The Downside of Over-Thinking Things

Only a handful of people has frequent epiphanies or light bulb flashing over their heads. Again, fewer of those who get brilliant inspirations actually translate their ideas into reality or at least into a workable prototype. Many potentially great ideas are lost forever because the people who conceptualized them are either not motivated enough to act on their ideas or they have over-analyzed their ideas. Self-criticisms and objective analyses of ideas are good and helpful but there is such as a thing as “analysis-paralysis.” It is a situation wherein little to no decision or action is made because of over-thinking the various aspects of solving a problem.

Analysis-paralysis is more common than most people would think. Some situations could be as subtle and mundane as choosing which cloth to wear or to which restaurant to dine-in. Aside from wasting time and annoying other people, mundane cases of analysis-paralysis do not have serious and long-lasting effects. However, analysis-paralysis commonly occurs in the workplace. Examples can be seen in delayed or unfinished projects because of over-thinking. These typically happen in creative team projects such as software development and stage play productions that are in their initial phases. The delays and radical changes happen in the first stages of development.

Analysis-paralysis is not a modern-day phenomenon. It has existed since people have started to learn how to think and make decisions based either on facts (or its absence) or on emotions. When there are several factors to consider, indecisiveness takes over. Many historical examples of this phenomenon could be examined for their devastating consequences. One example was the hesitation of the United States to enter World War II in its early stages. The U.S. maintained the policy of isolation until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Americans were caught unprepared and it took several months for the U.S. army to recover.

Another recent historical example of this psychological phenomenon can be found in the U.K. referendum to exit the European Union. The elected policymakers were caught in the analysis paralysis of deciding on wiser and less devastating political move. As a result, they passed the decision to the largely ill-informed electorate that voted ‘yes’ in favor of exiting the European Union. It had a negative ripple effect both on politics and economics. Many of the ‘yes’ voters regretted their choice, realizing too late the wide-range of implications of their choice. Many of them probably were caught in the inverse of analysis-paralysis, i.e., deciding with very little facts and sufficient analytical skills to foresee the consequences.

Ancient people already knew the folly of analysis paralysis as evident in the ancient literature like Aesop’s Fables. One such fable, which was recorded even before the famous collection was compiled, tells a story about a fox and a cat. The fox boasts of “hundred of ways of escaping” while the cat has only one. When both of them hear the hounds approaching, the cat immediately climbs a tree to safety while the fox is caught by the hounds because of confusion.