Have you ever heard the phrase "analysis paralysis", or "paralysis by analysis"? The next question is, if you heard of it before, do you even know what it means? For those who are unsure what it's about, let me break it down into a more basic definition for you. Analysis paralysis is failing to act on something because you continually overthink it, halting the progress towards achieving that goal or task. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are presented with an assignment or task of some sort, maybe given to you by your boss at work, and in viewing it, you really have no motivation or ambition to complete it because it looks tedious, boring, or energy sapping, or maybe it feels uncomfortable to do? As it is something you really don't want to do, you then go about procrastinating over it, finding different ways of going about delaying to act on it for as long as possible. Being an assignment or task that must be completed though, and with your boss regularly checking in on your progress, you know you have to act on it in some manner, so you go about pondering different ways of attacking it and approaching it, perhaps writing some notes down, so it therefore looks like you are actually doing something, when the truth is, you are not actually doing anything about it at all. After a while of nothing but deliberation, your boss comes over to you and asks why you haven't actually made a start on your assignment, to which you show them your notes, only for them to point out that you're overthinking it and you just need to do one particular action, which you know full well that was all you needed to do in the first place, but you just couldn't be bothered. You're left with no choice but to do that action, you're forced out of your comfort zone, and you end up completing the action, much to your displeasure. That's an example of analysis paralysis, and a situation where we choose to overthink something in a bid to avoid getting stuck into the actions.
There are also many times we have a case of analysis paralysis, not because we are trying to avoid getting stuck into the actions, but because we genuinely are just overthinking the situation. It's like we get caught up in the big picture, filling our mind with every single step, every single action that is required to complete this assignment, task, or goal, to the point it begins to overwhelm us. We start to wonder how we are going to get this and that done, how we are going to complete action X in time, how are we even going to find time for action Y, and all these future thinking thoughts, when the whole time we have action A right in front of us. We begin stressing and concerning ourselves about the whole journey, that we fail to even take that first step to begin the journey at all. As I often do, I want to revert this message now back on to you and your goals. Let's make sure we simplify this though, and I want you think of just one goal that you have, but make it your primary goal, and that one goal that is truly life changing. What is that primary goal that will bring you great happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment in life? Now ask yourself, how many times do you think about that goal, how many times do you visualize achieving it, how many times do you talk to others about how great it would be to achieve it, even how many times you tell yourself that you would love to achieve it? Then ask yourself, what actions are you genuinely taking to achieve it? It's funny how we end up giving ourselves no choice but to complete the actions for an assignment required by our boss at work, even after procrastinating and overthinking it, yet we give ourselves the out when it comes to completing the actions that are required to work towards our goals, and a future blessed with happiness, success, and fulfillment. We are more fearful of losing our job and losing our paycheck, than we are of how motivated we are to achieve our goals, and the life we desire.
In order to achieve the life that we desire, we need to do less thinking, and more action, it's as simple as that! Rather than spending our time thinking about all the different actions we need to do, or perhaps wasting excessive time on how we are going to go about executing those actions, we need to actually get in there, get our hands dirty, and get to work on them. We can try and delay getting stuck into those actions that are working towards our goals for as long as we like, and try to avoid pushing ourselves into doing what feels uncomfortable, mundane, and tedious, but by doing so, all we are doing is delaying the achievement of our our goals. In fact, we are not delaying them, we are denying ourselves of them. How is that a win for us, how is that of any benefit to us? We are imprisoning ourselves to continue on living a life that is unhappy, miserable, unsatisfying, unrewarding, and unfulfilling. Anyone knows that in order to achieve a certain goal, you need to first implement an action plan, otherwise it's like to travelling to a destination you have never been before without a GPS or a map. You're basically driving blindly and hoping for the best. It's like buying one of those "do it yourself" kits in which you need to assemble a product yourself, such as a cabinet, and yet there are no instructions that come in the box that guide you how to assemble it. You go about trying to put it together still, but you continually assemble pieces in the wrong spot, and it ends up being an exercise that takes far longer than needed, let alone if you continue persisting to construct it at all. So we do indeed need the theory side of things, when it comes to our goals. We need to plan how we intend to go about achieving this goal, setting up action by action, and listing milestone by milestone. It's nearly guaranteed that this action plan will fail, as success often takes time and rarely happens on the first shot. It first takes a lot of failures, and it takes a lot of adjustment, which means that we will find ourselves make changes to our action plan along the journey, removing the actions that haven't worked and then trialing new ones. Plain and simple, we need an action plan so that we have a clear guide in what actions we need to execute. After all, they do say that proper preparation prevents poor performance. The thing is, we should only ever be applying 5% of our time to the theory and planning side of things, but it's 95% of the time we should be executing those actions. We should never be overthinking these actions!
One of the biggest problems that comes after the action plan for our goals is set, is that we see this massive list of actions, and we become overwhelmed that there are too many things to do, as I stated above. Because there are too many things to do, we end up doing nothing at all though. For anyone that overthinks, what is the solution to stop overthinking and actually get stuck into those actions? Well firstly, there's the behaviors. You need to have the willpower to resist being lazy and being tempted to do anything else, but you also need to ensure that your goal is actually driving you. You should have such a strong emotional attachment to achieving that goal, that you feel as if you are magnetized to it, you constantly have to keep progressing towards it because you want it so desperately. Once you have re-established those behaviors, then it comes back to one simple thing; take the first step. It's like a set of stairs, you can't reach the top of the staircase unless you take each individual step up there. Perhaps you have long legs and can take two steps at a time, but you are at least still focusing on how to get up there, not on already being up there. If you're constantly looking at the very top of the stairs, and not watching where your feet are landing on the steps beneath you, you are increasing your chances of falling, and ultimately hurting yourself. Focus on one step at a time. Why do we not think the same way when it comes to working towards our goals? We don't have to think about the actions we need to do next week, next month, or next year. Unless we complete the actions first in front of us, we won't even reach those actions in the future. Forget about every other action other than the one that is in front of you right now. What is it that you can do right at this very moment, and place your whole focus on, that is genuinely making progress towards achieving your goal? Be honest with yourself also, and determine whether the action you are doing right now is getting you closer to your goal, or is it taking you further away from your goal?
An increment we know is an increase or addition, especially one on a series or fixed scale. It's just a small step, a small portion. We need to construct our day into increments, and focus on one action that is working towards our goal in that time. Now there will always be tasks and actions that require a longer time, but if it is the action that we need to be doing in order to keep progressing towards our goal, then so be it. We should break down our day into 15 minute increments. Right now, what action can you do for the next 15 minutes that is working towards achieving your goal? Don't worry about what's going on later on today, or what you need to do tomorrow, focus on what you can do in the next 15 minutes. Each evening, we should always have a daily schedule set up for the next day, as when we schedule tasks and actions in, we can visually see what we are required to do, and it helps keep us more accountable to those actions. It also can act as a great tool for celebrating quick wins when we do complete tasks. What actions can you schedule in that are progressing towards achieving your goal? We also know that schedules don't always run to plan, and that's okay, because as humans, we have the ability to adapt and change. If you end up going overtime with a certain action from what's listed on your schedule, it doesn't matter, just focus on the next 15 minutes in front of you, and ensure you are doing something that is progressing towards your goal. If you're continually running behind time, take a look at a couple of things. Firstly, are you being fair to yourself in actually allocating sufficient time to get an action done, and secondly, if you are, are you not working efficiently enough, and therefore what do you need to do better? What matters is that we don't get caught up in overthinking things, that we don't get caught out procrastinating or delaying completing the actions, and that we do not become a victim of analysis paralysis. Get clear on your goal, construct an action plan for yourself, and then place your entire focus on completing step one only. Once step one is completed, then focus on step two, and so on. Just take one step at a time, but just make sure you are taking that step, so that you are progressing towards achieving the life that you truly desire.
#Wednesday #WednesdayMotivation #motivation #quote #AnalysisParalysis #analysis #paralysis #overthinking #procrastination #delay #actions #progress #willpower #drive #goals #happiness #success #satisfaction #fulfillment #future #desire #schedule #ActionPlan #accountability #steps #focus #WindOfChangeNow
About the Creator
David Stidston
My name is David Stidston, and I am a single father to my 8-year-old daughter Mia. We live in the beautiful city of Hobart in Tasmania, Australia. I am currently self-employed, working as a freelancer and casually in market research.
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Mind Food
Food is essential for us humans, in order to survive, that's no secret. Our body needs to absorb that food in order to supply the required energy needed for our various organs and tissues to function accordingly. When we fail to feed our body with the nutrients it needs, the first things we notice that starts to happen is our body becomes weaker, as our muscles begin to shrink, and we begin to lose weight. As a few days pass by without food, our body starts to basically feed on itself, turning to its energy storage, such as carbohydrates and fats, but once these reserve energy levels are used up, that's when things get really serious. Our vital organs start to shrink, our body temperature significantly drops, the immune system is severely weakened, and the kidneys begin failing. Even our concentration levels deteriorate, as the likes of hallucinations and convulsions set in. As the body consumes the remainder of its fat and carbohydrate storage, it begins to feed off the muscle protein, including from the heart. From here, it's only a matter of time, and the body can no longer function, which of course leads us to perish. Starvation is not exactly a very inspiring and motivating topic to talk of, that's for sure. Sadly, we live in a world where it is also real, as an estimation has revealed that 1 in 9 people globally suffer from undernourishment. For those of us who are privileged enough to have access to clean water and healthy food, I think we should always remember to take a moment to be grateful, and understand how blessed we truly are in life, because there are many others who would die for as much as a bite of an apple. So why is there a need to discuss starvation on a blog designed for motivation, personal development, and inspiration?
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
I Never Chose the Easy Path; I Always Chose Hardship
From the earliest memories I can recall, life presented me with two roads. One was smooth, inviting, and well-trodden—a path that promised comfort, approval, and ease. The other was rough, rocky, and uncertain—a path of struggle, obstacles, and lessons that demanded effort, patience, and resilience. I never chose the smooth road. I never took shortcuts. Not because I was fearless, but because something deep inside refused to let me live a life that wasn’t earned. The easy path whispered promises of fleeting satisfaction, fleeting success, and fleeting recognition. It was tempting. Many around me chose it, and I often wondered if I was foolish for ignoring it. But I learned early that true growth is rarely convenient. The easiest choice often leads to emptiness, to regret, to a quiet knowing that you could have been more than you allowed yourself to be. Hardship became my teacher long before success ever noticed me. The lessons it offered were harsh, uncompromising, and often lonely. There were days when choosing the hard path felt like choosing isolation. While others were celebrated for small accomplishments, supported by friends and family, I walked in silence, with doubt as my companion. Progress was invisible to the world. Failures were frequent and relentless. Many nights, I returned home tired, my heart heavy, my mind questioning why I even bothered. Yet even in that silence, I was being shaped. I was learning the value of persistence, of dedication, and of refusing to give up on myself. The hard path forced honesty. It refused to allow excuses. It stripped away illusions and pretenses. I was left face-to-face with my limits, my fears, and my own humanity. On this path, I discovered strengths I never knew I had: patience I had never cultivated, resilience I had doubted, and self-respect that grew every time I stood up instead of walking away. These were not lessons that could be taught in comfort. They were only learned in struggle, in challenge, and in the quiet persistence of refusing to quit when no one was watching. I remember one time vividly. I had a goal that seemed impossible—one that required me to sacrifice comfort, leisure, and social approval. The easy path was right there: a way to avoid the challenge, to be “okay,” to follow what others had done before me. Many advised me to take it. “It’s safer,” they said. “It’s simpler,” they said. But I could feel, deep inside, that taking the easy way would leave me empty. I chose the hard path. The journey was grueling. Every step felt like pushing against gravity. But with each challenge, I gained more than I ever would have on the easy road. I gained endurance, confidence, and an understanding that real achievement is never handed—it is earned. Strength, I realized, isn’t loud. It doesn’t announce itself. It grows quietly, in the moments no one sees—the early mornings, the long nights, the repeated failures, the times you push forward when giving up would be understandable. Resilience is not simply surviving; it is deliberately choosing to continue, to stand again, to pursue the path that tests you the most. It is knowing that walking away is easier but will never lead to the person you are capable of becoming. I have walked many hard roads in life. Each one was different, yet the lessons were the same: comfort cannot teach endurance, shortcuts cannot teach discipline, and fleeting success cannot teach respect. Every struggle, no matter how small, adds to your character. Every failure is a mirror that shows you who you really are. And every choice to face hardship instead of fleeing builds a foundation that lasts long after temporary victories fade. There were times when I felt truly alone. People around me often misunderstood my choices. Friends, family, colleagues—they all questioned why I refused the easy way, why I worked harder, why I pushed myself beyond what seemed necessary. They didn’t see the growth happening quietly inside me. They didn’t see the small victories, the lessons learned, the resilience being forged. But eventually, the results spoke for themselves—not in a loud announcement, but in the quiet confidence and self-respect that I had built from the inside out. Life, I have learned, rewards those who endure hardship. Not always immediately. Not always visibly. But it rewards those who persist, who face struggle head-on, and who refuse to settle for anything less than becoming their fullest selves. Success that comes without effort is temporary; strength and self-respect are eternal. Hardship tests us, but it also teaches us. It shows us the depth of our own courage, the strength of our will, and the power of refusing to surrender. The lessons of the hard path are subtle, often invisible, and always lasting. I learned that failing is not shameful; failing is a necessary step toward mastery. I learned that enduring pain, even when no one notices, builds a type of strength that comfort never can. I learned that the more difficult the path, the deeper the reward—not measured in wealth or fame, but in character, wisdom, and self-respect. Every choice to embrace struggle instead of avoiding it shaped me. Every sacrifice, every extra hour, every moment of doubt faced instead of ignored, added to the foundation of the person I am today. My life was not easy. It was messy, unpredictable, and often overwhelming. But it was authentic. It was mine. And through hardship, I became resilient. I became someone who can face challenges without fear because I have faced them before. I became someone who respects themselves because I have honored my own effort. I became someone capable of growth because I refused to choose comfort over character. I often reflect on the people around me who chose the easy path. Many of them achieved quick victories, immediate recognition, and temporary peace. But over time, I noticed something important: the victories were shallow, the peace fleeting, and the growth minimal. They lacked the depth of resilience, the quiet power of self-respect, and the profound satisfaction that comes from knowing you endured, you learned, and you became someone stronger. Choosing hardship is not glamorous. It is not celebrated in real-time. It is often lonely, exhausting, and demanding. But it is transformative. It shapes your mind, your heart, and your spirit in ways comfort never can. It teaches discipline, patience, humility, and courage. It makes failure meaningful, effort valuable, and success earned. The hard path is where true people are made—people who understand that life’s challenges are not punishments, but opportunities. Opportunities to become better, stronger, wiser, and more capable. I never chose the easy path. I always chose the harder road, the one that tested me, the one that demanded effort, and the one that required me to face myself honestly. I walked through fear, doubt, exhaustion, and setbacks. I fell, and I got up. I failed, and I tried again. I cried, I questioned, I endured. And through it all, I became someone I could respect, someone who knew the value of persistence, someone who understood that hardship is not the enemy—it is the greatest teacher. Today, I measure success differently. I do not measure it by comfort, convenience, or ease. I measure it by growth, resilience, and the depth of self-respect I have cultivated. I measure it by how I faced challenges I could not ignore, how I embraced struggles that seemed unbearable, and how I refused to take shortcuts at the cost of my own becoming. I never chose the easy path. I chose the one that made me resilient. I chose the one that taught me self-respect. I chose the one that allowed me to become the person I am today. And if I had the choice again, I would choose the hard path every single time. Because the road of struggle is not only a journey—it is the making of a human being.writing...
By Ihtisham Ulhaq4 days ago in Motivation
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