These positive traits have an unintended consequence: they make us prone to analysis paralysis because they prod us to search for additional options, whether or not we need them. Those extra options don’t lead to better decisions; they just overwhelm us. And when we’re overwhelmed, we can’t decide anything.
Intelligence and curiosity don’t inevitably cause analysis paralysis, thank goodness. But if we’re unaware of the connection, these positive qualities are more likely to lead us astray.
Information Overload
When we’re making a decision, more information can be a good thing. The problem is not the impulse to gather information but the degree to which we follow it. Gathering data and examining options are beneficial—but at a certain point, that hunt for information not only has diminishing returns but becomes actively unhelpful. (Information is good until it’s bad. See how sneaky overthinking is?) Before long, we’re trapped by our own thoughts, believing that if only we can find a new data point, identify the needed resource, or think a little harder about the issue, the answer will become clear.
Instead, that extra information only further overwhelms us. When we hold out for more data points, we’re not being smart; we’re sabotaging ourselves. We’re not moving toward a solution; instead, we’re actively making our situation worse.
Once established, the cycle is difficult to break. When—or if—we do ultimately reach a decision, we’re less sure about the outcome than we were before. Imagine my poor husband debating whether to go to Target. Because he’d overthought the situation, no matter what he chose, he wasn’t going to be happy. The same is true for us when we face our own decisions. Because of our overanalysis, we’ll be less satisfied with the outcome, even if we arrive at an objectively better one.
If we aren’t aware that analysis paralysis is the cause of our troubles, the cycle continues. Our dissatisfaction spurs us to analyze even more the next time we face a decision, which leads to greater paralysis.
Perfectionism
Years ago, my husband and I needed to tile the bathroom in our first house. We couldn’t find a contractor to do it at a price we could afford, so we resolved to do it ourselves.
During the project, I kept running to Home Depot for supplies, and every time I entered the tile department, I’d see a big sign hanging from the rafters that urged shoppers to “Do it right or do it again.” Each time I saw it, I thought two things: Yes, exactly! and I sure hope I’m doing it right, because I don’t want to do it again.
Back then I made a critical error, assuming that right meant the same thing as perfect. It’s one thing to value high standards, but there’s a difference between high standards and perfection. I hope Home Depot has retired that stupid slogan by now, because it haunted me for years, bringing my submerged inner perfectionist roaring back whenever I thought about it.
Like many, I’m well acquainted with perfectionism. When I was younger, I didn’t perceive the ways perfectionism had infiltrated my thought life, nor did I perceive its ripple effects—indecision, irritability, analysis paralysis. I wasn’t able to name perfectionism as a struggle, which meant it had a big advantage in our ongoing tug-of-war.
When we don’t realize perfectionism has a hold on us, it can exert an unsettling degree of control over our behavior. Calling perfectionism what it is deprives it of its power.
Perfectionism may manifest as any of the following:
Regular procrastination
A need to find the “right” answer before moving forward
All-or-nothing thinking
Struggles with completing a project because there’s always more we could do
A critical eye that homes in on imperfections
Replaying what we wished we’d said in our mind following a conversation
Frequently second-guessing past decisions
Many are shocked to discover that perfectionism and overthinking go hand in hand; it’s a villain we recognize, in a role we don’t expect. But once we understand the connection, we can see how perfectionistic tendencies fuel overthinking. When we face a decision, the impossibly high standards demanded by perfectionism are just that—impossible. Whether we’re analyzing an imminent decision to death or we’re stuck in the past, regretting what we chose, we always want to get the decision right. But if we equate right with perfect, it is deadly—because when we aim for perfection, we freeze. When perfectionism reigns, if we can’t tell what the absolute, unquestionable best option is in a given situation, we do nothing—except fret about it. Hello, analysis paralysis.
The perils of overthinking before we make a decision are obvious: we end up like seven-year-old Will, unable to stay and unable to go. But overthinking isn’t confined to happening before our decisions. Perfectionism-driven overthinking often dwells in the space of what-ifs and second-guessing. The moment of decision may have passed, but we can still remain fixated on the decision, analyzing what we should have done.
How many of us have tortured ourselves with visions of what we wish we had said or done in the moment? Even if we handled the situation well, we may focus on the one thing we wish we’d done differently. Though the decision has long been made, we can’t put it behind us. Instead of weighing our options, making a decision, and moving on, we keep going back to the beginning of the decision-making process, wondering if we made the right choice and if it’s too late to make a different one.
All this second-guessing takes a tremendous amount of time and energy, adds considerably to our stress loads, and limits our capacity to make wise decisions in the future.
Antidotes to Analysis Paralysis
Obviously, if it were easy to stop overthinking, we all would have stopped a long time ago. We need actionable strategies to help us overcome analysis paralysis.
Do a Reality Check
We get in trouble when we act as though the ideal answers to our questions are out there somewhere. We may believe that when we finally discover the right answer, it will seem obvious. But the right answer is rarely out there somewhere—and so we stew and stew, without arriving at a resolution, our overthinking manifesting as worry, doubt, and stagnation.
We can’t keep searching for perfect solutions, interesting as the pursuit may be, because perfect solutions don’t exist. There’s seldom one right answer; in reality, there are more often many good answers.
Get Moving
To extricate yourself from analysis paralysis, you don’t need more information. You need to act.
I don’t necessarily mean something big and bold—although that’s certainly called for at times. Even taking a baby step forward can shift your momentum and get you unstuck. Your options are numerous, and we’ll cover more of them in this book: take a small step, set a deadline, make a list, or consult a friend (their objectivity will help you get out of your own head). Maybe you need to just pick something or get someone else to do it for you.
“Yes,” you say, “but if I’m paralyzed, how do I act?” That’s a good question. You may need to change your frame of mind.
Kick Perfectionism to the Curb