On Overcoming Analysis Paralysis
I may not be a behavioral expert, but I’m an expert on overthinking and becoming paralyzed. Over time, and with much practice, I’m also slowly becoming adept at snapping out of this emotional and physical paralysis using a few simple steps — with what I think are very low-effort ideas.
You may want to move, say, or do something. You might have to do something super important. You may have so much stuff to do, so many responsibilities, so many noisy thoughts in your thinking, and so many different emotions and ideas that may or may not contradict each other, and ultimately, you end up doing nothing because your feet won’t budge, your mouth refuses to communicate what needs to be communicated, your brain refuses to cooperate and decide what to do next, and overall, you are just stuck right there, existing, the minutes and hours go by, without being your whole self, without action! You are unable to decide your next steps to spring into action! This paralysis experience may also happen with little burden or responsibilities, and you aren’t used to springing into action as efficiently as possible. Overall, there are many terms for this human experience of idleness: procrastination by analysis, decision fatigue, overthinking, the paradox of choice, cognitive overload, Hamlet syndrome, circular thinking, analysis paralysis, whatever! However we want to name it, now that we understand what we are talking about it, you may say to yourself, “damn, that happens to me VERY often; it even happened this morning,” from choosing what to watch or wear or eat, to music, to relationships, to work items, whatever it is, I believe this human experience of paralysis is a big challenge in our lives, and we should attack it urgently, swiftly and with utmost seriousness and importance because by overcoming it we will unlock so much time and efficiency. Efficiency to rest better, to take whatever action you want towards whatever you wish to (versus inactions), to do whatever you want, without wasting our precious time — the most valuable resource in our human condition.
So, all that said, here’s what I propose to you next time you feel paralyzed. TLDR Alert!
As soon as you become aware that you are dillydallying and paralyzed:
- Take serious, deep breaths until you are only within your five senses. If you are breathing deep enough, your thoughts will fade away naturally. Your hands may become heavy, and so will your legs. Your torso will expand and contract, and that’s probably all you can feel or think about. You are now emotionally regulated and as close as possible to a clean slate.
- Now, take a single step in any direction. Another way to say this is to move physically from wherever you are. Take a step forward, backward, or sideways, jump into another spot, and move from wherever you are. Crawl, roll, whatever. The point is to ACT! ACTION!
And that’s it! You are no longer paralyzed. You have taken action!
You might be thinking, “Antonio, that’s so dumb. Are you serious?” Well, it might be dumb, my friend, but it’s as simple as that. Practice makes perfect, and overcoming paralysis is no different than any other skill that you could learn and develop by practice. By taking deep breaths, you focus on your existing body, and by moving from your physical location, you are taking action toward or against whatever it is you want to do.
After all, this is not a guide or idea to completing your goals; no, this is a guide to overcoming paralysis in a simple and reproducible manner, and as you practice these simple steps, every single time you become paralyzed, you are rewriting your behavior, rewiring your brain, and applying a tactic or strategy that will spring you into action. These simple actions are entirely attainable and repeatable. This is something that you can confirm for yourself. It works!
As you practice this approach and the steps, you can elaborate on what works best for you and even complicate it! For myself, I’m able to add a “decision-making” step in between my steps; below, I’m adding a graph that shows my thought process. I hope it’s helpful in your development of this skill of overcoming paralysis.
The action, your step, truth be told, might take you closer or further from your goal, but that’s not the point; the point is springing into action and teaching your body that we can spring into action without wasting our time. Springing into action becomes a habit! And once you are in motion and out of the paralysis state, you can use that momentum to course-correct and take another step towards your goal without worrying about being paralyzed. Do you see it now? Baby steps. Get out of the paralysis by doing something simple and replicable, and then worry about the next step. Divide and conquer, and in this case, we are tricking our nervous system to spring into action and slowly learning that for any paralysis situation, we can move and stop becoming paralyzed without analyzing if our move was good or bad, correct or incorrect, you are just NOT paralyzed.
Food for thought. Sharing is caring.
I hope this is helpful to you. Feel free to send me a note with your ideas. Do you disagree? Also, let me know! Get it!
