There is this continuum between thoughtfulness and impulsivity (or not thinking) on which people naturally land. And, as with most continuums, being able to strike a balance is good. I believe it is good to have a little of both thoughtfulness and thoughtlessness in your life. You should be able to step back and have some constructive thought about where your life is going and “what it all means,” for instance, but too much of that becomes narcissism and/or neuroticism. This is often what anxiety and depression are made of.

And it is good to be able to suspend thinking, but not all the time. Letting go and not judging the moment or yourself or anything is a real art, but if you go through life just reacting and never thinking, you are going to be in trouble. Much of our impulsive (or compulsive) behavior is driven by the same anxieties that drive our overthinking, and this can be just as dangerous.

There is a third option which I believe is probably where we are meant to live. It is the balance of thoughtfulness and impulsivity, and I believe it is one of the hardest balances to achieve. It is the space where you are thinking just enough to achieve the task at hand and no more. You are able to act and react when the situation calls for it. You feel completely present, not focusing on anything other than what is before you. There is this experience of “clean thinking,” and there is no thought of how you feel, or really yourself at all. People most often experience this when they are doing what they are made to do. It is then that we are right with God and the universe, and we are doing what is asked of us.