Stop overthinking, and just do

Stop overthinking and just do. I think this is going to be my new life motto. I am so guilty of overthinking every situation that comes my way. Let me paint the picture of every single freakin time I go to a restaurant.

I walk into the warm, and slightly overcrowded restaurant. I choose one of the few open seats available and I’m thankful that the restaurant is slightly packed because it gives me less choices of seating. Yes, I’m now sitting right next to the bathroom door and the man at the table next to me has an obnoxious laugh and chews with his mouth open but it could have been worse. I could have arrived at the restaurant and all the tables could have been taken. See, now my seat really isn’t so bad.

The waiter places a menu in front of me. I hesitantly open it up and start paging through what feels like a never-ending amount of choices. Today, though, unlike normally I know that I want something warm because it’s freezing cold outside. I want a DIY breakfast. “I’ll have a…” I say to the waiter. I had made up my mind but as I looked down at my menu to confirm my order the Mexican Scramble caught my eye. It’s quite pricey so I move on. Maybe I should get a toasted sandwich? Or eggs benedict? Salmon or ham with that?

The waiter is still waiting for an answer. “I’ll give you a few minutes,” he says. “No, it’s okay I have almost decided what I want. I want the…” How can making a choice be so difficult? It’s only breakfast. “Okay, give me five minutes please.” For the next 10 minutes, I go through the menu front-to-back struggling to decide what I want to eat. The waiter comes back and finally, I say “I’ll have scrambled egg and avocado.”

Can I let you in on a secret? I wanted the scrambled egg and avocado from the start. I wasted over 10 minutes only to come back to my original idea.

Lesson 1: Stop overthinking

The example above is a simple example. But, have you ever been in a situation like this? If you’re anything like me, I’m guessing you answered YES.

I have been stuck in similar dilemma’s in my business and I have had a few key examples that I clearly remember. The first was in 2015 when I decided I wanted to pursue writing. I then changed my mind and did what I was comfortable with; Pilates. And then in the beginning of this year, I set myself business goals, only to decide a month later I wasn’t going to pursue those goals and that I would rather do something else. Now, I’m right where I started in the beginning of the year. My goals were on track. I now realise that.

Lesson 2: Your first choice is usually the right choice

In all of the above examples, my first choice was the right choice to make. So why do we doubt ourselves? Is this because other people influence our thinking, or is this because of our inner critics?

I’d say both. But, both come down to not thinking about other people’s opinions and focusing rather on your own. You know what you like. You know what you love. You know deep down what you want. Even though, often you’re too scared to admit it to yourself.

Lesson 3: So, just do

So, when you decide to do something. Rather than wait, just do. As Reif Hoffman said “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

I am busy working on something that I have wanted to do since 2015. This week, I finally decided to just do it. What have you been putting off? What are you going to just do?