You are in analysis paralysis because you allow too many things to enter your thoughts. The enemy LOVES to keep you confused and stirred up, thinking you will make the wrong choice.
I know, right?! When there are so many good things you could do for God through your business, how do you know which one is the ONE for you?
The answer is not reading another book, listening to another podcast, or following another guru. The answer is in how God has designed you to be the solution for someone else.
We know a business, your business, needs to solve a problem. And that problem needs to be something someone wants to be solved and is willing to pay for the help to get it solved.
How can you filter through all the possibilities and find the ONE thing God is calling you to do right now?
I’ve got FOUR strategies for you. They are four steps that can help you overcome analysis paralysis and help you to start following God’s calling.
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An analysis paralysis scenario
I was working with a client who was stuck in analysis paralysis. She had been trying to create a business for a while and had some low-priced offers already. But she knows God is calling her to do more and needs to decide which direction she should go.
We masterminded (talked out) many possibilities, but she still found it challenging to focus on or choose just ONE thing. Here’s the other problem, stubbornness. She was not willing to try something out and see what would happen.
As she dug in her heels (which has happened with other clients, too), I reminded her that she needed to trust the process. She also needed to trust that God would steer her in the direction to go and overcome analysis paralysis. If she did nothing, nothing would happen.
Are you there too? Are you already stuck in analysis paralysis with all these ideas and possibilities in your head, and are you also stubborn about having it all perfect before you act?
I’m going to take you through the same FOUR strategies I used with my clients to help them overcome analysis paralysis and to get moving in a direction that solidifies God’s Calling for them.
1. Overcome analysis paralysis by clearly defining the goal.
I repeatedly see many women I work with are stuck in the details. They want to define their ideal client, know their offer, and get their messaging correct.
What actually needs to happen is to back up and out all these details. When God calls you to business, He has given you a mission. Something that only you have been created to do inside of God’s story.
Most don’t realize God has led them to live out this mission differently.
Personal mission statement
I’m not talking about the mission of your business. I am talking about your Personal Mission Statement. This mission statement helps you to clearly define the goal of why God is calling you to make a more significant impact.
Overcome analysis paralysis with your own Personal Mission Statement. Make three lists on a blank piece of paper, or use my Clarity Worksheet.
- Write out all the things you LOVE to do
- Write out all the things you are GOOD at doing
- Write out the problem you want to SOLVE and for whom (really, what breaks your heart)
Remember, the Personal Mission Statement does not have to have anything to do with your business, though it may. It is really the driving force behind why you do anything.
When you look at the lists, find the commonalities, think back through your life, and see how you have used these things in different capacities.
One thing that always jumps out for me is teaching. I enjoy it, and I am good at it. So, when combined with the problem I want to solve, my Personal Mission Statement makes sense whether I am teaching a Bible study, selling faith-based home goods, or coaching Christian women entrepreneurs.
Your Personal Mission Statement is the foundation and ultimate goal for everything you do.
2. Clarify your story
Nothing is more powerful when learning to overcome analysis paralysis than getting information out of your head and in front of you. But unfortunately, most do not take the time to see what God has done in the past to get them to this point.
Your story is essential to where God wants you to go next. All those experiences, classes, certificates, degrees, hobbies, relationships, etc., have led you to this point. There is something you are to do now using pieces of those lived experiences.
God never wastes one situation in your life. Therefore, believe everything did happen for a reason.
Overcomer exercise
Do this exercise:
- Write out what you have overcome in your life and how you overcame each.
- Then, write out all the elements, pieces, and steps of that process.
Don’t worry about listing things in any order. Instead, write out the situations and list what you did to overcome those situations.
When I asked a client to do this, she returned with ten situations she had overcome. Each had a detailed list of how she accomplished each one. For example, some had four steps, others 12, and one had 23 steps!
When you can write all these steps out, you first see the actions you took to overcome them. Then, you understand that God gave you these experiences for a reason, to help someone else. These lists also become a basis for your eventual offering.
When you are in analysis paralysis, having a tool like this can give you a new perspective on what God is asking you to do. But, again, it is the discovery process, getting the clarity and confidence to move forward.
3. Overcome analysis paralysis with customized research.
Once you have completed the Personal Mission Statement and the Overcomer elements, it is time to do the research.
Armed with this information, you are now ready to choose one area in your Overcomer List where you can explore the possibilities. How? Talking to potential clients through interviews, surveys, groups, and forums.
This is another area where stubbornness rears its head. I can’t tell you how many excuses I have heard about why “I can’t talk to people.”
Talk to people
Here’s the bottom line, you can only do so much research about books, podcasts, and videos in any selected area to overcome analysis paralysis. It is ONLY when you begin to talk to people about the problem they want to solve that you can really know if it is right for you.
When my client wrote out her ten situations, I immediately could see where to start based on her Personal Mission Statement. She had created a transformation in her own life that was practically a miracle. So that was where I encouraged her to start so she could discover if that situation were something others needed to be solved and to find out if she wanted to be the person to solve it.
You cannot create a customized offering without doing the research that lets you know who you want to serve and if you are the best person to help them. You have to give them what they want, not what you think they want.
I wished I had known this kind of research when I started over 12 years ago. By knowing what people wanted, I would have been able to solve their problems much sooner.
4. Create valuable actions
As you look at your Overcomer List and relate it to your Personal Mission Statement, you have a choice to make. . . where to begin.
First, start with prayer. Just because you are excited about something you see in front of you does not necessarily mean it is from God. On the other hand, don’t wait for some supernatural ‘sign’ before acting.
Ask God for discernment about which area to start.
Write out a few questions about what you want to know from the person you will talk to about the situation. Then, get ready to do the customized research you want to do.
I recently heard this method and immediately related it to the actions you need to do to overcome analysis paralysis. It is called READY, FIRE, AIM. Now I know that sounds like it has gotten turned around, right? What it really does is keep you from staying in the AIM position.
Action leads to clarity
You are READY. . . you have your clear goal and Personal Mission Statement. You have clarified your story with the things you have Overcome.
You now need to FIRE. . . at the first place you want to customize your research based on your collected information, your prayer time with the Lord, and your prepared questions.
You can then AIM. . . again if it turns out that the first try was not the direction for you. Then, continue to AIM at the next thing your research reveals and FIRE again.
Action leads to clarity. An action plan will lead you to overcome analysis paralysis because you will gain valuable information about how God wants you to serve and who He wants you to serve. You will know what your next step should be.
How analysis paralysis goes
Have you been stuck in analysis paralysis, deciding which direction to go next? These four strategies/steps are just the beginning of how to overcome analysis paralysis with what God wants to reveal to you about His design of you. I’m here to help. Let’s have a Clarity Call and see what solutions are right for you. Make your appointment today.
Any AHAs for you? Let me know in the comments!
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