I just stopped thinking. I figured out that using my brain was the whole problem.

An interesting superpower learned from Reese, the troublemaking brother, in the Malcolm in the Middle TV series.

A random clip, season 5 episode 21, from the TV series, Malcolm in the Middle, popped up in my feed.

Malcolm in the Middle is a TV series that ran from 2000 to 2006 and centers around Malcolm and his family. Reese, one of Malcolm’s older brothers, always caused trouble for everyone throughout the series.

In the episode, Reese is devastated after losing his girlfriend and he enlists in the army and starts off with his old ways of doing things, angering his sergeant.

The clip shows Reese, sometime later, doing everything just as he had been instructed, and the sergeant asked him what caused his turnaround. He delivers this memorable line:

“I just stopped thinking. I figured out that using my brain was the whole problem.”

His sergeant goes on to say that a soldier like him comes along only once in 1000 years.

This clip is a funny take on what happens when you quit thinking, but it contains a powerful message.

Most People go Through Life Overthinking Things

Many problems and stress are caused by too much thinking.

When I reflected on why I procrastinated, I could see that it was because I was overthinking things.

I was worried about how things would turn out. I was thinking about all the other things that I needed to get done. I was thinking of how to start and how to finish. I was thinking of what I would have to do once I finished one task.

My mind was a whirlwind.

What would happen if you applied “Not Thinking” to your life?

I wondered what would happen if I just chose one task and told myself not to think? I wouldn’t think about any other task. I would just focus on that task and work.

I tried this with an article I was writing.

I had been overthinking things and it was taking a lot longer to get things out. When I told myself to quit worrying about things and just write, I was very productive and got the article done except for the final review.

I tried this at other times.

When I woke up in the morning, it was cold, and my mind was full of different thoughts about what I had to do. I remembered to not think and told myself to get up without thinking.

I got out of bed.

When I was tired in the evening and contemplated going out to eat instead of cooking at home, I told myself not to think and cook at home. I stayed home and cooked.

When I was tempted to eat some snacks, I told myself to not do so. I quit thinking about the snacks.

I was like Reese, I turned off my brain and just followed simple commands I gave myself.

I even applied this to my emotions. I was standing in a line waiting at the register, while waiting for a lady to order. She took a long time and finally finished her order. Then the system malfunctioned, and everyone kept waiting and waiting for the owner to reboot and fix the system. I felt a little anxious because I had wanted to quickly get in and out because I had a lot to do.

At that moment, I caught myself and told myself not to think and be patient. I immediately felt the anxiousness go away.

It was like I had discovered a lost superpower.

By giving myself permission not to think, it helped to free me from those emotions that were triggering my inner conflicts.

Was it perfect every time? No, it wasn’t.

It wasn’t always easy to turn off my thoughts, but by consciously telling myself not to think, it helped me better focus on the next step.

And that next step was often getting started with something. The action of starting always led to me getting work out of the way.

My productivity increased.

I Created a “Not Thinking” System

I decided to try applying a system to “not thinking.”

I made a list of things I wanted to work on, the traditional to-do list, and I put the list in the order I wanted to get everything done.

I just only looked at the first task and told myself not to think about the rest of the list. I would then not think and work on that first task until it was completed and then I would move to the second task on the list.

By just focusing on one task and telling myself not to think about the other tasks, it helped to push down the feeling of being overwhelmed with so much to do.

This helped me to improve my productivity and complete more than before.

Use “Not Thinking” to Reduce Pushback from Limiting Beliefs

I learned long ago that our thoughts trigger our emotions, and our emotions are linked to our internal programming.

That internal programming can cause us to feel pushback from limiting beliefs.  So practice the art of “not thinking” to reduce the pushback.

Give yourself a command and turn off the thinking. Focus on only doing whatever it is your ordered yourself to do.

It is a superpower that can help you get past those internal conflicts holding you back.

I hope that you will like and share this if you found it helpful!

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