LibraryPatternsStop Overthinking DecisionsI have received so much conflicting advice from so ma…
Problem
Toward Wisdom

I have received so much conflicting advice from so many people that I am more confused than when I started.

Part of the pattern: Stop Overthinking Decisions
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The path forward
  1. 1Stop seeking more opinions
  2. 2Return to your own judgment
  3. 3Decide from what you already know
One thing to try this week
Stop gathering advice for one week and sit with what you actually think, separate from what everyone has told you.
Related problems
I ask for too many opinions before making decisions and end up more confused than when I started.I consult trusted people about decisions and keep going until I find someone who disagrees. When opinions diverge I am more paralysed than when I started. The consultation is generating noise, not signal.I frame choices so that others end up making them — you pick, whatever you think, it does not matter to me. The decisions get made and I avoid the responsibility of having chosen.I make pros and cons lists for decisions. They rarely produce clarity. The lists have equal weight, or the decisive factor is not on the list, or completing the list simply moves the paralysis to the next stage.I need to know how it will end before I can choose. Since outcomes are never certain, the decision process spirals indefinitely. I am waiting for a guarantee that cannot exist.I start things but never commit fully. I always keep one foot out in case something better comes along.

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