Read this if you find it hard to stop overthinking any process.
Overthinking is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's great for problem-solving, on the other it causes indecisiveness.
This post is going to lean towards the negative side of it.
Remember that time when you thought:
"Once I know everything I need to know about this I'll start"?
This was me when I decided to go into blogging.
But it happened a lot before then and guess what?
Most of the time I never start.
Why?
Because I never knew everything.
I'd browse the internet, scour books searching for ways to get better every single day, and somewhere inside me, I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong but I wasn't taking action!
I was consuming information but I wasn't putting them into practice. It didn't matter how much I knew, I would never know enough until I got my hands dirty. Until I messed up and learned from the experience first-hand.
It was then I realized courage simply wasn't enough. Even if I had decided to do this thing there was still a part of me that wanted to know everything before getting started.
That's when I realized that what I needed, was to adopt the 'lifelong learning process.' It was a process I'd given myself so I would stop waiting to read all the books or watching all the videos I could find on a particular subject before actually doing the work and till the moment of writing this post, I still adopt it.
You'll find out that as you know more that there'll always be more to learn. Most of the things you'll need to know will only reveal themselves to you when you actually get moving.
Because most of the time, what worked for everyone else won't work for you, and what works for you might not work for anyone else.
I've done most of my learning while dipping my feet in the water, so to speak.
Yes, I was terrified going into it without having all the necessary information.
Yes, I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. But the more I kept moving, the more I learnt, and the more I learnt, the more I implemented.
It might be the same for you. You might want to start something new, but you're not yet satisfied with the knowledge or experience you have.
Think back to all the times you've had a mind-blowing idea that amazed you so much you couldn't keep your mouth closed.
Then right after, you decide to start and in that pivotal moment, you realize there are a lot of things you need to have in place before you can get your desired result.
And you stop…
It might not be like an abrupt handbrake stop, more like a switch from gear 4 to gear 1.
What I've learned is this:
If you try to think beyond the next step when taking action, it'll make you feel unqualified.
There's an analogy I love to use when I explain this and it goes like this:
In video games where there's a ranking system not just for your avatar but for your opponents as well, you don't start with an opponent who's at level 50 while you're at level 1. You take on the level 1 opponent, then get your stats upgraded before moving on to the next more challenging level.
By the time you get to level 50, you'll be more equipped to take on the challenge there, but not before.
If that analogy doesn't do it for you, then remember that problems don't ever go away. It's how it has always been. All we can do is get better at solving them.
My Challenge To You Is This:
Find something you've put on the shelf for a while now and give it a go with the knowledge you have now. Don't worry about making it perfect, just do it.
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