From the space between send and reply, this is Overthinking the Awesome with David Cosgrove. Welcome back. You're thinking too much. Good. So am I. Let's put that big brain of yours to work. I want to give a quick thanks to this episode's sponsor, Westwood Provisions, handmade candles out of Simsbury, Connecticut. When I'm recording or writing, the right atmosphere matters. These folks get that. Connect with Westwood Provisions on Instagram and Facebook. Tell them the Overthinker sent you. Something good happened. You got the job. The project succeeded. Someone said yes. The numbers came back positive. Something you hoped for actually came through. And for a moment, maybe a few minutes, maybe an hour, you felt it. The relief, the joy, the holy crap, it actually worked. And then the anxiety showed up. Not the good kind of excitement. The worried kind. The what now? The can I actually do this? The what if it falls apart? You just got exactly what you wanted, and instead of celebrating, somehow you're spiraling. This is overthinking success, and it's one of the loneliest spirals because how do you explain to anyone that good news feels dangerous? Why success triggers overthinkers? Here's why this happens. Success raises the stakes. Before you got the thing, the worst case was not getting it. Disappointing, sure, but manageable. You were used to that risk. Now you have the thing, and the worst case is losing it, failing at it, not being able to deliver, having everyone watch you fail. For overthinkers, success doesn't feel like arriving. It feels like exposure. Like now there are expectations, now there's something to lose. Now you're visible in a way you weren't before. And so instead of enjoying the win, you start managing this new threat. Moving the goalpost, minimizing what you achieved, preparing for the fall. It's not that you don't want good things, it's that good things can feel unsafe. So how do we find this click with this? It's usually the moment you pivot from I did it to uh now what? The moment the celebration ends and the preparation begins. Or it's when you start minimizing. Uh it wasn't a big deal. Anyone could have done it. It probably won't last. Or when you feel the urge to tell someone about the win and then immediately imagine their skepticism, their expectation, their future disappointment. That's the click. The moment you stopped letting the good news land and started protecting yourself from it. Notice it and name it. I'm already managing the next threat. I skipped over the win. So time to let the moment land. Not forever, not recklessly, just for a moment. When something good happens, practice saying, out loud if you need to, this is good. I'm going to let it be good. Your brain wants to fast forward to problems. Slow it down. Stay in the moment of success for five more seconds. Then five more. Then five more. If you find yourself minimizing, pause. Ask, would I minimize this if a friend told me they did it? If you'd celebrate for someone else, you can celebrate for yourself. You don't have to ignore the challenges ahead, but you also don't have to skip the victory to get to them. How do we switch this to the awesome? Here's the awesome move. Overthink success positively. Your brain is going to analyze this moment anyway. It's going to chew on it, turn it over, look for meaning. So give it a direction. Instead of what could go wrong from here, ask, what did I do that got me here? Instead of, can I maintain this? Ask, what does this prove about what I'm capable of? This is where the compliment bank comes in. Remember that from season one of the podcast and from the book? Every time something good happens, every win, every compliment, every moment of you nailed it, write it down. Keep a running file of evidence. Because your brain won't remember these on its own. It's wired to remember threats. You have to manually store the wins. So use your overthinking brain for good. Collect the evidence. Build the case. Make success a pattern, not a fluke. Remember, you're allowed to have good things. You're allowed to enjoy them, to let them land, to sit in the moment without immediately preparing for the fall. Success doesn't make you a target, it makes you someone who succeeded. That's worth acknowledging, worth feeling. You're allowed to stay where good things find you. This has been Overthinking the Awesome. I'm David Cosgrove. The book goes deeper. Overthinking the Awesome is available on Amazon and Audible. Have any questions or topics? Hit me at davidcosgrove.com or find me on Instagram at Del Piambo Music. Stay safe out there, and remember, your mind isn't too much. You're just learning how to play.