Whether you’re thinking of starting a business, moving to a new state, asking for a raise, pursuing a promotion, or putting your name in the hat for the next level of your job, we can tend to kinda overthink when making big decisions. Overthinking is a critical thing because it applies to everyone. Anytime we take on something that is brand new outside of our element, maybe not something that we have seen or done before, or know how to model we tend to overthink. We think about all the different ways this one decision could end up or leads us and usually overthinking does not lead to positive thinking. Usually it’s going to damage your ability to take action on whatever you’re thinking about doing. Ultimately leaving you paralyzed and feeling STUCK.

We discussed some steps you can take to help you STOP overthinking in episode #145 of the PUSH Podcast (you can listen here) and created a free guide with all eight steps to help you take ACTION.

In this blog you’ll learn eight tips to help you overcome overthinking in the future. If you’re ready, let’s dive in:

1. Failure leads to greatness

This is where people get STUCK. They’re afraid to look foolish along the way so they never take the necessary steps to move forward. The thing most people forget is that failure and practice are apart of the journey to becoming great! Know that it’s OKAY to suck in the beginning whenever you’re doing something uncomfortable or new for the first time. The more you show up, practice, and adjust, the LESS you’ll suck! So embrace it, and remember that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

2. PERFECTION KILLS

Are you guilty of waiting for things to be PERFECT? Saying things like, “It’s not the right time,” “Things aren’t perfect yet,” “It needs to be PERFECT before I can start”? Let us tell you something… It’s NEVER going to be perfect! Understand that PERFECTIONISM isn’t required and to be honest it’s not even attainable. Friend, it’s SO RARE that something is perfect right when it’s released into the world. Take Apple for example- they release a new iPhone every year and throughout the year they continually release updates to make software improvements. They aren’t releasing the PERFECT iPhone into the world. They’re releasing what they feel is good and then after receiving feedback, they make things better. The same goes for your journey. You can start IMPERFECT and do things on a smaller scale and then with more experience and lessons, you GROW and what you do becomes perfect. So, if your expectations are perfectionism, out of the gate, then you’re just setting yourself up for major disappointment.

3. Change your “what ifs” to “WHY NOTS”

Instead of focusing on all the negative consequences of what could go wrong, why not think about all the things that could GO RIGHT. Why can’t you be the ONE who succeeds. Why can’t you be the ONE who is a Ny Times Bestseller. Why can’t you be the ONE to break generational ruin. WHY NOT YOU? The next time you start to think of all the what ifs, challenge yourself to think of the WHY NOTS.

4. Become a SCIENTIST

Not a literal scientist but someone who thinks like a scientist. Let us explain…

Scientists use the theory: Hypothesis, test, and verify. Translation: You have an idea, you TRY it, and look at what went wrong, what went right, and what can you do differently NEXT TIME. When we focus on chasing our dreams, or doing hard, scary things that make us overthink, or maybe hold us back, we need to feel more empowered to understand that everything in life is an experiment. You try something, you learn from it, it didn’t work, it did work, you had a little bit of success, you had a lot of success. Whether we’re successful or not, your job is to learn from it, go back, kind of make some tweaks and then experiment again.

5. Done is better than perfect when perfect is not done

Have you ever contemplated doing something and then putting it off and putting it off til you eventually just decide to go for it? Well this is an example of done is better than perfect when perfect is not done. This is the ability to not dwell of your decisions and just decide to move in imperfection. Through our experience we’ve found that implementation and taking action, rather than waiting around for things to be perfect, results in something far better than you could have imagined. So rather than focusing on being perfect, focus on implementation and embrace the imperfection of whatever it is you’re putting out into the universe.

6. TAKE ACTION!

The only way to gain clarity and vision is by taking ACTION. Lots of people want to stay stuck in indecision, because their scared to make the wrong decision which is gonna give you no clarity.The best way to find clarity is to just frickin move. When you do that’s when you’ll find out whether you made the right move or the wrong move. When you do make the wrong move, because you will, back up, tweak it, refine it, then move in a different direction. REMEMBER: The best way to find clarity is to move your ass you will know very quickly if it’s in the wrong direction.

7. Think about who you will BECOME!

So often we focus on, getting to the final step and reaching the top of the mountain of success or whatever it is that you’re trying to accomplish. But we don’t focus on who you’ll become in the journey along the way. An example for us in this season, is we’re trying to write and public a cookbook (You can get on the list for discounts, pre-sale updates, and info here). I’ve already written it, it’s organized, but now I need to figure out how to bring it out into the world. The point we’re trying to make is by us doing research and putting it out there, asking for help, we’re GROWING. We’re becoming people who are pretty well versed and understanding of what it takes to create a cookbook. We’re becoming people who’s, less likely to ask for help, who’s less worried about what people think, and so through the steps of us taking this action to publish a cookbook, we’re going to become so much stronger, better, resilient, so much more knowledgeable, resourceful, and able to get out of our comfort zone just by pursuing it. So we think we have to focus on who we can become not just the end result.

8. Be outcome driven!

Understanding what you want and what the goal is is important when chasing after anything you dream of. Sometimes we can be so caught up in the moment that we forget the outcome that we’re looking for. If you’re clear on that, then the path opens up and your clear of what steps you need to take. So understanding what the outcome is that you’re looking for, what the feeling that you’re looking for is, the measurement of success, what you’re going to track, all those things, we think becomes a huge part of you taking immediate and consistent action. So be outcome driven, but NOT tied to the outcome.

We hope these tips were helpful for you. Like you, we’re also a work in progress but we are putting some of our tips together to help you hopefully take better and bigger bolder action. You can download these 8 STEPS here and also listen more in-depth to how to you overcome OVERTHINKING in our new PUSH Podcast episode!

If you found these steps helpful, let us know in the comments below or let us know what you would add that has helped you whenever you find yourself stuck in the cycle of overthinking.