Analysis-Paralysis...and What-now-ysis?

Making the decision to pursue coaching may be a very easy one for you or you may be on the fence. Every decision we make requires that the scales tip a least a little in one direction over others. It’s comforting when we make a decision and are 100% sure that it is the right one for us but we all know this is not usually the case. Whether choosing the movie or restaurant for the night out, the best paint color for the living room, the best school to attend or which forever-house makes the most sense, we are all usually plagued with at least some doubt. An important principle for living is that we are able to decide.

Even if we are deadlocked at 50%-50% between options, we must decide. I faced a business decision recently where I found myself clinging to the notion that only upon arriving at 100% surety could I proceed. Ultimately, I moved forward with it, still a little unsure. The result? After committing to it I discovered-only days later,-that it wasn’t the best decision for me and I subsequently reversed it. Of course, when a decision is relatively easy to reverse it is a great deal easier to make a choice. The value I discovered in this process was that only by making a choice would I learn what I needed to learn in order to know what is best.

Sometimes this is how it goes; we must commit to move forward or away from an option-even if it is actually only a trial period or a smaller portion of the grander commitment, such as choosing to move to the opposite coast but renting so that you can change your mind in six months. The act of committing in one direction provides a new perspective that just isn’t accessible when you are only theorizing through options.

The term analysis-paralysis (unknown) points to a sometimes hidden reason for indecision; Over-analyzing keeps us from making any choice at all…this keeps us stuck! Better to commit to moving toward or away from something than to be frozen with indecision!