Antidote to overanalysis

Here's an ABC approach to help you overcome analysis paralysis:

A) Use personal principles for small decisions: For everyday choices, establish personal principles that align with your values. Decide once and create guidelines like eating only one piece of cake or taking the stairs. This saves time and keeps your life focused on what truly matters to you.

B) Ask yourself the 'real need' for medium decisions: When making decisions like choosing between Samsung or Google phones or planning a vacation, ask yourself what the ‘real need’ is. Often, we want the “best decision”, but this is a trap leading to analysis paralysis and indecision. Pick any option that satisfies your ‘real need’ without considerations of ‘mere wants’ – and if you still can’t pick, outsource the decision to a friend or an internet review.

C) Spend time on big decisions: Big decisions (such as career, country, housing), are the backbone of your life, so this is where you want to spend your energy. It’s pretty simple though: Make sure they are both rational and feel good. A trick is to first do a sanity check on your options to eliminate irrational options, and then trust your intuition to decide. When there is misalignment between your rational and our intuitive decision, ask yourself why. Sometimes the rational decision is the one to go with, because our intuition is subject to biases and fear. However, when you can’t logically pick a winner (also known as a though decision), use your intuition. You are the expert on your own ‘real needs’ and how you are meant to live your life. Ps. Make sure to consult your spouse – making decisions in multi-body-systems is next level complexity (yes, that was half a physics joke), but it can be made much easier by communicating openly about your ‘real needs’ :)

Oh, and one last thought to share. If you are dissatisfied with your options, then laugh and remember that there's a world of options waiting for you. Just look outside your box to find them – works every time. Prove me wrong :P