Paralysis by analysis.
Paralysis by analysis is a tragic illness to suffer from, especially when doing business. You can spend too much time weighing up the pros and cons of making a certain decision that you end up making no decision at all.
Remember, the old saying, “More has been lost to indecision, than wrong decision.” It’s true. When you’re on your lifestyle design journey, you’re going to have to make a lot more decisions than you would if you’re a working bee in some company hive.
You have to take responsibility for your decisions.
When you’re an ordinary employee in an organization, your manager and supervisors will make most decisions for you, alleviating you of most responsibility. However, when you’re striking out on your own to claim freedom, independence, success and wealth, you’ll need to make decisions, which you’re solely responsible for. In general, there are two main types of decisions- right and wrong. It’s the wrong decisions you probably fear. If you do, you’re not alone.
You’re only born with two fears.
Did you know that every human being is born with only two natural fears? Success guru, Brian Tracy in his audio-book, “The Psychology of Achievement” tells us that all human babies possess only a fear of falling and a fear of loud noises. That’s it. ALL other fears are learned growing up, mostly from our parents, and secondly at school. If you learn to fear, then you can learn to conquer fear.
When you make lots of decisions quickly, you’re likely to make wrong decisions often. That’s okay. You’re also going to find out what works sooner as well.
I’m not saying you should be rash and not use your brain. Of course you should think through your decisions. Also, the more money at stake on a decision, the more advice you may need from successful or professional people before deciding. An example of a decision that would need you to think carefully before making is to whether to quit your job or not to start your own business.
Listen to your gut feeling.
Your gut feeling is a powerful driving force. You can often feel what is right and wrong without needing to analyze too much. Don’t be scared to go with your gut feeling. I’ve found that about 95% of the time I’ve listened to my gut feeling, it was correct. The only times I can think of where my gut feeling has ever been wrong, has been in regard to women. But that’s another story.
Wrong decisions can be made right.
If you know what you want to achieve, then start pumping out the decisions to move in that direction. You’ll find that you’ll make plenty of wrong decisions in the process. That’s okay, because by learning how they were wrong, you’ll be able to work on correcting them to keep you moving forward towards your goals. You’ll also be gaining valuable insights and experience as a faster pace than most people. As time goes by, you’ll find your decision making ability improves. By making lots of decisions, you’ll also make some good decisions and even a few brilliant ones that bring you the most money and success.
Conclusion.
Don’t wait until circumstances and timing are just right to make a business decision because they probably never will be. Once you form the habit of making lots of decisions quickly, you’ll gain massive momentum moving towards more money and more success.
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G'day! I'm Gordie, founder and editor-in-chief of Lifestyle Design For You. I want to welcome you to the center of the universe when it comes to lifestyle design and personal development blogs. We're a team of ten writers providing you with articles to help nourish your mind and improve your life. Lifestyle design is about designing your life so you can do what you want when you want.




{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to make decisions quickly at my age because if I don’t I forget them
Joking apart, I didn’t know that we are born with two fears and learn the rest. Fascinating stuff.
Yeah, Kevin, I was fascinated when I heard that too. Interesting stuff.
Aaarghh I hate Decisions. I wish life was just easy, but alas it is not.
So good post. Kinda a kick up the wahzoo. I’m the king of procrastination
Well, first work of being the queen of procrastination and then the prince of procrastination.
Great post! I’ve never been a fan of decision making, but forcing yourself to make decisions quickly is an irreplaceable skill. As soon as I started forcing myself to take responsibility and decide more things in shorter time, I’ve found that I’m able to categorize decisions better. I know which decisions will need more thought and which decisions will probably not make all that much of a difference. And that takes a lot of pressure off of the day to day decision making!
You’re right, Kristin. You’ve taken a huge step and now you’re seeing the benefits. Keep it up.
Totally agree with this. It seems to be a blogger’s disease to procrastinate over things. I don’t know why, but I see so many caught in that kind of paralysis trying to decide what to do.
I wonder it it’s because as a blogger our routine is too much of the same and spent pretty much in front of the computer. We perhaps get too comfortable there. I don’t know.
While reading this post, Brett Favre came to mind. For those not familiar with him, he is a NFL Quarterback who keeps retiring and then unretires so he can play with another team.
I bring this up to point out that once you make a decision, you need to stick with it otherwise you can lose credibility.
Wishing you a scent-sational day!
Patty Reiser
Twitter12
That’s another interesting take on it. Sometimes you need to follow through on a decision. I’m guessing someone like him missed the thrill and fame of playing American football too much. Thanks for the comment, Patty.
Procrastination always leads to no action. You keep putting things off and the next thing you know, you’ve got so many things to do you don’t know where to start. So you don’t start anything.
True, that’s why you need to have goals and plans. Go back and read this post to remind yourself of the importance of planning. http://lifestyledesign4u.com/2009/09/be-a-lifestyle-design-super-freak-part-3-write-personal-action-plans/ Thanks Jimi.
Good post and something I’ve had to learn to do. Making quick decisions also builds confidence in your ability to do it in the future. Better to fail and learn then never try.
You hit the nail on the head. I’m in the process of learning a lot now. I’m probably a step or two behind you. Cheers Nathan.
Ah, paralysis by analysis. The bane of our society, which has a massive glut of information but is still lacking the technical and design sophistication to effectively deal with and react to all of it.
You made some really good points here, and it serves as a solid reminder that we shouldn’t get overwhelmed with the insane amounts of information available on just about everything…usually we know what the right action is, and moving forward is the most effective step to take.
Thanks for your first comment on my blog. You’re right. There is so much information out there that one can take forever to make a decision. I say, trust your gut.
You are right. Usually your first instinct decision is the right one. If you choose to make that one, more times than not it will be the right decision. That’s how my analytical a** got through college. HAHAHA
Dave
LifeExcursion
Dave, I agree we should all use our analytical asses more often!
Excellent article Gordie. I especially liked the part of the baby with only two fears. It’s so true.
Oscar
It’s funny. That means that babies are braver than adults. Lol!
Hey Gordie,
Paralysis by analysis. Brilliant…. I need to hang that on my wall. I love how you pointed out that there we are all born with only two fears. That must mean that all the learned ones are exaggerated, and somewhat unfounded. I love this post!
Karen
Hi Karen,
Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. Yes, many fears are irrational. I have one fear which I still think is rational, which is swimming in a pool with starving crocodiles.
Great advice.
So many people wait their entire lives for all conditions to be perfect before taking action. It is far better to take massive action on a mediocre idea, than to put in mediocre effort on an amazing idea.
Thanks John.
I totally agree with you.