Stop overthinking, time is your ally

It’s 1:00AM, you would like to sleep but you can’t. Despite having been awake for 18 hours already, your brain doesn’t let you fall into slumber, desperate as it is to find answers. I’ve been there.

Actually, I’m there more frequently than I would like to admit: in an infinite quest for answers, I’m often tricked into believing that I must figure everything out right away. But I don’t and, you neither.

Rome wasn’t built in one day

It will be no surprise to you that some people think more than others. A few thousand years ago, the life of our ancestors depended on how accurately they could anticipate danger, find shelter or food; it was a matter of survival. Yet, even if the comfort of our current world, this natural instinct to anticipate everything hasn’t disappeared. I —and I’m ready to bet that you also if you read this post—, think too much or at least way more than necessary.

"Rome wasn't built in one day" (Illustration of the Colosseum)

When a new situation arises, I feel like I have to figure everything out right away. What should I do after my studies? How can I find a job to pay them? Am I good enough to be an entrepreneur, a developer, to write a blog, or to even be in this world? Many questions I can’t always have answers to, so instead I pay in anxiety. And the bill is often pricey.

When I’m caught overthinking, I try to remind myself that Rome wasn’t built in one day and the truth is? It didn’t need to. Life is a journey, and everything you create, everything you experience is alive, just like you are.

Just like an author when he creates a character, once in the world, your creations don’t belong to you anymore: their story will uncover to you when the time will be right. No need to plan everything in advance.

Time is your ally

We often picture time as a foe, something we should beat to get to get to success faster. So we are tempted to sleep less, to spend less time with our loved ones, so convinced as we are that it is the key to happiness. But when it comes to playing hide and seek, time isn’t a novice player. Inevitably, the more you will run after it, the less you will find it.

“Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.” — James Clear

Intensity doesn’t matter as much as consistency. If you improve, even by only 1% everyday, you’ll get better than if you solely rely on motivation. Same thing, when it comes to saving money or in any area of life.

Imagine a baby giving up on learning how to walk or talk because he can’t figure out a perfect plan to learn on the first day, it would seem pretty silly, wouldn’t it? Yet in many ways that’s what we do in our daily lives. But, as time will go and as you will experience more things in life, answers will come to you by themselves.

Time magnifies whatever you feed it, so stop overthinking and get into action.

More resources on the subject

Here are a couple of resources that have inspired me and that you should definitely check out.

• [Article] : The 1 Percent Rule: Why a Few People Get Most of the Rewards by James Clear
• [Video] : I made a mistake. by Matt d’Avella