Stop Overthinking: Bring more joy to your life.

Title: - Don't Overthink It

Author: Anne Bogel

“With an experiment, there’s no “do it right or do it again”. Instead, it’s “do it and see what happens”.
― Anne Bogel

Anne penned to assist other overthinkers in overcoming "analysis paralysis" and "decision fatigue”, the author of Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life has written a book.

Overthinking is the practise of having unwanted, unproductive, and unwholesome thoughts about the past or the future.

 

Four Agile principles to stop overthinking:

•       Control your thinking.

Recognize your negative ideas so you can stop them.

•       Consider the positive

Giving negative thoughts a positive spin can help them change.

•       Set it aside for the moment.

Say "not now" and push unproductive thoughts away when you find yourself dwelling on them.

•       Expect the best

Plan for a successful outcome. Your point of view and your capabilities affects how you respond to the event.

 

Developing the habit of thinking less by :

•       Discover and use rituals.

They promote ideation, focus and ease anxiety.

•       Remain present-oriented

Focusing makes it challenging to overthink.

 

Reasons for Overthinking: The Paralysis of Analysis

Not everyone is susceptible to analysis paralysis; some people are more likely than others to fall into this particular trap. Perfectionism is one of our less beneficial traits that can occasionally draw us in. When our strongest traits, like intelligence and curiosity, bring us into trouble, we might occasionally be caught by sneakier tactics.

We may become immovable when faced with a decision for a number of reasons. For instance, we might enjoy weighing our alternatives, be unsure of what to do, or get motivation by a perfectionistic conviction that the ideal solution is out there, just waiting to be discovered.

•       Breaks

Our energy is depleted during the day by keeping our minds focused. So that we can keep our thoughts organised throughout the day, we need to learn how to take mental pauses.

•       Maintaining our physical health.

Not just our growth of agile mindset but also our bodies are impacted by overthinking. So, whenever we wish to avoid overthinking, we should also take into account our physical well-being. We take better care of our brains when we take better care of our bodies.

•       Getting through analysis paralysis

Remember that there are no perfect solutions, so give up looking for them. Recognize your limitations, make use of the information at your disposal, and avoid striving for perfection. Try something novel, then observe what happens.

•       A lack of analysis

When you are unable to make decisions because of your overthinking, this condition is known as analysis paralysis.

•       Rituals

Rituals help keep us from overthinking. They aid in focusing our attention, give our day’s structure and purpose, and strengthen our sense of community.

•       Values' impact on decision-making

By guiding us in making choices based on who we are and what matters to us, our values can help us achieve our goals. By directing it toward the things that matter most, they also have an impact on how we spend our time and money.

•       The power of mindset shifting

Overthinking is a learned behaviour that you can stop doing. It's not something you're born with. Quit calling yourself a persistent overthinker. Say "Overthinking is no longer a part of my identity" instead.

Root causes of Analysis Paralysis

·       Intellectual Curiosity

Intellectually interested people frequently look for more information about the topic at hand when faced with a dilemma. When looking for a solution, highly intelligent individuals may perceive a wide range of options that others do not, which could unintentionally cause them to overcomplicate otherwise straightforward judgments.

These favourable characteristics have an unintentional negative effect in that they encourage us to look for more possibilities than we actually need, which increases our susceptibility to analysis paralysis.

·       Perfectionism

Many people are surprised to learn that perfectionism and overthinking are closely related; it's a familiar villain in an unexpected role. However, once we see the link, it becomes clear how perfectionistic tendencies feed overthinking. The unachievable standards demanded by perfectionism are precisely that: impossible when we must make a choice. We always want to make the best decision possible, regardless of whether we are facing a life-or-death situation or are trapped in the past and regretting our choices. But doing so is dangerous because, when we strive for perfection, we become paralysed. When perfectionism rules, we do nothing but worry over not knowing what the unquestionably best course of action is in a certain circumstance. Analytical paralysis, hello. Analysis paralysis is brought on by intellectual zeal, lack of agile principles, information overload, and the search for perfection.

 “It’s hard today, but it won’t stay hard forever.”

― Anne Bogel 

About Advance Agility

We, at Advance Agility, are the new-age Agile Coaching, Consulting and IT services company. We enable end-to-end Digital Transformation. Agile execution is integral to our being. We are doing SAFe implementation with small, medium and large organization across the globe. Our vision is to be the leading Agile execution player globally. To keep adding value at every process stage. We are on a mission to empower our clients, move from concept to cash in the shortest sustainable lead time by adopting human centric approach to business agility. Embracing the change is in our DNA. Things that keep us apart are Quicker and Seamless execution with End-to-end gamut of services. Our Global presence and Stellar Track Record give us an edge over our competitor.

Connect with us at advanceagility.com to learn about SAFe and SAFe Implementation. We provide various SAFe certification courses along with DevOps, Scrum, Agile Coaching and more trainings. Write to us at contact@advanceagilty.com for any agile training or consulting needs. We are always looking for competent agile trainers as well. So if you are a good trainer or want to become one, do get in touch with us to that we can learn, grow and achieve together.