Do you ever feel like you can’t make a decision because you don’t have all the information, or 100% certainty that you’ll get the outcome you’re hoping for? If you could only have more time, collect more data, get another opinion… You could be suffering from analysis paralysis.
In business you often have to proceed without having all the information you’d like or all the tools you think are necessary because the decision needs to be made, the proposal needs to be sent in by the deadline, the presentation needs to be delivered… Whatever it is, you need to make progress despite feeling uncomfortable or unsure.
I felt paralyzed
I think back to 2004, when I started my first business, a construction company. I had many years of experience in construction, but not as a contractor per se. I had trust in my abilities and my work ethic, but I hadn’t owned my own business before. I had a rough plan to partner up with an experienced contractor who was thinking about retiring, but I didn’t know what all the ins and outs of our agreement would be, and how I’d fare in the end. I felt nervous, uncomfortable and unsure in making a decision. I wished someone could spare me the suspense and tell me how it was all going to work out.
Well, that didn’t happen. No one could tell me how it would work out. I had to just step with the left foot, then with the right. I had to go through it and find out for myself how it was to work out.
Focus on what you have and what you know
In the end, I made the decision to take the plunge. I transitioned from working as a Resident Engineer for the federal government to being a full-time business owner, and I learned a ton in the process. And I did it by taking account of my assets. I acknowledged that there was some risk, but I focused less on everything I didn’t know or wasn’t sure of, and much more on what I DID know, and what I knew I COULD count on.
This week, I challenge you to take account of your assets as you consider that one thing that you’re paralyzed by, or that you’re putting off doing because you’re not sure you have everything you need to proceed. Ask yourself, “What DO I have, what DO I know, what CAN I count on that will help me to move forward?”