Overthinkers come in flavors. Each type has unique strengths but also unique challenges they grapple with, often bravely. Below are five types you might recognize in yourself.
As you look for your closest match, don't make the mistake of devaluing the strengths mentioned but dwelling on the weaknesses. Approach your patterns with curiosity rather than criticism.
1. The Maximizer
This type is driven by achievement and rewards. They want to excel and constantly try to take optimal actions.
Example: You're full of ideas but still pondering how best to pursue your ideas three months—or even three years—later.
Their strengths: Strong ambition and drive. Creative thinking. Willingness to invest focused mental effort to improve results.
Achilles heel: Trying to perfect your approach too early, before taking action. You attempt to optimize before starting, rather than refining only after trying a first version. Careful thinking to avoid missteps can backfire—overthinking becomes a bigger threat to your success than mistakes.
Tools they need: The maximizer needs to learn to recognize when trying to make perfect plans is holding them back. For example, when they're obsessing about selecting the best tools or most efficient strategies before starting. Maximizers also benefit from learning to better discriminate what to devote their full maximizer energy to vs. when to choose "good enough" options to reduce cognitive load and move forward faster.
2. The Highly Distractible Overthinker
This person has many distracting thoughts while trying to get one thing done.
Example: You're supposed to reinforce your pool fence that's leaning and about to fall over, but while in the backyard, you notice many other things needing attention.
Their strengths: An abundance of ideas. Their leaky attention filter hinders focus but can boost creativity.
Achilles heel: Maintaining focus. Not handling very important things can become crushingly stressful, and cause stress to snowball (e.g., a bill is wrong, but you ignore it instead of dealing with it, and it hurts your credit).
Tools they need: Rather than trying to self-improve, it may be more realistic to get help staying on top of what you find hard. Get the support you need to complete your minimum essential tasks—the ones that, if ignored, lead to stress snowballs.
Structure tasks to require only short bursts of focus (5–10 minutes). Create milestones you can complete in one burst, so you don't lose time reacquainting yourself with the task every time you pick it back up.
3. The Ruminator
This person ruminates about their mistakes and shortcomings.
Example: They ask themselves a lot of "why" questions—why they're stuck, why they're imperfect, why they haven't achieved everything they set out to.
Their strengths: Asking "why" is actually a strength. Many people don't bother. They move through life without questioning things. Ruminators are willing to exert cognitive effort, which can be redirected toward solving bigger problems that require initiative others may not have.
Achilles heel: Shame.
Tools they need: Like the Maximizer, the Ruminator craves actual progress and achievement. The tools for getting things done—already mentioned under Types 1 and 2—can help. They may also benefit from tools that calm the nervous system, along with cognitive strategies to reframe unwarranted shame and rewrite their personal narrative.
4. The Worrier
This person holds themselves back—not because they're chasing the best outcome (like the Maximizer)—but because they're focused on avoiding bad ones.
Example: You have dreams you'd love to pursue, but you spend most of your time thinking about everything that could go wrong if you try.
Their strengths: Society needs people who consider what could go wrong.
Achilles heel: An unwillingness to accept some risk of negative outcomes in order to achieve positive ones.
Tools they need: Worriers can benefit from having a sense of purpose that feels bigger and more important than avoiding anxiety. Cognitive tools that shift their focus to the risks of inaction and to view risks in a more balanced way can help. Creating milestones promotes a shift in focus to pursuing rewards rather than avoiding risks at all costs.
5. The Person Who Believes Everything is Terrible
The person feels hopeless and helpless a lot of the time.
Example: They might think a lot about the future of the planet, politics, and society, or why others are to blame for what they're unhappy about.
Achilles heel: Depression proneness. Among all the overthinker types, this one is most linked to depression.
Tools they need: Treatment for depression, if applicable. Cognitive tools to adjust when the person perceives themselves as lacking freedom or agency.
Complex Humans Don't Fit in Simple Boxes
Typologies are mainly a communication heuristic. They help make the concepts clearer. In reality, most overthinkers will recognize themselves in more than one of these types.
The tools sections in this article aren't meant to be exhaustive. What's achievable in a short article is merely to provide some pointers—some balls I can pass to you that you can run with.
Overthinking can be painful, especially when you're motivated to excel, when you're worried about what could happen, when stress snowballs because you struggle to focus on essential responsibilities, when your shortcomings feel giant, or when the world feels hostile. Explore the tools to resolve or, at least relieve, these pain points.