Tao Te Ching, chapters 15 and 16
How to Stop Overthinking, According to Lao Tzu
Anyone who has tried to stop thinking knows how it goes. The harder you try, the louder it gets.
Lao Tzu does not tell you to stop. In chapter 15 he describes muddy water that becomes clear by being left alone. Chapter 16 says it more plainly: reach the utmost emptiness, hold fast to stillness, and watch everything arise and return to its root.
Stop managing the mind
Overthinking is often the mind trying to solve a problem that has no solution yet. Trying to control the thoughts is one more thought on the pile.
Three small moves
- Let the water settle. Sit for a minute without fixing anything. You are not trying to be calm; you are letting go of the stirring.
- Return to the body. The breath, the weight of your hands, the floor under your feet. The old word is “root.”
- Watch the thought come and go. It arises, it fades. You do not have to follow it to its end.
None of this is dramatic. It is meant to be repeated, like washing your face.
If your mind runs especially hard at night, the free book When Your Mind Won’t Slow Down includes a sleep audio made for exactly that.