Image credit: zhekos / 123RF Stock Photo
Making a decision quickly avoids over-thinking and allows the adventure to continue, while still achieving the desired outcome…
I often suffer from chronic over-thinking – especially when I need to make a decision and I’ve got to say, it gives me the shits! There are times when I have to decide something and I get so caught up in my thinking, continually asking myself “is it right? Is it right?” which totally stresses me out and I end up not moving forward at all, feeling really pissed off in the process. There are times when I have gone for days without sleeping because of this tendency to over-think but thankfully those days are now a rarity.
The more you overthink the less you will understand.
- Habeeb Akande
That’s for sure. In fact, the only thing the over-thinking gives me is unnecessary stress! Not only that, the first thought I had about a decision is normally the one I end up going with, making the over-thinking even more useless! Fortunately, I’ve gotten better at not over-thinking it and I’ve got Harry the hermit crab to thank.
Last year, while on holidays, I was sitting on a large piece of driftwood, that was semi buried in the sand. I leaped up in fright as there was something next to me moving. It turned out to be Harry – a well-camouflaged hermit crab crawling across it on his way to the other side. I was immediately fascinated, so I kept very still and watched him walk across the wood.
After each step he took, Harry would reach out in front of himself with his front legs like he was feeling for something before realising there was nothing there and taking another step forward. There was no stopping to think about which direction to go – simply just taking another seemingly random step forward. This went on for several minutes until finally he reached out, felt the sand in front of him and moved onto the beach.
In those moments, Harry had taught me it was possible to achieve an outcome by quickly making one decision at a time and taking action on it. Even though he made some decisions that could be construed as ‘random’ or ‘wrong’, he still ended up where he wanted to go. By approaching things this way, he avoided the stress caused by over-thinking and had an adventure!
I can almost imagine how different life would be if I made quick decisions, even occasionally, instead of labouring over them. It would certainly add an element of fun, adventure and anticipation.
Absolutely Shannyn – it adds a huge element of fun and none of the stress that goes with over thinking. Thanks for sharing.