3 Situations Youre Probably Overanalyzing (and How to Stop)

3 Situations Youre Probably Overanalyzing (and How to Stop)3 Situations Youre Probably Overanalyzing (and How to Stop)Its human nature to analyze situations. At the end of the day, we all want to survive (both literally and figuratively), and we turn to our brains to figure out how to do that when things get tricky. However, sometimes analyzing a simple scenario quickly turns into an overanalyzing nightmare- and if youre trying to figure out a workplace issue, overthinking it can have hazardous effects on your career. Co-workers might put turned off by the anxiety that ensues from your worrying, or you might make the wrong decision or drop the ball on a project because youve second guessed yourself.So, how can you stop? Here are three common workplace issues and how to deal if you find yourself way overanalyzing them.1. A Colleague Is Rude to YouWhether its a co-worker or your boss, at some point in your career, someone wont be nice to you in the office, and it can really leave you f eeling uncertain. Is he actually unhappy with you, or is he just having a bad day? Should you confront her or let it go? Your decision could affect your relationship with that person.The first step, as with any sensitive situation, is not to panic. If your colleague just made a comment or said something rude one time, it was probably just an off statement. Also take note if that person is acting out toward other people in the office. If so? Remind your overly active brain that the situation likely has nothing to do with you, and spend that mental energy on something else.If, however, you notice the trend continuing and that person seems to be singling you out, its time to take action. Fact is, trying to figure out what someone else is thinking in your head (or worse, with another colleague over drinks) does nothing but add to the already tense situation- and one short conversation can do wonders to defuse it. Ask the offending co-worker for a quick walk or coffee meeting to mention your concerns (even a, How are you feeling? You seem a little off, could do the trick).2. You Think Youre Going to Be Fired or PromotedWhen you think youre about to move up the food chain or be taken out of it, its easy to want to analyze every single cue that comes your way. Your boss mentioned the yep fired and looked in your direction? Uh oh. A colleague whispered that someone in your department was getting promoted? Yay- maybe?The easiest way to handle this situation is to keep doing whatever it is youre doing. Even if something big is on the horizon, reading into every interaction typically only leads to disappointment (I got her coffee and she didnt offer me a promotion). Hang tight and keep doing your job right. If youre supposed to go somewhere else, someone will tell you.3. You Had an Email MishapWhether your important client memo included a typo or you sent a message to the totally wrong person, one of the most common things to overanalyze is email. After all, you probably spend all day in your inbox.First off, to avoid future email issues, I highly recommend going to the Labs tab of your Gmail settings and enabling the Undo Send vorkaufsrecht so that you can cancel messages if you notice a problem with your email right after the fact. That will eliminate half of the stress right there.On top of that, if you think your email contained a serious issue, its always better to confront it head-on in a quick follow-up email (and preferably in-person if its harmful) rather than waiting it out. (Oh, but definitely dont lose sleep over a typo. It happens.)Overall, keeping yourself from overanalyzing is understanding when its appropriate to step in and when you just have to let things go. If youre really not sure, ask a trusted friend or colleague for some advice. But at the end of the day, heres something comforting Often, the only person whos aware that youve messed up is you.Photo of people thinking courtesy of Shutterstock.