Analysis Paralysis vs. Personal Development

We all want to better ourselves, our blogs, our businesses and any other creative projects that we dream up. Still, what happens when our desires to grow turn sour? Some of us fall somewhere between analysis paralysis vs. personal development.

We lose sight of the thin line between the two. That’s the dangerous part. There is nothing wrong with wanting to reach for the stars. I have no problem with furthering your education or keeping up with the latest developments in your industry.

It’s important, especially in blogging, to familiarize ourselves with growing trends and upcoming practices. You have to stay ahead of the curve and in order to do that, you have to consistently grow.

So when do growing and learning turn into something bad? When that’s all you do.

Today I’m going to break down the difference between legitimate growth and that false sense of accomplishment known as “paralysis analysis.” (Click to Tweet) It’s easy to get the two confused and, more often than not, most people fall into this trap without even noticing it.

I don’t want you to end up in a cycle of constant learning and never doing. If there is something you want in life at some point you have to put what you learned into action. After today’s post, I hope you do just that!

Can You Tell the Difference?

First things first. Do you know the difference between analysis paralysis vs. personal development? I can’t expect you to combat something you’re still fuzzy on. So let’s take a moment to clearly outline the two.

If you already have this part covered you’re one step ahead of the game my friend! Just skip forward to see how you can ensure you’ll never get stuck in an overthinking vortex again! (Click to Tweet)

If you need to know exactly where to draw the line between the two don’t worry that’ll be taken care of next!

Growth: Personal Development

Listening to gurus on your favorite podcast and reading tons of educational content are both excellent ways to spend your time. I have a handful of podcasts I love listening to and a bevy of blogs that I read on a daily basis to keep me up to date on almost every topic under the sun.

I think it’s important to read up on your industry but I also think it’s just as great to listen, watch and read things purely for entertainment. Everything we consume helps us to become a more well-versed and well-rounded individual. We take our experiences and all of the shared opinions we consume into account. From there we develop our own perspectives and beliefs.

This spills over into the content we create on our blogs, the projects we attach our names to and the businesses we create.

When it Goes Too Far: Analysis Paralysis

With all of the information out there the possibilities are virtually endless. There is always another webinar to sign up for. There will also we a new e-book to download, another blog post to read, another tweet to share.

The wealth of information continues to increase. This only becomes a negative when you let it take over your life. When you get to the point where that project you’ve had in your head has been collecting dust it’s gone too far. If you spend all your time listening to gurus, signing up for workshops, buying all the courses then it’s gone too far.

You should invest in yourself but not at the expense of actualizing your dreams. (Click to Tweet)

All those thoughts and opinions from other people are just crowding your mental space. All that chatter on your social feed and everywhere else is too much. Your own ideas need space to flourish and that can’t happen if they’re suffocated by the loud noise of others.

The Fix: Moderate Your Time

It’s tempting to spend a chunk of your time-consuming the thoughts of others. A few months back I cut myself off cold turkey. I realized I was spending more of my time listening to what other people had to say than creating a plan of action for myself.

That got me nowhere real fast. So, after my month-long detox, I began moderating how much information I consumed. I made sure to check-in long enough to get meaningful nuggets and then get out. Ever since then I’ve been much more productive.

The Fix: Filter Your Intake

When there are too many ideas you can cripple your momentum. Clear your mind and put your never ending to-do list aside to get results.

The rule of thumb here is to filter your intake and focus your development on one or two topics at a time. (Click to Tweet) No more.

When I was just getting started with my email list I zeroed in on everything related to email marketing. Of course, I saw webinars on productivity, blog posts on Photoshop, and podcasts on e-courses but I didn’t engage with any of them.

At first you might get #FOMO but in the long run, it’s better to tune out the things that will end up distracting you. You can tackle almost everything on your list eventually but you’ll never even get started if you don’t decide what to take on first.