Welcome friend! I was going to post about Can’t Stop Thinking by Nancy Colier which I mentioned in July’s wrap up but I can’t talk about that book without first telling you about Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking. It’s been a long pending review and turns out, I have to read an impactful book three times to finally put into words how much it means to me. I think of Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking by Jon Acuff as a sacred text. It is where I have found much inspiration and the permission to be who I am. I am excited to share why that is so.
By Jon Acuff | Goodreads
Read: Jan 2022, Nov 2022, October 2023
Overthinking isn’t a personality trait. It’s the sneakiest form of fear.
It steals time, creativity, and goals. It’s the most expensive, least productive thing companies invest in without even knowing it. And it’s an epidemic. When New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff changed his life by transforming his overthinking, he wondered if other people might benefit from what he discovered. He commissioned a research study to ask 10,000 people if they struggle with overthinking too, and 99.5 percent said, “Yes!”
The good news is that in Soundtracks, Acuff offers a proven plan to change overthinking from a super problem into a superpower.
When we don’t control our thoughts, our thoughts control us. If our days are full of broken soundtracks, thoughts are our worst enemy, holding us back from the things we really want. But the solution to overthinking isn’t to stop thinking. The solution is running our brains with better soundtracks. Once we learn how to choose our soundtracks, thoughts become our best friend, propelling us toward our goals.
If you want to tap into the surprising power of overthinking and give your dreams more time and creativity, learn how to DJ the soundtracks that define you. If you can worry, you can wonder. If you can doubt, you can dominate. If you can spin, you can soar.
Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking – Review
Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking is a fantastic book at so many levels: let’s start with Jon Acuff – he is so fun to listen to! The things he talks about are easy to relate to and I loved the bonus stories in the audiobook that aren’t to be found in the printed copy. The other reason this book makes my sacred texts list is because it empowered me. It changed how I think and it truly has a solution to offer for overthinking. Let’s start at the beginning.
Soundtracks started with Jon wanting to be a public speaker. He felt trapped by the negative stories he was telling himself and this recognition that his thoughts were stopping him was an insight that changed everything. I love calling them ‘broken soundtracks’ too!
Broken Soundtracks and Overthinking
“Those are called broken soundtracks, negative stories you tell yourself about yourself and your world. They play automatically without any invitation or effort from you. Fear does not take work. Doubt does not take work. Insecurity does not take work.”
Soundtracks, pg 22
Overthinking happens. I have fallen into it. It’s when I fixate on an interaction with another person. Reread a message or email I have already sent. Imagine someone’s reaction. What I will say if they say this or that. The number of times I get stuck spinning my wheels unable to decide what to do has led to a lot of time I could have spent doing something else. If “Your thoughts empower your actions, which in turn generate your results.” (pg 31) then thoughts also empower inaction that have their own unique results.
In the very first chapters, Jon presents overthinking as a superpower. When you know you are doing it, you’re already on the path to change it. He presents three techniques on changing overthinking and making our thoughts work for us:
- Retiring broken soundtracks.
- Replacing them with new ones.
- Repeating the new ones until they’re as automatic as the old ones.
I was already writing my thoughts in my journal, uncensored. The leap was identifying the ones to retire and do the work to change them. I wasn’t able to do this right away. It took me months to make this connection.
“Broken soundtracks never evolve into new soundtracks on their own. That process is on us. We’re in charge of returning the old ones and replacing them with brand-new ones”
Soundtracks, pg 59
I love calling thoughts soundtracks now. It makes them akin to music and I know how to choose and change the music. I also enjoyed how Jon’s ideas of tuning into our thoughts is a practice of mindfulness. Being successful at this has led me into guided meditation, something I thought I was unable to do through most of my 20s. At the time of typing this review, I am reading Pema Chondron’s Living Beautifully and my learnings from Soundtracks have helped me already embrace much of what she says there.
The work never finishes though and Jon is honest about his struggles.
“Some days I find a thousand untrue, unhelpful, unkind thoughts on my shore. Other days I find the same thought I swore I retired yesterday rushing by again and gathering an ungodly amount of frequent-floater miles. Fortunately, there’s one thing you can do that will stop all your overthinking forever.”
Soundtracks, pg 60
Using Questions
When he finds himself ruminating, he has a list of questions he asks of his soundtracks: is it true? Is it kind? Is it helpful? Most of our automatic thoughts are none of these and hence this is a great way to identify those that should go.
My journaling practice expanded when I read: “Every idea is worthy of at least being captured.” (pg 69) I started a Collections journal just to make lists. Collections is already an established practice in bullet journaling that you can read about here.
I wrote names of movies I wanted to watch, lessons learned, books to read (as if I needed another version of this list), authors to reach out to, topics to read about, anything I thought of, even if I didn’t do it, I wrote it down. These lists have been a repertoire of things I can do. In my weekly planning post some months back, I shared easy and middle goals that I work towards. They have emerged from the lists I have made. When I have free pockets of time, I work towards them. It’s true.
Using Action
“A great way to get out of your head and into your world is to do a task you can actually finish.”
Soundtracks, pg 73
It’s important to remember that actions aren’t just physically done. Saying something kind back to myself when I notice an old broken soundtrack is also an action. Jon encourages keeping an eye out for wisdom from people around that we can adopt. Giving a soundtrack a try is a good practice. He writes about shouting Kayne’s soundtrack “my life is dope” every time something good happens. From Jon, I have borrowed “I will feel great after.” (That one came in handy in making this review possible.)
Jon shared about how an extra 5 min everyday can add an extra 30 min spend on something in a week. Pre-Soundtracks: my book reviews had to be written in one sitting. I changed that rule in October 2022. I started tracking what I wanted to write and took as many sittings to write them.
Now, I spend more time writing than I ever have. “Writing as much as I can” is kinder than “Writing a full review”. This has helped make the blog much more organized too.
Finding the Broken Soundtracks
Jon shares tell tale signs of broken soundtracks:
“Broken soundtracks like to traffic in absolutes. Everything, nothing, none and forever are sure signs that you’re overthinking.”
Soundtracks, pg 121
Negative thoughts pull us down. Is there a positive way of looking at things? His words, “Curiosity beats criticism” (pg 123) offered a great way to turn my broken soundtracks into something better for myself. I ask myself how can I take what bothers me and learn from it? Here is an example of a flipped soundtrack:
When I am not selected for a blog tour or review copy on NetGalley, the soundtracks were “I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t on top of updating my Goodreads, didn’t have enough followers on Instagram, or subscribers to the blog”.
Thoughts: I have so much privilege in living in Canada. The access to books I have here I would not get in India. The tours I don’t get on, I can get the book from the library or buy it. Nothing is stopping me from reading it, it just won’t be during the tour time.
Next time: Sign up for a tour with the intention that if I get in, I will be good. If I don’t get in, there are better books in store for me for now. I can get these prospective tour ones through other means. No one can stop me from reading what I want. My TBR will remind me.
There is a conversation between Jon and Ziger’s son about telling the truth in advance. It’s a permission to embrace myself like no other. There is so much we can learn from how others live their lives. I love getting to know other people’s teachers. 🙂
The Anthem and its Evolution
The one practice that changed me the most is the anthem.
It could be a collection of positive statements that spoke to both identity and reality.
Soundtracks, pg 151
An identity statement is “I’ve got a gift worth giving”. That’s about who you are.
A reality statement is “momentum is messy.” That’s how life works.
Yes, it was corny and silly at first but over 365 days later, I love it! I still say it twice a day. It is a way to organise my thoughts in advance. I didn’t wait till the new year to recite the anthem for the first time. I was starting a new journal so decided to fill the first couple pages with the anthem and commit. Over time, I have changed it to my unique needs.
Jon is super high energy and positivity oozing persona. I am not.
Every time I start a new journal, I find ways to improve the anthem based on what I identified needing improvement or new additions I found since last time. When my aunt passed away, I needed a reminder to be kind to myself. I added “I am good with the pace and order of things in this world”. The Chic Life has shared many messages on Pinterest. “I let that shit go” were her words and now they are mine.
Another one of my favourites is “Everything is always working out for me.” ( pg 170)
Collecting evidence that I am doing great work has been liberating. Sometimes, at the end of a project, I hear my mind voice tell me I am awesome. Unbidden. Uncalled. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. This isn’t an isolated practice though. I have found it in many books.
- From Your Writing Matters, I got the compliments list.
- Made For More got me to highlight wins of the day.
- Make Time mentioned about one highlight of the day.
- Brené said this in Braving the Wilderness where I quoted Jon: “Proof won’t find you; you have to find it. Fear comes free. Faith takes work.”-p173
“Each bit of that evidence was born from effort.” (pg 183) is super important.
Our accomplishments and wins are because of our efforts. We should celebrate them more often.
Two reasons Jon & I vibe
- “I collect typos because that’s evidence to remind myself that momentum is always messy.” (pg 175) – I maintain a list of books where I have found typos. It began long before I read this book.
- Uniball micro pens – We share a love for uniball micro pens. His color is blue. Mine is black. I finish a box of 12 in a year. I asked for it for Christmas and my hilarious brother-in-law asked, “Pens finish?” You can tell a pro from a casual user pretty easily. 😉
Symbols are a great reminder of our soundtracks and practices. Jon has his pennies, some people have their tattoos. Mine is my journal. Every time I write in it, I capture my broken and unknown soundtracks. I have a place to mould my thoughts and actions.
Ever since I adopted the ideas from Soundtracks, I have seen my growth. I have built practices that support me everyday and I have tools that I can turn to when I am stuck in my head. My journaling practice has skyrocketed. I don’t have any statistics to share about how much more productive I got but I truly feel different about my writing, my blog, reviewing, work and home. I have a way to embrace and implement the ideas that I read in books and hear from people. I know how I can work on myself and I continue to.
Thanks for joining me today. 🙂
Have you read Jon Acuff’s books or plan to? His latest, All It Takes is A Goal is an empowering read too. More on that in a few months. 😉
Check out other Non-Fiction reviews on the blog here.
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