INFPs are often deeply plagued by overthinking. As an INFP, it is only natural to wonder why you overthink and want to find things you can do to help you minimize the extent you overthink.
INFPs overthink because of their perceptive nature which creates self-awareness. To assist with overthinking, INFPs can differentiate between overthinking and intuition, focus on things they’ve done right, celebrate their uniqueness, say positive affirmations, set deadlines, and remove distractions.
Let’s explore why INFPs overthink and determine potential approaches that can help minimize your overthinking as an INFP.
Are INFPs Overthinkers?
INFPs are famous for being overthinkers. Overthinking is one of the most frustrating aspects of being an INFP because it hampers the INFP’s ability to explore other topics of interest.
INFPs avoid unpredictable situations and like to be prepared for any outcome. However, they tend to overemphasize the likelihood of an adverse outcome occurring, causing them to invest emotions in a situation that is not guaranteed.
Why INFPs Overthink?
INFPs are rare individuals who see the bigger picture and like to explore situations from every angle. INFPs are incredibly intuitive and are known to have a high EQ. They often stand out from the crowd because of their unique approach to doing things, which can result in others questioning their logic.
Given their curious, active minds, INFPs often overthink things such as how others perceive their thought processes, how their actions affect others, and how little things fit into the bigger picture.
INFPs overthink because they value planning and perfection. They tend to overthink situations to ensure that they have adequately planned for any situation and want things to go well.
INFPs also overthink due to their sensitive nature, which causes them to be aware of other people’s emotions. They are wise individuals who can effortlessly determine when someone’s behavior has changed.
Given their empathetic nature, INFPs may find themselves overthinking when trying to understand why someone’s behavior has changed and determine ways to improve the situation. Due to their heightened self-awareness, INFPs will also overthink to determine if they did something to cause the change in the other person’s behavior.
Are INFPs Easily Distracted?
INFPs can get easily distracted because they often try to put things together so they can see the bigger picture. However, when putting things together, they find themselves contemplating a certain piece of information.
INFPs are perceptive individuals who are good at reading others. Their perceptive abilities often get them sidetracked when they pick up a change in behavior from another individual. They tend to explore various reasons for the change of behavior, which can lead to extensive overthinking.
Additionally, INFPs can be wrapped up in examining their behavior. They can be very critical of themselves. INFPs can easily get distracted, focusing on their flaws, and questioning whether their behavior is acceptable or whether they are at the place they need to be in their lives.
What INFPs Can Do About Overthinking
Here are things that INFPs can do to help minimize their overthinking tendencies.
Remind Yourself About Times When You Did The Right Thing
Sometimes you may find yourself doubting whether what you did was the right thing to do. In those moments of self-doubt, remind yourself of previous occasions where you trusted your gut, and it resulted in a positive outcome.
Additionally, remind yourself about times when you did something wrong and how you managed to move forward in life even though that was not an ideal situation. Reminding yourself that you’ve overcome previous trials will ground you in believing that things are always fine in the end.
Celebrate Your Unique INFP Qualities
Not everyone will think like you, but you should see it as your superpower. Although your methods may seem unorthodox, you bring something to the table that not many others do.
Embrace your unique qualities by remembering all the times your contributions made a positive impact in the lives of others.
Appreciate Your Overthinking For When It Protected You
Overthinking can often feel like a curse but in some situations, overthinking can be a blessing. As an INFP, you are an intuitive, perceptive individual. Your perceptive nature likely leaves you with much to consider after various interactions. However, your overthinking may have protected you or others in various situations in the past.
Instead of feeling flustered by racing thoughts, take a second to view the bigger picture and see how your racing thoughts might be a form of protection. Once you have identified the underlying fear, you can cautiously examine that fear rather than allow your mind to race through multiple fearful outcomes.
Learn To Differentiate Between Overthinking And Intuition
Learning to differentiate between overthinking and intuition will help calm the anxious thoughts you may experience.
You can identify intuition by paying attention to the rest of your body. If you find yourself tense and sweating with distress, you are likely overthinking and sending stress signals throughout your body. However, if you have a strong feeling in your heart but rational thoughts of a possible outcome, then your intuition is likely speaking.
Differentiating between overthinking and intuition will ensure that you only invest your time and energy in realistic situations that might materialize.
Calm Your Mind Using Positive Affirmations
If you find yourself constantly overthinking specific situations, use positive affirmations to counter overthinking. By using positive affirmations, you encourage your brain to trust itself again, knowing that regardless of the outcome of the overthinking, you will be able to handle it.
Set Deadlines For Tasks To Limit Overthinking
As an INFP struggling with overthinking, setting deadlines may assist you in ensuring you use your time wisely rather than over-evaluating situations.
Setting deadlines is helpful because they ensure you have enough time to consider all relevant information without getting hyper-fixated on a specific topic.
Get Rid Of Things That Cause You To Overthink
Naturally, not everything that you overthink is within your control. However, try to remove any reminders of things that cause you to overthink.
If you find yourself obsessing about weight loss, put your scale out of sight so that you are not reminded of your weight every time you see the scale.
If you tend to overthink your life after seeing someone’s social media profile, consider muting their posts or unfollowing them.
By placing these distractions out of your reach, you are choosing peace by limiting your opportunities to find situations to overthink.
Conclusion
Many INFPs are plagued by overthinking. INFPs overthink because they are individuals who like planning and perfection and try to prevent experiencing curveballs. Their perceptive nature causes them to overthink their actions and the actions of others. INFPs can reduce overthinking by removing distractions, setting deadlines, celebrating their uniqueness, focusing on intuition, and saying positive affirmations.
