How can I stop myself from thinking too much?

I'm a 22 year old and I've started to find my life miserable because of this habit of wondering and getting so lost in my worlds and dreams. I've even started talking to myself and imagining impractical future situations.

A few years ago, I used to overthink uncontrollably. My mind was like on stimulant and I could hardly rest mentally. It almost killed me from the inside.

Fortunately, I don’t overthink anymore today. A whole new world is wide open for me.

HOW TO OVERCOME OVERTHINKING???

1. Understand the illusory nature of your thoughts.
1. You are not your mind. Instead, you are observer of your mind. Don’t accept/challenge this intellectually. Experience this by yourself.
2. Observe your thoughts. Put some time onto it and you’ll soon realize this: Thoughts aren’t real -they only appear real.
3. Thoughts are double-edged swords. Used correctly, you can reach great heights. Used incorrectly, you become your mind’s slave.
4. Whenever a thought arises, ask yourself: “Is this thought serving or enslaving me?”
5. Discard thoughts which don’t serve you.
2. Understand why you overthink.
   
1. Overthinking because your mind is actively looking for distractions to keep you mindlessly occupied…
2. So that you can temporarily run away from the deep, important problems, such as “Is this really the life I want?”, “What is my true potential?”, “I’m not happy, how I can change this?”, etc.
3. But you know you can’t run away from these problems. Stop hiding behind these problems by overthinking. Harsh truth: It’s useless.
4. Face your deep problems with courage. Everyone has his own deep problems. There’s nothing to be ashamed about.
5. Believe that you’ll overcome them - because you will.
3. Understand what you can do about your thoughts.
1. If they serve you, work on them.
2. If they don’t serve you, discard them.
3. If you’re unsure, write them down and revisit them later.
4. When overthinking is on steroid, put all your thoughts onto a piece of paper.
1. When you overthink uncontrollably, write literally everything that crosses your mind, or simply sketch them. Have a race with your mind see how well you can catch up with.
2. Soon, you’ll realize that overthinking is stupid. (That’s what I realized.) It’s a huge waste of time and mental energy.
3. You’ll be impressed by your creativity in making horror stories. Again, what a waste! Imagine how much you can achieve if you put your creativity on something positive and productive, such as creating businesses, writing or drawing.
4. So the good news is: If you can overthink, you’re probably creative. :)
5. Your job is to utilize your creativity the right way.
5. Exercise for at least 3o minutes a day.
   
1. When you exercise, be present in the moment. Feel your muscles moving, feel your heart pumping and feel your sweat coming out from your sweat pores.
2. After exercising, drink water mindfully. Feel your activated body.
3. Then, pick one thing to focus.
6. Pick one thing to focus.
1. This is the crucial step which will turn your life around.
2. Pick one thing to focus, not coming up with twenties thoughts to “feel productive”.
3. Try to focus on something you’re interested in. Examples: Reading, writing, solving a mathematics problem/Sudoku, gardening, cooking.
4. Once you catch yourself doing the latter, practice #4.
5. Start small. As your focusing muscle improves, you can take on greater tasks without being hindered by overthinking.
7. Finally, remember that:
   
1. Building focusing muscle takes time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Be patient.
2. Momentum is key. Curing overthinking is a marathon, not a sprint.
3. These habits aren’t sexy. But they work. At least for me. Little by little