Analysis by Paralysis
You’ve been studying.
And studying.
Then studying a bit more.
A lot of consuming.
But not enough producing.
This is a silent killer.
Why silent?
Because behind all the activity, there is inactivity.
Inactivity of production.
That’s analysis by paralysis.
How can we spark some movement?
Without the movement, all the studying will yield very little results.
Before conquering analysis paralysis, it’s crucial to understand why it happens.
Understand the why & the what takes care of itself.
Why Analysis Paralysis Happens
Why are you stuck?
‘Beats me.’
It’s because you’re waiting for the perfect time to begin.
Waiting for the perfect time can happen for a series of reasons.
But one reason I’ve noticed is due to applying school mental models into the real word.
Take a walk down memory lane with me.
Ms. Shephard was her name.
A stern teacher who would assign homework & tests.
How did you know when to turn those homework assignments in?
‘Because Ms. Shephard gave me a due date.’
What about the test, how did you know when to wrap up your studying?
‘Ms. Shephard gave me the test date.’
Do you see a pattern?
There was a teacher telling you when to stop studying.
When to stop working.
And when to start turning your work in.
This creates dependent thinkers in the real world.
Waiting for a Ms. Shephard to give a due date.
Here’s the reality.
Nowadays, you are the Ms. Shephard of your life.
The person who creates the curriculum.
Plus, assigns the due dates.
Confusion and Analysis Paralysis
Complex subjects have simplicity buried within.
Always has.
Always will.
Learning seems like a foreign concept when you don’t know how to learn.
So let’s go through the fundamentals.
Learning can be broken down into 2 components.
- Consumption
- Production
Consumption is when you are inputting information.
Production is when you are outputting activity.
Analysis paralysis happens when you confuse consumption as production.
Let me reiterate.
Analysis paralysis happens when you confuse consumption as production.
This is why this disease is deadly.
Those who suffer from it the most have no clue they are suffering from it.
Reading a blog, book, watching a YouTube video does NOT count as production.
Consumption is needed, don’t get me wrong.
But with inaccurate labeling, behavior gets distorted.
How to Break out of Analysis Paralysis
At the core level, there is fear involved.
Anytime analysis paralysis shows its face, there is a level of:
‘What if there is 1 more post that will give me all the information?’
‘The work I am doing is okay. But I’m not ready to publish. I can improve it more!’
‘Where is Ms. Shephard and the damn deadlines?’
All of those concerns have 1 thing in common.
Fear of failure.
To break out of analysis paralysis, ditch the ‘perfection’ mentality.
Adopt the ‘perfecting’ mentality.
Perfection is a finite state.
Perfecting is a lifelong process.
In the real world, it’s a game of getting a rough prototype out there.
Whatever your skill set may be.
Then learning what you did wrong.
And eliminating the errors.
‘Why am I studying then? Because when I study, I’m looking for what to do right.’
That’s correct.
Study to find out what is right.
Perform so you can find out what you’re doing right and wrong.
There is a balance, of course.
However, in the real world, there is no such thing as a CLEAN balance.
Normally, one side leads and the other side follows.
In an ideal world, we learn and implement it.
In the real-world, we learn what doesn’t work and eliminate it.
After some time, there is a balance that forms.
How to Tell you Conquered Analysis Paralysis
You can tell you conquered analysis paralysis when you have a body of work.
Really is simple as that.
An example is Myron.
Myron wants to start a YouTube channel.
He consumes and consumes away.
Even gets a mentor.
All tips teaching him to look at the camera, plan his content, show melody in the voice, etc.
But after months and months of consumption, Myron realizes that his YouTube channel is empty.
Not 1 video uploaded.
There are 2 sides to Myron:
-Devil side (perfection mentality).
-Angel side (perfecting mentality).
It takes work.
But Myron realizes he needs to put his pride aside.
The YouTube channel is empty.
He has been consuming.
But he hasn’t been producing.
He decides to continue with his mentor.
He decides to continue reading books.
But this time?
He is uploading videos along the way.
That part, he makes a priority.
Angel side won.
Consume & Produce
Production does not mean the elimination of consumption.
That sort of advice should be avoided like the Black Plague.
These people mean well.
But are giving poor advice.
The ‘reading books is a form of procrastination!’ group.
As Myron continues to upload his YouTube videos, he’ll notice quirks that he does.
And since these quirks are personalized to his life, he can ask hyper-targeted questions.
Where will he ask those hyper-targeted questions?
‘I don’t know, a blog, his mentor or YouTube.’
Yes, yes, and yes.
As he asks questions, he inputs more information.
Refines movements.
And continues on.
That’s the journey.
Overcome Analysis by Paralysis
Winners even get stuck in the paralysis.
Not only losers.
This is a very deadly disease to spot.
‘Aren’t you being harsh by calling analysis paralysis a disease?’
I am.
And that’s the point.
Because mind wandering and analysis paralysis are nothing to scoff at.
Scoffing at it causes a person to treat the issues lightly.
Treating an issue lightly causes inaction & masking of problem.
So, I’ll continue to call analysis paralysis a disease.
And I recommend you do the same.
Especially, if you are stuck right now.
Scare yourself into action if need be.
Life irony:
- You learn the theory better by doing than learning the theory solely with the theory.
Combine book knowledge with street action & that’s how analysis by paralysis ends.
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– ArmaniTalks 
