On Not Overthinking a Year to Death
Are we ready for the year-end fireworks? From where I live, they’re loud enough each year that Luna tucks her head into my elbow. Still unimpressed.
It’s a familiar marker of the year ending.
Bom Bom Bom.
Time to reflect, recollect. Examine.
Socrates once said,
“A life unexamined is not worth living.”
As a therapist, I get what he was alluding to.
Awareness matters.
Sitting with emotions, yes.
Reflection too.
Not blindly repeating patterns. Not living life on autopilot.
But.
I’ve also come to believe this.
A life over-examined is not a life lived.
When I direct or choreograph a stage piece, I can get so completely consumed by the work
There is a way I do things.
It has served me well for decades.
But if I were to explain it step by step, it would sound like self-inflicted torture.
So I don’t stay there forever.
I step away.
I play a round on my old PS4.
I bike to the park.
I do something completely unrelated.
And often, that’s when clarity sneaks in.
The breakthrough comes when I stop chasing it.
That’s been a useful lesson for therapy too.
Yes, we touch the pain.
We look honestly at what hurts, what’s unresolved, what keeps returning.
But we don’t live there.
We come back out.
Into ordinary life.
Into humour, connection, simple pleasures.
One of my all-time favourite books is The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz.
It’s psychodynamic, yes, but it reads more like a series of human encounters than a textbook.
Quiet, short stories that invite reflection without forcing answers.
That feels like a good way to meet the end of a year.
Examine your life, absolutely.
Just don’t put it under a microscope all the time.
Sometimes insight comes not from digging deeper,
but from going out for a teh peng,
dancing to a boliao 90s song,
or simply allowing yourself to be human for a bit.
As 2025 comes to a close, may we remember that.
If you found this post helpful, feel free to share it with someone who might benefit!
Warmly,
George Chan
This Is How We Heal
George Chan, MCOU, is a Counsellor, Grief Educator and Breathwork Coach who specialises in helping individuals navigate grief and loss through his private practice, This Is How We Heal. With a rich background in theatre and entertainment, George brings creativity and empathy to his work. When he's not in the therapy room, you might find him performing, choreographing, or working on a new production—or spending time with Luna, his Jack Russell Terrier, who doubles as his unofficial co-therapist and production critic.