts today are the same as yesterday. In other words, we go over the same things day after day.

First, let’s take a look at why we think too much, and why we think so badly.

1 – Judging yourself

We think too much and we think “badly”, because we spend our time judging ourselves, and above all judging what we do: is it right or wrong?

Yes, we harbor an inner critic and… it’s unbearable! (laughs) Because it’s there all the time telling us: ah what you’re doing sucks, you should do it like that instead.

What’s more, this negative thinking most often gives rise to a negative emotion like shame or guilt, and we conclude with: I’m not a good person.

That’s why, to stop thinking, we urgently need to make the decision to stop judging ourselves and what we do.

2 – Replaying the past

Revisiting what we think went wrong the day before is a habit we all have. In fact, we turn ourselves into a “sports” commentator and look very closely at each of our performances from the previous day.

Of course, our inner critic settles in next to our sports commentator, and then it’s a festival: Why did I do that? Why did I say that? I’m so stupid, I’m such a loser!

How can I stop thinking? By deciding not to go back over what happened.

3 – Plan for the future

Our future has a lot to scare us. And it’s perfectly normal to be afraid. In fact, the emotion of fear keeps us on our toes and prepares us to give it our all.

Unfortunately, we’re afraid of fear, and we stay put, imagining all kinds of catastrophic scenarios for the future.

And so, stress swoops in alongside its friend fear. And, as our thoughts turn in on themselves, our bodies are filled with unpleasant sensations: our hearts clench, our bodies tense up…

To stop thinking, it’s essential to understand that it’s normal to be afraid of the future, and to stop wasting our time imagining it from the worst possible angle.

How can I stop thinking? 3 techniques to try

1 – Mindfulness

In this article, I’ll describe how I use it.

Mindfulness is the art of concentrating on what we are doing. It has the great advantage of requiring no extra time in the day. In fact, we can use it throughout our day.

Indeed, mindfulness can be practised while climbing stairs, getting out of the car, doing the dishes, taking a shower, or – and this is my favorite part (laughs) – brushing my teeth.

Have you noticed how many thoughts you can have while brushing your teeth or doing the dishes?

In fact, we think so much at these moments that it’s not uncommon for us to ask ourselves: “Wait, did I brush this side right or not? I don’t know… And sometimes we think so much about other things when we’re doing the dishes that we can injure ourselves with a knife.

So rather than hurting ourselves or forgetting to brush a few teeth (laughs), let’s take advantage of these moments to stop listening to the hubbub of our thoughts. How can we do this? By concentrating on what we’re doing, right here, right now.

When you’re doing the dishes, smell the washing-up liquid, feel the hot water running over your hands, see the dishes sparkle and hear the sound of running water. Feel your heart beating in your chest and take slow, deep breaths. Doing the dishes can become a real moment of relaxation, yes, it can!

How can we stop thinking? By focusing all our attention not on listening to our thoughts, but on what we’re doing.

2 – Meditation to stop thinking

When we practice meditation, we learn a valuable lesson: I am not my thoughts.

Meditation is the art of looking at our thoughts without becoming attached to them. It’s a very interesting technique for better thinking. We learn to observe our thoughts and not identify with them.

Our thoughts exist, that’s how they are. We can’t do anything to stop them. But we are free not to identify with them. It’s my thoughts that think that way, not me.

In fact, we can choose to believe our thoughts or not. And we can choose to sit back and simply look at them.

Meditation really helps us to observe ourselves, to recognize when our inner critic, our sports commentator or when our fear of being afraid is coming in.

So we can make the choice to smile at all these little people and say:

“I see you, but I’ve decided to let you go and get on with what I’m doing, in a calm and self-respecting way.”

That’s why I invite you to take the time every day for a minute or two to just sit and look at your thoughts. The more you look at your thoughts, the better you’ll get at not identifying with them. You’ll feel freer and lighter.

How do you stop thinking? By learning to look at your thoughts and just observe them, without identifying with them.

3 – Gratitude to stop thinking

This is by far my favorite technique. When I feel my thoughts spinning around, clawing at my heart and body and undermining my self-confidence and love of life, then I focus on whatever makes me feel grateful to be alive.

Gratitude is like cutting short our thoughts that carry with them: shame, guilt, fear and stress. It’s responding to them with kindness:

“I don’t agree with what you think about us and our life. This is how I feel.

Our thoughts often make us believe that we are alone against everyone. That’s why saying a prayer of gratitude to the Universe allows us to reconnect with all that is good and beautiful in our lives and all around us.

Saying “Thank you” is the most beautiful thing that can come out of our mouths. Thank you is a synonym for love.

Let’s never forget to say thank you, thank you to our family, thank you to the shopkeepers who keep us fed and clothed, thank you to nature for providing us with oxygen, sunshine and water, and thank you to the Universe for giving us life, for our heart and soul. Thank you for this chance to walk the earth.

Our thoughts can isolate us, but if we put our heart into our thoughts, then they open us up to the beauty and joy of life.

How can we stop thinking? By letting our heart speak.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover Why aren’t we happy in life? 7 things to stop
Discover Stop overthinking: 5 signs that you’re overthinking

I recommend this inspiring book:

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Laura Markham

This book provides practical advice for parents on how to foster a calm, harmonious relationship with their children. Laura Markham draws on the principles of peaceful parenting, emphasizing emotional connection, effective communication and positive discipline techniques. The book aims to help parents create a nurturing environment that promotes both their own and their children’s mental well-being.

Captivating content, relatable experiences and great organization!
I love this book. It has changed the way I think about parenting. Buy it and read it. You’ll be a better parent and your relationship with your child will improve.
I keep it on my bedside table when I review examples that happened that day. Great book!

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself