Thinking too hard

Does anyone else ever find that too much time spent thinking can be depressing? I find that recently I have spent too much time thinking in a way that winds up negative.

For instance, when I'm thinking about my relationship with God, I keep thinking about how to "perfect" my prayers. I put a great deal of pressure on myself to grow. And yet Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." My prayer life will probably never be perfect, though I will grow. But the point is to come to Him - the point is not to approach Jesus in a certain way, other than by faith that He provides everything, yes, EVERYTHING, I need.

When I'm thinking about parenting, I get down on myself because I could be so much better a father. And I sit there and beat myself up for my failures, trying to discipline myself mentally to be a better dad.

The irony with both of these is that I get all stressed out about thinking about how to improve when I could be actually praying or playing with and parenting Emma. In these cases, as in most of life, doing what you have learned is good is the best policy. I create so much more struggle for myself thinking about how to pray and parent better. But when I get on my knees and just pray, or when I get down on the floor and just play with Emma, much of the stress disappears AND I improve in the areas I'm concerned about.

If you know me, of course, you know I'm not against thinking. Still, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only..."