Have you ever been told, You’re just overthinking it?

Whether it’s the inconsequential choice between soup and salad, or the high-stakes decision of which university to attend, you’re no stranger to weighing your options…or to struggling to land on an answer. 

This phenomenon actually has a name: analysis paralysis. 

When you’re trapped in the difficult cycle of analysis paralysis, you hyper-analyze the pros, cons and implications of every decision until you ultimately fail to make a decision at all. You remain stuck in the quicksand of your fear, never taking action. 

Is analysis paralysis holding your practice back? Let’s unpack these fears so you can break through the brick wall of uncertainty and take decisive action toward future success. 

Why Is Analysis Paralysis So Common Among Doctors?

Men and women of all ages and professions experience analysis paralysis, but it’s especially prevalent among doctors. There’s a good reason for this. As doctors, we’re trained to evaluate every potential treatment option, comprehensively research medical trials and outcomes, and weigh all possibilities before picking up a scalpel or a prescription pad.

Such extensive analysis makes you a diligent, trustworthy, responsible doctor. Unfortunately, it can also make you a hesitant business owner. Running your business is different than performing heart surgery. In business, you do have a margin of error and the opportunity to take imperfect action. Not every choice requires exhaustive mapping out.

The problem is, most doctors feel uncomfortable taking imperfect action. They want to painstakingly evaluate the vast collective knowledge available online to make every decision with perfection. Psychologist Barry Schwartz refers to this as the “Paradox of Choice.”

According to Schwartz, immediate access to high-quality information hasn’t actually made decision-making easier. Instead, it has created more anxiety, indecision and dissatisfaction. Doctors struggle to feel empowered to make choices because unlimited access to information triggers a greater fear of making the wrong decision.

The truth is, your brain needs two “modes”: doctor mode and CEO mode. Enjoy analytic doctor mode as you treat patients and strive to become a better professional, but switch to active CEO mode when it’s time to build your business and achieve the vision of your dream lifestyle.

Signs You’re Suffering From Analysis Paralysis

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Maybe you can finally put a name to the fear and immobility you’ve been experiencing.

Or maybe you’re still not convinced that analysis paralysis is the root cause of your practice’s sluggish momentum.

Consider these defining symptoms of analysis paralysis as the warning bells you can’t ignore:

• You have something you desperately want to do, but you haven’t done it
• You have conversations about the same topics, but you’re not taking action
• You overthink the business decisions you need to make
• You watch others driving more revenue into their businesses, but you’re stuck where you are

Analysis paralysis is frustrating, but it’s not a life sentence. You can take action to overcome your tendency to overthink.

Take Action Against Your Paralysis

The key to beating analysis paralysis is another two-word phrase: imperfect action. 

On one of HEA’s recent Epic Mastermind retreats to Puerto Rico, we had the privilege of speaking to John Lee Dumas, host of the podcast “Entrepreneurs on Fire.” Dumas made over 400 podcasts before anybody really noticed his work. But he persevered, publishing 25-minute podcasts seven days a week, 365 days a year, to give an audience of new and aspiring business owners the guidance they needed to thrive.

Today, Dumas is the leading podcaster in his category with more than $13 million gross income and one million monthly listeners. He explained to HEA on our retreat that those 400 “imperfect” podcasts gradually built the momentum he needed to “get one big domino” to fall. Then the snowball effect kicked in, and Dumas found himself hosting the likes of Barbara Corcoran, Tony Robbins and Seth Godin on his podcast.

Dumas’ message is clear: consistency and dedication are the keys, even if your methods are imperfect. It takes imperfect action to achieve your vision of perfection.

So ask yourself, what is your vision? How can you take action toward your vision? The following four tips will help you get started.

Top Tips To Overcome Fear of Decision-Making

It’s time to tame your analysis paralysis and spring into action toward your goals.

Start by reflecting on the feedback you’ve received from a spouse, patient, friend or colleague. Feedback isn’t a failure; it’s data you can use to inform your growth and development. You’re the only one adding a positive or negative connotation to feedback. It’s simply data you can use to thrive.

Next, invest more in yourself. There’s no stock or investment with a better ROI than your own potential. Read more about this in The Education of Millionaires, a book that describes how the world’s most successful business owners started by investing their time into new ventures with their own imperfect actions.

Finally, pick a niche and dig into it. I find that selecting a niche causes more analysis paralysis in doctors than anything else. They fear that committing to a niche may cause a loss of business, disappointed customers, or other professional ramifications.

However, the truth is that niching down creates a domino effect of positive changes that bolster the strength of your practice. Embracing your specialty makes it possible to flourish as a professional, become more profitable, and increase your patient impact. Even if you change your mind, it’s surprisingly easy to take what you’ve learned and pivot into a new niche.

That’s why I’ll start and end this article with the same message: the best way to overcome analysis paralysis is to take imperfect action in the right direction. Little by little, choice by choice, you’ll build the business you’ve always envisioned.