Should I? Maybe I should. But wait, maybe I shouldn’t. No, I shouldn’t. Should I? All while making a seemingly endless list of pros and cons.
Sound familiar? If it does then you’re one of many who have suffered from analysis paralysis.
The good news is you’re not alone. Most of us have dealt with this frustrating state of indecision at some point. It’s usually an occasional circumstance and might be short-lived or go on for a couple of days. Generally, however, we resolve things and make a decision.
For some though, this paralytic state of indecision and cycle of evaluation and further evaluation, is something they wrestle with when it comes to nearly every decision that has to be made. It’s not only frustrating and debilitating, but it can also be detrimental to relationships, productivity, and mental health.
Why Analysis Paralysis Happens
We all need to weigh our decisions from time to time. Sometimes that process needs to be more detailed than other times. Choosing where to go to dinner, for instance, should take less time and mental energy than deciding which car to buy.
When the evaluative process for each decision regardless of importance is basically the same then there’s likely a problem.
Analysis paralysis is driven by a combination of anxiety, fear, unhealthy perfectionism, and insecurity.
This fear of making the wrong choice and being responsible for a less than ideal outcome can drive people to overthink things to an extreme level, as can the need to make things “perfect.” The perfectionist may actually forgo ever making decisions on certain things because all choices lead to what they perceive as an imperfect outcome.
People suffering with analysis paralysis often have similar thoughts that push them further into this state and continue the cycle of worry and over-evaluation.
Common thoughts for these individuals dealing with this include:
• “If I make the wrong choice people will be upset and they will blame me.”
• “If I make the wrong choice, I will miss opportunities.”
• “The wrong choice could ruin my life.”
• “If I do enough research, I can prevent making a mistake.”
• “If I ask enough people what they think the choice will be clear and everyone will have a stake in it.”
• “Why bother, it’s all going to be wrong anyway.”
These negative thoughts can become overwhelming and continue to erode what is likely already fragile and uncertain self-esteem.
Effects Of Analysis Paralysis
Overanalyzing and overthinking things is counterproductive. It can have a heavy cost to the person who can’t decide, creating tension with others and delaying certain things to the point of becoming irrelevant. It can also exacerbate anxiety causing your indecision to take centerstage and keeping you from focusing on other equally, or perhaps even more important areas of your life.
This worry can have physical effects as well. It’s not uncommon for people who struggle making decisions to experience:
• Appetite changes, either overeating or not eating enough.
• Sleep disturbances like the inability to fall asleep because of thoughts that keep circling through your mind, waking and not being able to fall back asleep, a lack of deep and restorative sleep, or sleeping too much in order to avoid facing decisions.
• A rise in the stress hormone cortisol which can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure and mood swings.
Not desirable side effects for anyone.
In addition, this level of indecision can lead to social problems and issues in a work environment. Your inability to effectively make decisions in a timely manner can lead people to believe you’re aloof, selfish, or unreliable. All of which can result in being overlooked for new responsibilities, projects, or social engagements. It can even impact your personal and romantic relationships causing frustration and a breakdown in communication.
How To Break The Cycle
So, if any of this sounds familiar, you’re probably wondering what you can do to change things. Afterall, this level of anxiety and frustration isn’t something anyone wants to live with. Fortunately, there are some strategies that can help.
• Keep it in perspective. It’s almost certain the majority of decisions you struggle with aren’t life or death. Keeping things in perspective is crucial to making decisions effectively. Try to step back and realize in the grand scheme of your life, this one decision isn’t likely to change your trajectory.
• Set a time frame. You have a choice to make – give yourself a deadline. It may be an hour, a day, or the end of next week. Do your research, make your pros and cons list, and then stop and decide within your determined time frame.
• Use small steps. One way to ease the discomfort of making choices is to take small steps by eliminating one thing at a time. By the time you reach your self-imposed deadline you’ll have fewer choices and things may seem clearer.
• Talk to someone, but not everyone. Seeking a different perspective from someone you trust can be helpful. Talking to everyone is not and will undermine people’s confidence in you. So, stick to one trusted individual if needed.
• Keep your final goal in mind. Reminding yourself what you’d like the outcome of your decision to be can help give you direction and motivation.
• Nothing is perfect. Not you, not your environment, not the people around you, and the decision you make won’t be either. Someone will undoubtedly find a reason to dislike the outcome and it’s possible that person will be you. That’s just the way things go – accepting imperfection will make your life exponentially easier.
• You decided – move on. It’s done. For better or worse the decision is made and now it’s time to let it go and move on.
Getting stuck in a cycle of indecision by overthinking and overanalyzing can happen to any of us. If it’s a daily factor in your life it can be extremely frustrating and damaging. Give the suggestions above a try to break that cycle. Keep in mind though, it may take a few tries to really feel comfortable with the changes you’re making.
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Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
