Some people may be familiar with Dove Promises chocolates. Each one has a little message inside for you to ponder as you happily consume some fine dark chocolate. Today, my post-lunch chocolate told me:
“Don’t think about it so much.”
Every once in a while, my chocolate is right. Lately, I’ve been fighting a case of “analysis paralysis.” There was some confusion on the proof copies of our new Vegan Success book and I wasn’t sure which PDF file I was approving. The web site where you place your order is somewhat baffling, so basically I ended up thinking about it all way, way too much.
Today, I’m happy to report, I did the first order of 50 that I’d planned to do a couple of days ago before I got confused, thought too much and analysis paralysis set in. One of the realities of owning your own business is that there’s no one to tell you what to do. That’s great in a lot of ways. You can set your own hours, go on vacation or the dentist without having to fill out 20 bureaucratic forms, and plot your own destiny.
The bad news is that when you have to spend money, decide what to do next, figure out priorities, and plan your next move, you have no one else to blame when you make the wrong decision.
Realistically, the best cure for analysis paralysis is getting out of your own head by actually talking to someone else about the problem. I’m lucky in that my spouse and I get along and I can run ideas and strategies by him. Between his counsel and a few key online friends, even when I’m sitting here alone in my little office pondering what to do, I’m not really alone.
But with that said, if I end up with 50 of the wrong books, it’s still going to be my fault.