A client of mine is a teacher for elementary school kids. Every day, she gives her kids some free time in the afternoon to play games, be creative, and generally take a break from structured learning to have a little fun.

A few weeks ago, after she explained all of the different "stations" they could play at during free time (coloring, origami, music, games, building with blocks, etc.), most of the kids ran off to their favorite station. One little boy, though, stood paralyzed at the front of the room, tears welling in his eyes.

My client crouched down and asked him, "What's wrong, sweetie? Why are you so upset?"

"I like all of these stations. It's too hard to choose one," he said, fully crying now.

My client told me later, "You have no idea how much I related to him in that moment! I'm constantly in analysis paralysis, overanalyzing my options and feeling totally overwhelmed. Seeing that kid just standing there, crying and paralyzed at the front of my classroom … my heart went out to him because I feel the exact same way all the time."

I don't know about you, but I totally relate to that little boy sometimes, too. When you have a bunch of choices in front of you, it can feel impossible to pick one.

What if you choose wrong? What if you miss out on something? What if you regret your decision? What if you feel like you don't have enough information to decide?

We live in an amazing time where we all have more choices today than most humans have had throughout history. It's downright amazing to think of all the careers and life paths that you could pursue nowadays … things that our ancestors couldn't have even dreamed of!

Yet, the more choices in front of you, the more likely you are to question and doubt your decisions. And if you're someone who's already prone to overanalyzing everything … you're likely to slip into full-on analysis paralysis, just like that little boy crying in the classroom.

It makes sense that so many of us are overanalyzing and stressing out over our choices more than ever, but there is a way out of the mental chaos.

IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU'LL ALSO LOVE…

How I got over my FOMO (October 2018)

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