Thinking Too Much

{vest: Converse All Star via Target; shorts: Abercrombie & Fitch via resale store; undershirt: Target; shoes: Tahari via TJ Maxx}

I can't believe this is the first time I've busted out these shorts this winter. I love them by themselves in the summer but for some reason I haven't thought to pair them with tights yet. I think I must have thought they'd be a weird length or something. I don't know what I was thinking because I love them with tights even more! This will not be the last time they appear in this chilly weather.

Ok, now I bet you're wondering about the title of this post. Well, today I was realizing that in almost every area of my life that I end up thinking into too much I am always disappointed with the result. If only I could shut out those voices or turn that switch off that gets me trying too hard to make everything perfect. This applies to primping and choosing outfits in the morning, creating book covers at work, painting, eating, and even blogging. For instance, when I'm getting ready in the morning and I'm trying to put together the perfect outfit for the day, the more I go through my closet and try on different combinations and the more I fuss with my hair the less I like the result. Likewise, the more I think work and rework an area of my painting that's bugging me or the longer I scour the internet for inspiration for a book cover, the more unsatisfied I am with the project. And the more focused I am on what I eat and when and how much, the more I eat and overindulge and end up with a stomach ache out of rebellion. And I've noticed that my over-thinking problem transfers into my blog too. Sometimes I feel like my next post has to be so epic and inspired that I hold off on posting till I have that creative burst of inspiration or great idea that I oftentimes never get. For me, thinking too much can sometimes lead to disappointment and dissatisfaction. Thinking too much about what other people think about me also gets me into trouble too and leaves me feeling insecure and extra shy. Anyone else notice this about yourselves or is it just me? In fact, the times that I throw something together or go with the first thing that pops into my head are the times I am happiest and most confident about the result. I know that sometimes it depends on my mood and creativity level that day, but this outfit is an example of this fact. Yesterday I probably spent half an hour longer on my hair and my outfit and ended up feeling unhappy with my look all day, whereas today after throwing this look together and not messing with my hair I felt ten times more confident. Another example? I feel like I spent all day Monday creating (or trying to create) a book cover at work, scouring the internet for inspiration on how to make it better, trying different effects in photoshop, looking up different photos and graphics to add to it, and the longer I spent reworking and fussing over it, the more frustrated I grew and the worse it looked. The next day I started again from scratch and went with the original image I found and simply added text over it and a swirly border around the image and voila! It looked perfect! Oftentimes, simple is better. One more example: When I went down to LA last December to be in a friend's wedding, we were so busy with the wedding preparations and having fun girl time that I only thought about food when it came time to eat. I ate good healthy full meals, felt satisfied, and didn't think twice about it. It was so refreshing not to obsess over it for the first time in a long time and I felt better health wise than I had in a long time. The lesson I've learned is when you're not trying too hard to make something perfect but instead just go with your gut and believe in yourself, that is when you will be most satisfied. So my friends, sometimes it's better not to think too much. Am I right?

I couldn't end this post without a couple pictures I took in Ashland recently for my sweet tooth friends. Don't these caramel apples look incredible? And the top picture is of the biggest donut I have ever seen. It was the size of a cake! I might need that instead of a birthday cake this year...