mind and matter

I think there is a thing as thinking too much. In any context.

It seems like pointless overthinking usually occurs when you don't know what you are trying to get out of it. I think thought just for the sake it is eventually becomes rather exhausting and unfulfilling. But like monkeys, which are constantly drawn to new sources of stimulation, our minds do not like to be empty for a long time. When there is nothing to think about, we promptly invent an issue and will thoughts into existence, whether that's an embarassing memory, worries about an upcoming exam, or simply a decision about what to have for dinner.

It's very difficult to not think. To truly empty your mind. That is the goal of most forms of meditation.

I think 99% of the thoughts we have are not truly necessary. Of course, to survive in society we need to do at least some thinking. But at the end of the day, the act of being a living, breathing, human being does not require too much thought.

I'm not trying to say that thinking is bad and that we should just not think. But I think it's valuable to take a step back from time to time and recognize that most of the noise in our minds is really just meaningless and inconsequential from a cosmic perspective.