In a time of change, difficulties are bound to arise. And in the midst of so much uncertainty, even when we know how we want to move forward, there are still three main reasons why we can find ourselves getting stuck.
The first of these reasons is overthinking or analysis-paralysis.
Overthinking paralyses us with endlessly flipping back and forth between alternatives: wondering which is best or which is ‘right’. And as a result, we never actually do anything.
The classic example of this comes from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Here it is very clear, very early on, that Hamlet’s uncle has murdered Hamlet’s father and married his mother. But instead of simply taking action to avenge the king, Hamlet overthinks it.
“Is it nobler,” he wonders, “to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?”
If he did take action, would he succeed? Would he fail? Might he be killed? Would death become a time “to sleep, perchance to dream”? And on the other hand… ?
While Hamlet is dithering over whether “to be or not to be,” events move on around him… until suddenly: “I am dead, Horatio!”
Ooops! A wasted opportunity.
We all recognise this indecision, which is why we love the play. But the living death that Hamlet achieves by not taking action is worse than the actual death he suffers anyway. By overthinking, Hamlet accomplishes nothing and the play becomes a tragedy in the truest sense.
In this time of change, just like Hamlet, we often don’t know for certain what has happened, what is going to happen, or whether our actions will succeed. And all ways forward are likely to be difficult.
So we all have the potential to become like Hamlet. And if we overthink our options then events will move on around us and we too will achieve nothing.
Better, instead, to make the clearest sense we can of the situation, find as many options as possible to move forward, choose the one that inspires us the most, and then begin — learning and adapting as we go.
Then if events turn out as we expected, we will have started sooner and we will be more likely to achieve the results we want. And if events turn out differently from how we expected then at least we will have gained clarity on what matters most to us and gained experience that we can apply to our next attempt to achieve it.
As Charlie Chaplin said,
“We think too much and feel too little.”
This time of change is calling on us all to stop overthinking and instead take more inspiring action to become whatever makes us feel most alive.
This is another step to becoming antifragile.
Have you ever found yourself overthinking or over-analysing a situation? When you eventually moved forward, did you choose the option that most inspired you? Which way forward inspires you most from where you are today?
PS
A Short Term Fix:
If you’re finding it difficult to choose between two options, try tossing a coin to decide.
Then notice how you feel about the result: pleased or disappointed?
That tells you which option you really want.
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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