Overthinking is a common barrier that keeps high achievers from taking action on their biggest goals, according to organizational development psychologist Sharon Spano. While the advice to simply take consistent action is universal, many people find themselves stuck in a loop of worry and indecision that makes the first step feel impossible. Spano says the cause of overthinking typically falls into two categories: people who are neurologically wired to need more information and time before deciding, and those who confuse decision-making with procrastination and perfectionism.
For the first group, simple awareness can be enough to change behavior. «They can catch their behavior sooner rather than later and make different choices,» Spano says. For the second group, the issue is developmental and requires digging deeper. She recommends asking yourself what is causing the overthinking: Is it concerns about competency, image, or fear of failure? Leadership development coach Jolander Headley knows this feeling firsthand. When her arts school, Joe's Academy of Music, was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, she thought, «We're not good enough yet; we're not ready.» As a result, she lost the opportunity entirely.
After that experience, Headley realized she needed to reframe her thinking. Many high achievers fear making mistakes because they believe failure means they are not successful. «That is so far from the truth,» she says. «Oftentimes, failure is not the opposite of success; sometimes it's just part of the journey.» Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, she began reminding herself what she and her team were capable of. When her academy was later invited to submit a request for proposal to work with school districts, her initial instinct was again that they were not ready. But this time she asked, «Well, what should I start doing?» She invited others to help, delegated tasks, and moved forward.
Spano also works with clients to confront the cost of overthinking. Many high achievers mistake procrastination for a quest for excellence, and because they still achieve success in some areas, they fail to see how their indecision slows down the people around them. «They don't realize that their indecision and procrastination are actually costing the people around them,» Spano says. She suggests journaling when you catch yourself in an overthinking loop, and considering what results you are creating or not creating, as well as how the people you work with are responding.
For Headley, the biggest shift was learning to celebrate forward movement and progress rather than perfectionism. High achievers often feel they need to have everything figured out before taking action, but «excellence is not about when things are perfect, because truthfully, things might never be perfect; it's life,» she says. Progress comes from consistently doing your best and improving along the way. She recommends identifying the actions that actually make a difference, turning them into concrete action items, and scheduling them on your calendar. Setting deadlines or enlisting someone to check on your progress can also help keep you accountable. The goal, she says, is to keep moving forward rather than waiting for an arbitrary deadline or the perfect moment.