Category: Life

The Hidden Trap That’s Destroying Your Career (And How to Escape It)

Meet Arthur – a brilliant senior manager who had everything going for him… until his own mind became his worst enemy.

The Manager Who Couldn’t Move Forward

Arthur should have been unstoppable. As a senior manager overseeing a global strategic portfolio, he had the experience, the team, and the skills to navigate any crisis. But when his company faced surging demand, tight resources, and supply chain nightmares, something unexpected happened.

He froze.

Not because he didn’t know what to do – but because he couldn’t stop thinking about what he should do.

Sound familiar? Arthur’s story reveals the silent career killer that’s probably sabotaging your success right now: overthinking.

The Four Ways Overthinking Destroys Everything You’ve Worked For

1. Decision Paralysis: When “Perfect” Becomes the Enemy of Progress

Arthur wanted it all – a solution that would boost output, hit sustainability targets, satisfy investors, and eliminate risk. While he built his fifteenth spreadsheet analyzing every possible scenario, his competitors were already moving.

The brutal truth? There is no perfect decision. While you’re searching for it, opportunities vanish and problems multiply.

2. The Mental Energy Vampire That Never Stops Feeding

3 AM. Arthur’s still awake, mind racing: What if we pivot to Market B? What if this supplier fails? What if we overspend?

This mental hamster wheel doesn’t produce solutions – it devours the creative energy you need to actually solve problems. You become a shadow of the leader you once were, running on fumes while your best ideas slip away.

3. Trust Erosion: How Your Team Stops Believing in You

Arthur’s overthinking made him micromanage everything. His team noticed. They saw the hesitation, felt the lack of confidence, and started questioning his leadership.

Here’s what’s terrifying: When you don’t trust your own decisions, your team stops trusting them too. The collaboration you desperately need disappears just when you need it most.

4. The Confidence Death Spiral

Every delayed decision whispered to Arthur: “You’re losing your edge.” The more he doubted, the more he overthought. The more he overthought, the more he doubted.

Soon, the manager who once tackled complex challenges with ease couldn’t make simple decisions without agonizing over them for days.

The Uncomfortable Truth About “Being Thorough”

Let’s be honest – overthinking feels responsible. It feels like due diligence. It feels like being a good leader.

It’s not.

In today’s fast-moving world, overthinking is often just fear dressed up as professionalism. While you’re being “thorough,” your competition is being decisive. While you’re analyzing, they’re adapting.

The Four-Step Escape Plan

1. Set Decision Deadlines
Give yourself a maximum time limit for each decision. When time’s up, choose the best available option and move forward.

2. Embrace “Good Enough” Solutions
Most decisions can be adjusted later. Focus on what moves the needle now, not what might be perfect eventually.

3. Trust Your Team
Delegate more decisions. Your people are capable – and sharing the load frees your mind for bigger strategic thinking.

4. Accept Strategic Risk
In dynamic industries, the biggest risk isn’t making the wrong decision – it’s making no decision at all.

The Questions That Will Change Everything

Before you close this article and dive back into your endless analysis, pause. Ask yourself:

  • What decision are you avoiding right now because you’re afraid of getting it wrong?
  • How much mental energy are you wasting on problems that could be solved with imperfect action?
  • Are you leading your team, or are you trapped in your own head?
  • What would you do if you knew that clarity comes from action, not analysis?
  • If you could only spend 20% of your current thinking time on this problem, what would you do?

Your Next Move

Arthur’s story doesn’t have to be your story. The difference between leaders who thrive and those who get stuck isn’t intelligence or experience – it’s the courage to act despite uncertainty.

The truth is simple: You already know more than enough to make most decisions. The rest you’ll figure out as you go.

Stop waiting for perfect clarity. It’s not coming.

Start moving forward. Clarity will follow.

What’s one decision you’ve been overthinking that you could make today? Share your thoughts in the comments – sometimes saying it out loud is the first step toward action.

When Frozen Reminded Me About Life

Had a chance to re-watch Frozen recently together with my nephew and niece. Little things I know, I’ve rethink the lesson learnt I’ve gathered before. Previously, I just watched the film as a leisure only and think it’s about the power of love and sacrifices but now I’ve discovered another lesson ie. living in silo. It’s about what I’ve experienced right now.

Yes, isolation.

Elsa’s life is my life and Anna is the representation of other people in my social circle. At first I thought Frozen is just about the power struggle between Elsa and others. But the longer I re-examine the storyline the more I understand the struggle that Elsa faced. She needs to keep her secret with an intention to protect others but ended up pushing people away from her life. Maybe that’s what am doing right now. Being comfortable to live in silo and manage all of my life challenges all by myself. Even everyday my life getting messy and messier.

What are the lesson learnt I’ve gathered so far? Googled to find out if others shared similar experience or not. As summarised by Lifehack, almost similar with what I’ve thinking so far.

  1. Exercise self control – yes, I’m so good in shutting people out and suppressing emotions (sometimes) but when it’s too much to handle, it will affect my decision making process. Maybe, despite being overwhelmed by emotions, it helps when you make sense of a situation before making a move. This way, you have complete rein of your feelings because you know what triggers them and therefore make rationale decisions based not just on emotions alone but also logics.
  2. Communicate – truthfully, everything can be avoided if only I opened up to people. I still not make peace with my decision to reach out to people, but I need to admit why somehow I managed to survive is because I listened to friend’s advise ie. not bottle up my emotions. I thought by keeping people in the dark about my isgues is doing everybody a favor but the in reality my stubborness will bring more harms than good. The point is this : it’s perfectly fine if you want to spend time wallowing in your sadness but it wouldn’t hurt if you get help from people who are actually willing to give it to you – even if it’s just someone who will listen to you rant.
  3. Channel your emotions in a constructive manner – never let your emotions take control of your life because whenever you try to resolve issues by following your emotions alone normally it will end up damaging the situation even worse.
  4. Relationships take a lot of work – I have the tendency to push people away whenever things getting harder or I start to feel uncomfortable to share my issues with others. However being in relationships regardless as friend or lover, is always a mixture of storms and rainbows, of moments where you think and move in synchrony and ugly fights. Only those who are willing to work through these together can truly enjoy the purpose of having a companion or partner. One thing for sure, I can’t force people to view me as their best friend. Just because l view them as my best friend, doesn’t mean automatically I am their best friend. Should learn to strike a balance.