A young man once approached a wise monk and asked,
“How do I stop overthinking?”
The monk replied:
“You overthink because your mind is trying to protect you… from a future that does not yet exist.
Tell me—who has ever seen tomorrow?
Whatever you fear about it is not reality, but imagination wearing the mask of truth.
So the mind creates problems that aren’t real…
and then exhausts itself trying to solve them.
Like a cat spinning in circles, chasing its own tail.
If you wish to be free, remember two things.
First—your thoughts are not facts.
Most of what you worry about will never happen.
Second—life will unfold as it must.
Release what you cannot control, and respond wisely to what actually comes.
Do this, and your restless mind transforms…
from a loop of fear into a steady river—
flowing, adapting, and at peace with whatever lies ahead.
Understand this clearly:
the mind is often trying to solve problems it created itself.
Trust life.
Act where you can.
Let go where you cannot.
This is the way.”
Moral:
Overthinking is not wisdom—it is fear pretending to be preparation.
Peace begins the moment you stop battling an imagined future… and start living in the present.
