Hi Rosm_
Wondering if it might help to re-frame over thinking. I believe just about everyone has a natural analyst in them. So, the question becomes 'Is the analyst in me a full time worker, part time worker or casual worker?'. I've found it depends on the circumstances.
The analyst in me tends to work full time when I'm facing a deeply depressing, tormenting or stressful situation. It'll analyse the hell out of everything, so as to reach some heavenly conclusion (aka an inspiring groundbreaking revelation that leads my life to change for the better). A major trigger for the full time work is sitting down without distraction. In other words doing nothing other than focusing on what I feel compelled to analyse. This can also be called 'Meditating on a problem'. Meditation is basically about giving something your full 100% focus. You can meditate on your breath, on clouds, on the feeling of the wind or how certain music leads you to feel or, as Flop mentions, what's right in front of you. Pretty much anything, basically. Unfortunately problem meditation doesn't feel quite as calming, fluffy, flowing, uplifting or grounding.
If you have a natural analyst in you, another question could be 'What other facets make up who I am?'. Just say you have a natural wonderer in you that wonders about nature or a daydreamer in you that loves to imagine amusing or perhaps magical scenarios. The reason I mention these other facets of self is based on them being a distraction from overthinking. It's almost impossible to channel the analyst in us and the child like daydreamer, for example, at the same time. So, the daydreamer overrides the analyst. I know, easier said than done at times (practicing such a thing), especially if we're under stress when it comes to trying to work out/analyse a solution to a problem. Sometimes this strategy becomes simply about having a break from thinking too much. It's a chance for our nervous system to relax a little.
While daydreaming is said to be related to the alpha brain wave state, a state in which solutions can naturally come to mind without thinking, meditating on our imagination can occasionally produce some helpful insight.
