How I Left Analysis Paralysis and Started Taking Action
If you know you need to make a change in your life but just cannot bring yourself to make a decision of what, when, or how, you are the description of me, a few years ago. I just couldn’t make up my mind as to what to do as a business, although I knew I wanted to have a business. Could not decide if it was worth it using all my hours off my corporate job to work on the side to build this business. I lived in analysis paralysis. Today things are different and I wanted to share how things shifted for me, and I left analysis paralysis and started taking action.
The year before the pandemic, luckily I took the decision to participate on an event hosted by Pat Flynn (from Smart Passive Income), whose podcast I had been listening to for years. That was despite getting there not knowing at all what I was supposed to do yet with my entrepreneurial vein. I just thought it would do me good to get some inspiration from people who were making it happen.
The lesson?
The most valuable lesson I learned there was this: you need to start taking action to get clarity. My whole life I had this concept backwards. I truly believed I first needed to have it all completely figured out in my head so I could then start. I got confirmation of this idea later from many of the other gurus I followed. Cathy Heller’s “messy action” concept preaches the same idea (from “Don’t keep your day job”). As Scott Voelker (from Brand Creators Academy) always says: “Take action!”. You first do, to then reach clarification of what your purpose is.
After that realization, I decided I was going to find myself a coach and investigate what idea I should aim for first (I really had no idea where to start). That’s when the current shape of Blissful Road, as a shop and blog, was born. I had used Blissful Road previously to sell baby products on Amazon! (that didn’t go so well in the end so I pulled out.)
But how does that look like for you? That will depend on where you stand, of course, but one tip you can take with you is this: there is no ideal moment, or ideal way. The important thing is to make a decision about what you want, and put it into motion. That is the toughest part. Get an accountability partner, a mentor, or a coach, if you need.
Some Helpful Tips
Take a look at your habits
A tip that is overlooked but incredibly powerful is to establish constructive habits that support your goals. We all have built-in habits but rarely stop to assess which ones are helping or harming us. This would be a good time to identify which ones are specifically preventing you from making progress in the area you want to.
For example, you want a promotion at your job. However, instead of learning new skills or working on activities that would support a promotion, every time you have some free time you browse through your phone instead. A way to turn this around is to start putting the phone away from you. Find a place where it’s not so conveniently at your fingertips (maybe in a drawer or in a closet), turn off notifications that might interrupt you when you are being productive, and put some work related subscription magazines on your desk to browse in your intervals instead. You get the picture. Implement incremental steps to change harmful habits towards constructive ones instead. These constructive habits will help you move towards your goal.
Be resourceful
Nowadays we have so many more resources at reach, both paid and free. Podcasts are free, if you have access to a library you can read books for free, the internet is highly accessible and a source of a world of information. Even social media, if you know where to look, can be a source for supportive connections and useful and inspiring information to help you on your process to achieve a more successful life.
Get good company
Surround yourself with people who have developed successful mindsets. Create a vision board. Do what you need to do to keep your head up and your eyes fixed on the goal. This is why the goal needs to be something meaningful to YOU. If it’s not, it will be too easy giving up on it at the first sign of struggle or difficulty. Don’t go at it alone. A supportive community will make all the difference.
Kick the excuses
Understand the time to follow your dreams is now. The thought of “I’ll do this when” is a big excuse in most of the cases. For me, it was the “I’ll start a business when I know exactly what area it will be in”. What it ended up looking like was me going from coach to coach until I found one that helped me see my problem. It had nothing to do with the what. It had to do with my insecurity to start something.
What it was going to be, really didn’t matter that much in the end. I am much more open minded now and see so many possibilities. High standards are another excuse. And believe me, to avoid taking risks, your subconscious will be a very effective excuse maker. It will come up with all types of apparently reasonable excuses to keep you doing just what you are doing and stay just where you are. Even when you are not happy with your current situation. No changes, as far as your subconscious knows, mean safety.
Conclusion
Going from inertia to motion, as Newton’s law of motion states, is the hardest part. Once you leave analysis paralysis start taking action, you will realize that it won’t be as difficult as it looked like.
Resources will be available, if you are willing to be flexible. If you decided your dream is to build a mall and your excuse is you don’t have the money to buy the building, maybe you should be looking at the steps you need to gather the money instead of quitting there. Who told you that was impossible? I’ll tell you who: your subconscious.
You don’t know where to start. Look for information or guidance. You can find information about anything under the sun on the internet nowadays, and many courses are free.
Make a decision. Start by deciding what do you really want for your life. What is success, for you? Then make a plan. And take the first step. Me (and the universe) will be rooting for you.