“HELP – Save me from analysis-paralysis!! I’m overthinking everything…”
Since this is a serious problem for MANY entrepreneurs, we want to talk about analysis paralysis today. So let’s have a closer look at what happens when you overthink everything to the degree that you feel stuck and unable to decide what you do next.
So here is what happens:
When you’re trying to focus on too many things at once, you overload your working memory which is kinda like the data storage unit of your brain that tries to hold all information you need to work on a certain task.
So when you overanalyze a situation by trying to factor in too many variables plus doubts and worries, you overload the system and your productivity suffers even more. It’s increasingly harder to focus on the task at hand. Cause all these fears, doubts, and worries take up your mental storage units!
To add insult to injury, when you’re faced with a difficult decision with a lot of variables and/or an unknown outcome, overwhelm and anxiety might take over and literally shut down some of your higher brain functions. If you’re afraid of making the wrong decision, or you’re afraid of failing, or you’re afraid of being judged for your decision – your body and brain go into panic mode.
The body’s avoidance system – the one that evolved to keep you safe from potential threats – shift from its normal responsive mode into its reactive mode.
When it does, it sends signals to both, your hypothalamus to release stress hormones, and to your sympathetic nervous system to prep you for a fight or flight situation. With adrenaline and cortisol flooding your system, fear & frustration increase.
Anywho – this is what you want to avoid! So let’s get you out of that prickly situation and shift your avoiding system back into it’s relaxed, responsive mode!
Here are my best tips to overcome your analysis paralysis and move forward:
#1) Relax
Calm down and relax so that you can access all of your higher brain functions.
#2) Make decisions in the morning
Work on important decisions in the morning before decision fatigue sets in.
#3) Set deadlines
Set yourself a deadline to come up with a decision. As stated by Parkinson’s Law: Each task will take as long as you allow it to take.
#4) Set goals
Have a clear goal. It’s often easier to know what you want to achieve and then work your way backward: See yourself achieving your goal and then ask yourself “How did I get there?”. Mentally retrace the steps that got you there.
#5) Brainstorm
Brainstorm your options: This might sound contra-intuitive, but at the beginning of your decision-making process it’s actually GOOD to come up with as many solutions to your problem that you can possibly think of, even if not all of them are feasible – that gets the creative juices flowing and increases the likelihood of including a good solution.
Once you have a long list of options: Decide on a couple of criteria your solution has to meet – for example, your solution has to fall into a certain price range, or has to meet certain quality standards.
Then start eliminating all those options that do not meet your criteria.
Here’s where I find the following distinction really helpful:
Many of us are perfectionists and maximizers: We need to know that the decision we made was the best we could have made. As you’ve probably experienced yourself, this is a recipe for disaster because you keep asking yourself if you’re maybe missing out because there might be an even better solution out there that you haven’t discovered yet.
Now let me contrast that with someone who is a “satisfier” instead of a “maximizer”: A satisfier has standards and criteria that the solution has to meet, but is not worried about the possibility of missing out on a potentially better solution.
That simple mindset shift makes life so much easier, right?! You’ve found a solution that meets your criteria and therefore you don’t have to think about any other solutions right now. Phew!
#6) Get talking
Once you’re reduced your number of options considerably – talk about them! Find a family member, friend, colleague, or coach to talk things through.
Not only will you get a different perspective, but putting your thoughts into words also activates the left side of your brain which is also important for logic and reasoning. No wonder that simply by talking about your options, you’ll gain a lot of clarity!
#7) Add feelings to the equation
You have narrowed your options down to only 2-3 choices? Awesome! Now feel into them. This may sound weird but bear with me for a moment. How often have you decided to do one thing, only to immediately regret your decision? It happens, right?
Sometimes you don’t realize what you want until you make a decision. So to avoid making a decision you immediately regret – imagine what choosing each option would make you feel like. Trust your intuition!
Better done than perfect!
I hope these tips help you to finally break free from your analysis paralysis! 🙂
Once you have decided what you want to do – remember that done is better than perfect. It’s never easy in the beginning. But everyone has to start at zero and make their way from there. It’s all about learning by doing! You got this! 🙂
FREE FB challenge/masterclass coming up!!!
Now before I wish you all a wonderful weekend, I wanted to talk about the upcoming free challenge inside my FB group I’m planning for you guys! 🙂
I’ve mentioned it before and thought we could do something around time management but when I sat down and thought about all the things you asked and wanted to talk about, I saw that the key to most of these issues was confidence.
Which is why I decided to focus on confidence for this first challenge! 🙂 Now I need your input to make this as helpful as humanly possible! After all, this is all about co-creation and you need to let me know what you need to that I can deliver exactly what you want!
- What are your questions around confidence?
- What would having more confidence mean to you and your business?
- Do you prefer a 5-day challenge or a live masterclass?
- What are your desired outcomes for the challenge or masterclass?
- What would you hope to walk away with after this?
Let me know so that I can tailor this to your needs and you can walk away with the confidence boost that will enable you to get to the next level! 🙂
I hope you are as excited as I am about the challenge – if you know other passionate mompreneurs who need a confidence boost, invite them over to the group!
I’ll even give away a prize to whoever brings the most QUALIFIED people to the group!! Keep your eyes peeled – I will announce which prize I’ll give away inside the FB group next week! 🙂
But let me stress that again – you won’t win the prize for randomly inviting people who are not interested in the group or challenge.
Here are the criteria they have to meet – and it’s really easy because there are only 2:
#1) ambitious Mompreneurs
#2) ready and excited to work on their mindset & habits so that they can build a sustainable, feel-good online business.
So, if you haven’t done so already – join my FB group where I do weekly mini-trainings like this and where the confidence challenge/masterclass will take place! 🙂 To make it even more fun, bring a friend, or a bunch of friends who are in the same boat. The more, the merrier!!
See you there!!
Happy experimenting!
Yours,
