How often do you get caught up in your thoughts, overthinking a situation from ten different angles, losing hours, and sometimes even days? In the end, you find yourself in a very similar place to where you started. Well, I know it happens to me all too often.
Phil Knight said:
“Just do it,”
We’re all familiar with this slogan. There are plenty of similar slogans and quotes out there. Almost every notable figure has, at some point in their life, spoken about the dangers of overthinking and the need to take the plunge at some point.
You can't predict everything
Especially in business, things are often unclear. When you take your company, for example, into a foreign market, no matter how thorough your analyses, you can’t predict everything that will happen. It’s simply the nature of business. And the larger your organization, the more surprises you’ll encounter.
Because of this uncertainty, people, in their desire to have everything perfectly clear, get entangled in overthinking.
If the answer is no, then you must stop
When this happens to you, you must know how to stop, take a breath, and ask yourself if further contemplation will contribute to a better understanding of the situation. If the answer is no, then you must stop at that point. If necessary, write it down on a note and hang it on your door or set it as your phone’s home screen.
Overthinking is not only dangerous in business but also in your personal life.
When I broke up with my partner some time ago, I was aware, based on previous experiences, that once a decision is made, you need to have all the final conversations with the people close to you within a certain time frame, and then close the matter. To be specific, after the breakup, I met with all those close to me within a week, explained the situation to them, and they also shared their perspectives. This was incredibly valuable. In that week, I received a multitude of different viewpoints and approaches from people who meant the most to me. After a week, the matter was closed. Of course, my heart still hurt for a much longer time, but at least, rationally, I didn’t allow myself to dwell on it and damage myself. I find this approach much better than having an unclear situation dragging on for months.
Of course, in your personal life, your approach can be different – there is no one truth because we are all too different. But in business, it’s different.
It's impossible to be a leader if you hesitate
Time is money, and speed matters. The competition never sleeps. You need to analyze things thoroughly and then make a decision and act. It’s impossible to be a leader if you hesitate and don’t make decisions. You’ll also need to teach your team and the people you work with to be decisive.
I suggest you write down three things from your life for which you think you’re wasting too much time on overthinking, leading nowhere.
You know what happens beneath you if you keep shifting your weight from one foot to the other and don’t move? Shit. (or to say more politely: you get stuck).
