I suffered for years with analysis paralysis. I was one of those people who was 'interested' in everything, but had nothing to show for it. Only recently have I found the right mindset to thrive as a restless professional. Here are three mental tools to help you take the first step towards figuring out what you want to work on next.
1 - Do one thing at a time. Don't be a donkey.
The trick with breaking out of analysis paralysis, is to understand that whilst you can do anything, you can't do everything. One of my favorite parables is of Buridan's Donkey:
Buridan’s donkey is standing halfway between a pile of hay and a bucket of water. It keeps looking left and right, trying to decide between hay and water. Unable to decide, it eventually dies of hunger and thirst.
The moral of the story is that the donkey could've easily satisfied both it's hunger and thirst if it just chose something and did things one at a time. Up close, it's often impossible to know what the best thing to do through analysis. Realise though, that life is long enough to do most of the things you want to do - but only if you focus on one thing at a time.
2 - Cultivate a bias to action. Place small bets.
The key thing Buridan's Donkey needed to do was to take that first step. Even after one step, it would've become clear that one of the goals was nearer. And that's the magic of cultivating a bias to action.
Taking action could look like reaching out to someone with one of your interests, starting a course or a habit, or attending an event. I think of this as placing a small bet.
You want to place these bets and look for an outcome or a response. This is a far better way of exploring your curiosities an interests than over-analysing. You start to move, to create momentum. Eventually, just like the Donkey, you gather enough data that it's clearer which path you should commit to.
3 - Understand that there are trade-offs. Embrace them.
From school, we're falsely imbued with the idea that you can be good at everything from. Real life doesn't work that way, you can't have consistent straight A's in all of the things you are interested in. The human dilemma is infinite interests with finite time and energy, and that means you have to come to terms with saying no to certain things.
In my first year of residency, I had to put some projects on hold to allow me to relentlessly focus on becoming a good surgeon. More recently, i've decided to dedicate 1 day a week away from my work as an ophthalmologist to go deep into digital health and deliver on a clinical trial. The trade-off is that i'm going to spend less time working on clinical knowledge, and I may even progress slower than my peers. Right now, this writing challenge means i'm not spending time coding or reading about the latest updates in AI.
But i'm okay with that. It can feel uncomfortable or terrifying to "close off" avenues , but the key reframe is you are most likely just saying that this is not a priority right now. The highest performers I know are comfortable with saying no to things, and take the long view with building up their skills.