One of our biggest assets can also be the thing that trips us up and gets us stuck: our minds. Used properly, your mind is a brilliant engine of creativity, productivity and life satisfaction. Used improperly (which all of us do from time to time), your mind can become quicksand, a hamster wheel or a lead-lined jail cell. Not good.

If you’re feeling stuck, it may be because you aren’t using your genius mind in the way it is intended. This is the first in a series of articles designed to distinguish our Mind Traps. I’m hoping once we are aware of the traps, we can free ourselves and unleash the power of the mind.

One of the biggest traps we fall into is the Over-Thinking Trap.

Thinking is an important ingredient in success. The problem arises when we add too much of this ingredient and ruin the recipe. Let’s face it, we live in a society that places a high value on thinking. From a very early age, we’re taught how to think our way out of any situation. We’re taught to use logic and strategies to solve problems and to get the things we want. This process starts from the minute you show up for your first day of Kindergarten and you need to figure out how to get the teacher’s attention. And so the rat race begins.

In Western society school systems, we’re trained to think our way through life. The aim and goal is to be smarter than the next guy. There is a lot of cheese down this tunnel when you’re playing the ‘monopoly of life’ game. The guy with the most toys wins, right? The high paying job, the huge house (in the right neighborhood, of course) with the 6-car garage. IF that’s the game you’re playing, being able to out-think the next guy can be a very useful skill.

But there is a trap in over-thinking. You know the old saying, “too much of a good thing?” It’s like an artist who is painting a picture. If the artist keeps looking at the painting and trying to make it better and better, pretty soon it’s no good at all. You need to know when enough is enough! Stop thinking and move forward. Easier said than done, I know. We get trapped in our minds, over-thinking constantly. It’s like we have a powerful tool (our brains) and we can’t turn it off. You just want to yell, “Stop the insanity!”

I get it. This is the mind trap that trips me up in life the most. Truthfully speaking, it’s one of the reasons why I was compelled to write my book, Destination Aha! Becoming Unstuck in Life and Business. I wanted to not only release myself, but support that release in others.

It’s not easy to stop a habit you have had for many years. If you’re ready to stop the insanity, stay tuned for my next article with an important exercise to help overcome the Over-Thinking Trap.