Too Many
Ideas !
How
Overthinking
Can Damage Personal Productivity
2020 Issue 4 | GearedUp
O ne of the chief advantages of the human brain is the ability to think of a multitude of ideas . We call the process “ brainstorming ,” and for good reason : when done right , an actual flood of ideas results . We can then grab the likely looking ones and start throwing them at the problem until something sticks .
But human intelligence also has its drawbacks , including a tendency to think too much . That may seem unlikely to those of us who have suffered from the occasional maverick ’ s preference to operate purely on instinct , but believe me , overthinking can be nearly as deadly as a surprise tax audit .
Overthinking actually comes in two forms . One is the inability to stem the tide of ideas before virtually drowning in it . In this scenario , every idea seems equally valid , and making a choice becomes impossible . In championship chess , this failing goes by the term “ Kotov Syndrome ,” after the Soviet grandmaster who defined it in the 1970s . The player has so many options they can ’ t prune the decision tree that towers before them . They freeze up , unable to make a choice one way or another .
The other kind of overthinking stems from an obsessive focus on one specific idea or issue . You keep reviewing it , questioning your motives , and turning it over in your mind , until it practically drives you crazy . We ’ ve all lost sleep this way at one time or another . What if something goes wrong ? What if another decision might produce a better result ? What if hidden flaws in this decision hurt you in the future ? What if , what if , what if ? Again , you achieve nothing and end up piling on worry and stress in a vicious circle .
It may even trigger a cycle of depression and certainly doesn ’ t solve your original problem .
The Curse of Self-Paralysis
Both types of overthinking can result in a situation called “ the paralysis of analysis .” Either way , the sheer quantity of data overwhelms the decision-making process , causing it to break down . While by Laura Stack the term stems from recent scientific studies , the problem itself has always been with us . You may have heard the Biblical story of the donkey that stood between two equally tempting mangers and starved to death because it couldn ’ t decide which to eat from . In one Aesop ’ s Fable , the hounds caught a fox because it couldn ’ t decide which of its hundred escape routes to use — whereas its buddy the cat survived because it used its one getaway method of scrambling up a tree . Then there are stories like “ The Three Sillies ,” where people get so obsessed about one negative possibility they can ’ t function logically . These stories prove that analysis paralysis has plagued humanity for thousands of years . By this point in your career , you ’ ve surely learned the value of thinking a problem through before you jump in with both feet . But in the fast-paced world of modern business , you can ’ t wait too long before you make your decision , either . To use another popular phrase , motion always beats meditation . So how can you push past the logjam of overthinking and get moving ?
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