Overthinking The Awesome

David Cosgrove

You've tried meditation. You've tried breathing exercises. You've been told to "just relax" or "stop worrying so much." And yet here you are—3 AM, wide awake, racing thoughts on repeat, your brain running worst-case scenarios about something that happened years ago or might never happen at all. Your brain isn't broken. It's brilliant and bored. Overthinking the Awesome is a podcast for anyone drowning in anxiety, rumination, self-doubt, and the mental spirals that steal your sleep and hijack your peace. Instead of trying to silence your restless mind—spoiler: it doesn't work—you'll learn to redirect all that mental horsepower into clarity, confidence, and calm. In this series, you'll discover how to catch "the click"—the split-second before anxious thoughts spiral into full-blown catastrophic thinking. You'll learn why your inner critic won't shut up and how to finally fire your negative narrator. You'll retrain your mental algorithm so it stops feeding you worst-case scenarios and worry on a loop. You'll understand why compliments feel suspicious, why imposter syndrome kicks in the moment things go right, and how to let positive things actually be true about you. And you'll get real strategies for quieting a racing mind—without toxic positivity or empty affirmations. Season 1 laid the foundation. Season 2 goes deeper. This is a self-help podcast for overthinkers, chronic worriers, perfectionists, and anyone whose brain treats 2 AM like prime problem-solving time. If analysis paralysis has ever frozen you in place—or you've wished you could just turn your mind off for five minutes—start here. Topics covered include: overthinking, anxiety, self-doubt, spiraling, rumination, racing thoughts, inner critic, negative thinking, worry, anxious thoughts, catastrophic thinking, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, analysis paralysis, intrusive thoughts, cognitive reframing, mental wellness, and building real confidence. Based on the book Overthinking the Awesome: How to Turn Anxiety, Spiraling, and Self-Doubt Into Clarity and Confidence by David Cosgrove, available on Amazon (Kindle + Paperback) and Audible.

  1. 3d ago

    Everything Else Is Weather: The Two-Person Reason I Wrote No Clean Hands

    Novelist and composer David Cosgrove returns for a summer catch-up on why he writes for exactly two people — himself and one brutally honest friend. A funny, unguarded look inside his Kirkus-reviewed LA noir No Clean Hands, the detective who ruins everything he touches, and the eerie moment his fiction started writing his real life. Everything else is weather. You've been told to "stop overthinking." David Cosgrove wrote a book — and now a detective series — arguing you should point that brain somewhere better instead. In this special summer catch-up episode of Overthinking the Awesome, author, crime novelist, and electronic composer David Cosgrove pulls back the curtain on his creative process and the strange, two-person philosophy behind his Kirkus-reviewed Los Angeles noir, No Clean Hands. This is a solo, deeply personal episode about creativity, craft, and the courage to make art for a tiny audience — the idea that when you stop writing for the algorithm, the crowd, and the sales rank, and start writing for the people who actually matter, the work finally comes alive. Quincy Jones said the moment you think about money, God walks out of the room. David takes that seriously. In this episode: Why writing for an "audience of two" is creative freedom, not a limitationMeet Marv Slocum — the sweating, rumpled, forty-seven-year-old LA detective who destroys everything he loves just by standing too closeWhat "delightfully funny, playful, and bloody LA noir" actually means (thanks, Kirkus)The uncanny moment David's fictional character, Del Piombo, started mirroring his real life as an electronic musicianHow overthinking, anxiety, and self-doubt can be redirected into creativity, humor, and awe — the core idea of the Overthinking the Awesome bookWhy the private, personal, "made in a closed room" work is the only kind that ever seems to travelPerfect for fans of crime fiction, hardboiled detective novels, LA noir, indie authors, the creative process, and anyone whose busy brain never shuts off. 📖 No Clean Hands is available now. 🎧 Music by Del Piombo. This episode is brought to you by: Westwood Provisions — handcrafted candles and goods, made with real care in Simsbury, CT. Follow on Instagram: @westwoodprovisions AND RJG Flowers — award-winning florist, genuinely gorgeous arrangements. Follow on Instagram: @rjgflowers — Overthinking the Awesome with David Cosgrove: turning anxiety, spiraling, and self-doubt into clarity, creativity, and confidence. Support the show

    11 min

About

You've tried meditation. You've tried breathing exercises. You've been told to "just relax" or "stop worrying so much." And yet here you are—3 AM, wide awake, racing thoughts on repeat, your brain running worst-case scenarios about something that happened years ago or might never happen at all. Your brain isn't broken. It's brilliant and bored. Overthinking the Awesome is a podcast for anyone drowning in anxiety, rumination, self-doubt, and the mental spirals that steal your sleep and hijack your peace. Instead of trying to silence your restless mind—spoiler: it doesn't work—you'll learn to redirect all that mental horsepower into clarity, confidence, and calm. In this series, you'll discover how to catch "the click"—the split-second before anxious thoughts spiral into full-blown catastrophic thinking. You'll learn why your inner critic won't shut up and how to finally fire your negative narrator. You'll retrain your mental algorithm so it stops feeding you worst-case scenarios and worry on a loop. You'll understand why compliments feel suspicious, why imposter syndrome kicks in the moment things go right, and how to let positive things actually be true about you. And you'll get real strategies for quieting a racing mind—without toxic positivity or empty affirmations. Season 1 laid the foundation. Season 2 goes deeper. This is a self-help podcast for overthinkers, chronic worriers, perfectionists, and anyone whose brain treats 2 AM like prime problem-solving time. If analysis paralysis has ever frozen you in place—or you've wished you could just turn your mind off for five minutes—start here. Topics covered include: overthinking, anxiety, self-doubt, spiraling, rumination, racing thoughts, inner critic, negative thinking, worry, anxious thoughts, catastrophic thinking, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, analysis paralysis, intrusive thoughts, cognitive reframing, mental wellness, and building real confidence. Based on the book Overthinking the Awesome: How to Turn Anxiety, Spiraling, and Self-Doubt Into Clarity and Confidence by David Cosgrove, available on Amazon (Kindle + Paperback) and Audible.