Five things you can see.
Four things you can hear.
Three things you can touch.
Two things you can smell.
One thing you can taste.
That’s the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique. I first came across it in Nick Trenton’s How to Stop Overthinking.
I used to be an overthinker. I still am, actually, but I manage it better now. This technique helped me for a while. I don’t use it much anymore, though I occasionally mention it to patients.
As a physiotherapist, to be clear. I know where my job ends. Sometimes Carina simply shares something she has found useful.
The idea is to bring your attention back to what’s around you when your thoughts keep circling around a conversation from yesterday or a decision you haven’t made yet. It doesn’t mean you should stop thinking about the past or future. That would be both impossible and, honestly, rather inconvenient.
But there’s a point where thinking stops giving you anything new. You replay the same conversation, inspect the same decision from every angle, and somehow end up exactly where you started.
That’s when it can help to give your attention something else to do.
Now, I’m a physiotherapist, and I have a habit of borrowing ideas from other fields. Sometimes they become an analogy I use with a patient. Sometimes they help me explain a problem differently.
This time, they gave me a movement idea:
Five squats.
Four hinges.
Three pushes.
Two pulls.
One carry.
A small movement break built around five basic movement patterns.
You can keep it simple and use whatever movements and equipment you have available. If you want a training challenge, you can add load. If you only have a few minutes between tasks, a few easy repetitions count too.
Will it stop every spiral of overthinking? Probably not. But counting the movements and paying attention to what your body is doing might help you step out of your thoughts for a moment. And you’ve moved a little in the process.
I’m curious whether this feels more inviting to you than naming five things you can see. For me, it’s a useful reminder that an idea doesn’t have to stay in the field where I found it.
🧪 Let’s Experiment
A useful technique doesn’t have to stay exactly as you found it.
Borrow the 5-4-3-2-1 structure and see what happens when you make it yours:
🎯 Try This:
Pick five movements you can do comfortably in your usual work break and give them a countdown. Keep them easy enough that starting doesn’t become another decision to overthink.
Count the repetitions and notice what you’re doing. Then check in: Did the movement change where your attention went, even briefly?
🧠 Final Thought:
Sometimes the most useful plan is one you can do before your brain has time to argue with it.