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Comment by etrautmann | Hacker News Reader

That’s a wonderful goal and resonates with me as well. Your first and second points stand in direct contrast to each other - being more conscientious and deliberate without over intellectualizing and dealing with decision paralysis. You might benefit from talking to a counselor or someone who can help prevent you from getting stuck thinking in circles.

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I didn't even notice that, but I think you're right--the two points don't play well with each other.

I think what I meant to say is that what I tend to do is debate between doing multiple things, but then I end up doing none of them. I try to think things through--which thing would be best? which would help me the most?--but ultimately I sit there idly watching things go right past me. My goal in being more conscientious and deliberate is to cut through the decision paralysis and pick a decision and try to see it through to the end. What you mentioned resonates with me--getting stuck in thinking circles. I have been doing that for the past few years and maybe even the past decade if I'm being honest with myself. It hasn't been a pleasant place to be in, to say the least.

Just an extra nugget of food for thought - I'm all for "seeing [something] through to the end," as it shows a lot of grit and determination. But in your quest for being more decisive and deliberate, you can also give yourself room to fail or to quit or to change your mind. The road to success isn't always built on a single decision that you follow straight through like an arrow to a destination. Your path may meander, and your destination may change. It's all part of the journey. When his kids occasionally seemed "stuck," my father used to tell us "You don't have to take the perfect step, just take a step in the direction you think you want to go. Maybe it'll be right, maybe it won't, but then you look around, make a decision, take the next step and keep moving."

You should read the book The Slight Edge. It talks about the mindset to achieve what you're looking for.

And now my reading list has 283 items.

I think it’s not necessarily in contrast - what works for you may vary but I think that’s only the case when the time and energy it takes to make a decision isn’t part of your calculus. It’s good to be conscientious when you’re making decisions, especially weighty ones, so long as you don’t get stuck in a loop making that decision, which itself has a cost in your quality of life.

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