You Don't Know How It Feels

🎸 Shake Off the Stress: What Tom Petty Teaches Us About Overthinking and Self-Acceptance

Hey friends! 👋 Ever have one of those days (or weeks, or months...) where your mind just won't shut up? You know, the kind where you're constantly running through worst-case scenarios and second-guessing every tiny decision? If so, you're definitely not alone. It's that classic feeling that Tom Petty taps into so beautifully in "You Don't Know How It Feels."

The whole vibe of the song—especially that iconic line, "Let me get to the point, let me show you my good side / Let me get to the point"—always makes me think about the struggle with anxiety and overthinking. We're often so caught up in performing for the world and worrying about how we're perceived that we miss the simple beauty of just being.

The Overthinking Trap 🧠

When we're anxious, we tend to get stuck in a mental loop, constantly trying to predict the future or re-litigate the past. We think if we can just find the "right" thing to say or do, everything will be okay. But that frantic energy? It's often us trying to control things that are fundamentally uncontrollable.

Petty's repeated request to "get to the point" feels like a plea to just cut through the noise—the mental noise, the external noise, and the pressure we put on ourselves. It reminds us that often, the simplest, most authentic version of ourselves is the best one.

Finding Your Good Side (It's Already There) 🌟

This is where the magic of self-acceptance and self-worth comes in. You see, when you're busy trying to "show your good side," you're implicitly suggesting that your current side, your real side, isn't good enough. That's a huge burden to carry!

The biggest mental health shift you can make is realizing your worth isn't conditional. It doesn't depend on a perfect performance, a clever response, or whether someone else approves.

Instead of fighting your anxiety or trying to silence the overthinking, try a gentle shift in perspective:

• Acknowledge it: "Okay, my brain is racing about that email again. I hear you, brain."

• Decouple from it: "That thought is an anxious thought, not a fact."

• Focus on the present: What is actually happening right now? You're reading this blog post! You're safe!

It takes resilience to keep pulling yourself back to the present moment, but every time you do, you're reinforcing your own worth. You’re telling yourself, "I am enough, right here, right now, with all my messy, overthinking bits."

So, take a deep breath, crank up Tom Petty, and remember: you don't need permission to be your wonderful, complex self. Let's start "getting to the point" and just enjoy the ride. ✌️

What's a lyric or song that helps you cut through your own mental noise? Let me know in the comments! 👇