Deciding Not to Overthink This Post...

I have a tendency to overthink things.

In many cases, it comes in the form of crippling indecision over the most trivial detail of some everyday occurrence: say, what topping to get on a pizza. It isn't that I am picky--quite the opposite. Knowing that I'll likely enjoy any pizza I try, I start to analyze every possible reason I might want to choose one flavor over the other, either stalling the decision or forfeiting it to someone more eager.

This is often referred to as "analysis paralysis." These everyday cases are annoying but mostly harmless. And given some intentional practice, it's a manageable condition. (For pizza, I find that picking a topping based on the day of the week works as well as anything.)

The disadvantages of overthinking are apparent when other people are involved. They're pretty good at pointing it out to me, and I try to be open to the criticism. Social feedback makes it easier to anticipate and plan for situations where it might be an issue. In these cases, learning to take action is mostly a matter of listening.

Less easily perceptible are the consequences of actions deferred when this entire process happens internally. Expressing myself can be difficult, because I focus too hard on perfecting my phrasing, overcoming possible rebuttals, and contemplating my own fallibility. Entire conversations play out in my head that usually end with me deciding to abstain from the actual dialog. This habit has almost certainly cost me.

Lately, I've been meditating on the idea that inaction has consequences. Personal regret is the most immediate, but on a larger scale, entire empires have fallen due to a collective failure to take action. Realistically, lack of action is a major contributor to large-scale problems of humanity like climate change and economic inequality.

So if mass inaction matters, why wouldn't my individual inaction matter?

Only a tiny fraction of all ideas conceptualized will ever be expressed in any tangible form. That adds up to countless words unspoken, unwritten, and unheard. So I've decided that rather than lose my ideas to the void, I'm going to share them.

Until recently, I never believed my words mattered. But perhaps that's not my judgment to make. Thus, I'm launching this blog with a challenge to myself: stop overthinking, write, and see what comes of it. My initial goal is to publish something--anything--weekly. These first few posts will probably be personal musings, but I have a long list of ideas brewing about tech, music, finance, and life philosophy.

Of course, suggestions are helpful. If there's anything you've ever wanted to hear my take on, feel free to request a topic.

Thoughts?