"You're Just Overthinking!" and other Useless Shit™️ We Say When We're Desperate to Help but Don't Know How (Part I)
Whether you’re a philosophy aficionado or not, you’ve probably heard this statement: “I think, therefore I am.” First written by French philosopher René Descartes, it argues that doubting one’s existence was sufficient proof of existence–that is, if “you” doubt that you exist, then it follows that there is a “you” who is doing the doubting.
It’s pretty meta. Stay with me.
The cogito is a foundational principle of Western Philosophy, so I’m definitely not the first to feel an impulse towards the inverse statement: “I am, therefore I think.” I’m not a philosopher, so maybe I should keep my grubby unlearnèd hands off of Descartes’ IP–but this statement isn’t philosophical to me. It’s lived experience.
I’m always thinking.
All the time, in all directions, my mind wanders incessantly, blissfully or excruciatingly, always too self-aware. I try (with varying degrees of success) to rein it in, to consolidate my infinitely limited awarenesses into a singular, to dam up the reservoirs into which my thoughts leak, merging instead into one flow, one body-mind, one self. Every so often, I experience that singularity.
Even then, I haven’t stopped thinking. I can’t help it. Sum, ergo cogito. Thinking is the natural consequence of being me.
I tend to process that in one of two ways:
Thought and Consciousness are vile curses–they ensnare us in an inescapable trap that renders us paralyzed by our own attempts to outsmart it, or,
Thought and Consciousness are indescribably precious gifts–they empower us to direct ourselves and march bravely forward, causing universes to germinate from the seed of the Inspired Imagination.
It’s a dialectic. Thought and Consciousness (T&C) can be anything, depending on how you use them.
There’s a thought: Using them.
Let’s play a quick game, yeah?
It’s called The Game™️
(Sidebar: If you went to Middle School with me and you’re experiencing PTSD from this now, you may be entitled to compensation.)
The rules are simple: Think about The Game™️, and you’ve lost. When you lose, loudly announce you lost, making everyone around you lose. So you lost. Just now. So did I. We’re losing. Damn, we’re bad at this, you and I. Stop thinking about The Game™️!
This, of course, is a hopeless task. Direct your attention towards not losing The Game™️, and you’ll find yourself obsessed. You’ll quickly learn that not thinking about something is a very poor use of your T&C. A better tactic where The Game™️ is concerned is to get busy: Pick up a hobby. Listen to some music. Let your mind wander, and maybe cut people out of your life who still bring up that dumb fad from the early 2000s.
(I’m never letting it go. You can’t make me. Leave me if you must.)
I hope I’ve made my case: Thinking about Not Thinking doesn’t work.
But if I earned a dollar each time I heard “you’re just overthinking,” I’d pay my student loans and retire on the rest. So, what’s the solution?
Come back next week.
Stay Honest, Stay You.
–Lucas