05/29/2026
It’s the worst…
I would spend hours, sometimes days, going back and forth in my head about a decision. Analyzing every possible outcome, asking everyone around me what they thought, making pros and cons lists, and then somehow still ending up in the exact same place I was trying to avoid.
And for a long time I thought I just was not smart enough or disciplined enough to make good decisions. But that was not it at all.
Overthinking is not a logic problem. It is a safety problem. When you grew up in an environment where making the wrong choice had real consequences, where you had to read the room constantly, where love or approval felt like it could be taken away at any moment, your nervous system learned to scan every situation for danger before moving forward. That is not a bad habit. That was survival.
The problem is that same survival response does not know the difference between choosing a restaurant and choosing a life partner. It treats everything like a threat assessment.
This is one of the first things I work through with my clients because until you understand why your inner child is terrified of getting it wrong, no amount of journaling or pros and cons lists is going to quiet that voice.
You are not indecisive. You are just still trying to stay safe.
Share this with all your overthinking friends who need to hear this too!