University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Soundtracks
Book

Soundtracks

The Surprising Solution to Overthinking

Jon Acuff
Baker Publishing Group, 2021
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Well Structured
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Everyone has a pocket jury they need to silence – the whispers in your brain that judge you, give you pause and say you’re not good enough. Best-selling author and speaker Jon Acuff dispels the myth that you cannot control these thoughts, that you cannot flip the narrative. With humor and clarity, Acuff shares his secrets on how to stop overthinking and use positive affirmations to build your confidence and creativity. When you quell the negative noise in your head and convert your overthinking into positive energy, he argues, you turn problems into opportunities and idleness into action.

Summary

Your thoughts either move you forward or hold you back.

Overthinking leads to inaction. When your thoughts overwhelm you, they hold you back from realizing your dreams. Overthinking wastes your time, impedes your creativity and makes you less productive. You may believe you cannot control your thoughts, yet by listening to them too much, you allow them to influence your career, your personal relationships and your future.

When you overthink, thoughts repeat or spin in your brain – longer than you expect, longer than you want. These thoughts often exaggerate things you said or did that you’d rather forget. These negative thoughts – “broken soundtracks” – play uninvited in your head and generate doubt and insecurity that leads to lost opportunities.

Over time, your brain repeats these broken soundtracks, and they reset your memories. You believe what your brain tells you and find evidence to support those beliefs.

You can learn to control your brain and to ignore your broken soundtracks. Combat overthinking by replacing your broken soundtracks with new ones and repeat your new ones until they play automatically in your head.

Influence...

About the Author

Best-selling author and INC Magazine Top 100 Leadership speaker Jon Acuff  has influenced companies around the world including FedEx, Nissan, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Chick-fil-A, Nokia and Comedy Central.

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