I am very familiar with “thinking it through” but is it such a good idea? Thinking may be comfortable but doing teaches you more.

Yes, it’s a good to mentally run-through dumb moves. It would be stupid to put my hand in a crocodile’s mouth (“Never smile at a crocodile”). Crocodile-baiting aside, often it’s ok just to try it.

There is such a big emphasis now on planning. New entrepreneurs are encouraged to do extensive business plans while those with experience may say they “make it up” as they go. That’s creating. They rely on intuition or… they just “give it a go”.

Maybe this over-thinking trend is linked to corporate culture. Corporations have profit-making obligations to shareholders. Minimising risk is vital in that context. It can be easy to “buy into” cautious over-planning as necessary and normal. It’s not such an interesting way to live though.

Imagining and planning

So is it good to think it through? Planning can be useful. Just ask yourself whether the planning is actually useful or just a delay tactic.

Let’s also be aware of what we do with our imaginations. Sometimes imagining bad outcomes attracts the very problems you wished to avoid.

Maybe you’re using over-thinking to avoid blame. Are you in a chronic “shame and blame” environment? Get the hell out of there.

Intuition versus over-thinking

It can be tricky to pin down intuition but it often comes with a body feeling. It might also be repetitive.

You may not know why you feel the need to check something again but a gut feeling is your best warning system.

After all that hesitation… it’s time to act. Try it and see. You may fall on your face but learn quickly. Either way, the result will be clear.

You may even succeed. If you’re stuck in planning mode you don’t  succeed. You can think all you want but you don’t know until you try it.

What happens if you smile at a crocodile? Good luck with that. You’ll  know if you really shouldn’t do it.

Are you over-thinking? Is it time to just give it a go?

Disclaimer: I take no responsiblity for fall from grace. Use at your discretion or your peril.

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