Is overthinking protecting me or stopping me?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an overthinker, an overthinker and perfectionist. Not the casual kind, the chronic kind. The kind that replays conversations long after they’ve ended. The kind that weighs every possibility until the excitement fades and doubt takes over.

Lately, I’ve been asking myself a hard question: Has overthinking been protecting me… or has it been stopping me?

I can think of so many opportunities I lost simply because I thought too long. I deliberated until my thoughts turned pessimistic. Until fear dressed itself up as “being realistic.” Until hesitation made the decision for me.

Sometimes, it wasn’t that I didn’t want the opportunity. It was that I wanted certainty. But then success doesn’t always come with certainties! Sometimes it comes with lots of failures and loneliness.

But then again, aren’t we taught to think before we act? To be careful. To be cautious. So where exactly is the line between wisdom and fear? Between discernment and self-sabotage?

To be honest? I’m still trying to figure that out.

The truth is I can’t even remember when it all started, I just know that I’ve always strived to do things perfectly with as few mistakes as possible.

Somewhere along the way, perfection stopped being a standard and became a shield. A way to protect myself from disappointment, from failure. But I’m beginning to wonder if, In trying so hard to avoid getting things wrong, I’ve also been avoiding getting things started.

So maybe the answer isn’t to think less, but to act despite the fear.

To be a little cringe.

To take the bold step.

To try, fail, and try again.

Because perfection is an illusion unattainable for humans, something that belongs to God alone.

The best we can ever become is the best version of ourselves and that’s what we should strive for.