Analysis paralysis is a helluva thing to deal with. We’ve all been there, excited by a new technique, a new art form that we've never tried, maybe it’s someone's style we are gripped by for the moment or perhaps we get an idea for a wargaming scenario or campaign we’d like to develop.
Whatever it is, it gets us excited, and our brain fires on all cylinders. We’re stoked to get going. It's that little kid energy. Then we freeze up. We're adults. We don’t know how, we don’t know how to do it like the person who gave us the idea, we get nervous that it won’t quite look right. So we dive into the Pinterest boards, the YouTube videos, the Google searches and look for the answer.
There we find that there are about 100 different ways to skin our cat, and of course there’s someone telling you somewhere along the way that there’s a “right way” and a “wrong way” of tackling your project. By this point, well, you’re probably discouraged, maybe you realize “oh this is expensive” or start doubting your abilities. Well, don’t worry because you’ve blown all you excitement staring at your computer screen. Or dare I say, just as bad, you’ve listed out your game plan in a notebook or drawn some ideas in your sketchbook and have now gotten yer fill of it.
Also now there’s some other shiny idea that’s crossed your path and your off chasing another butterfly
Here’s and alternative though. Give it a go, trust your abilities and instincts. Let your hands do the thinking for you. Grab a mini and put paint on it, or a canvas and slap that brush here and there. Drill that 2x4 into the wall, jump on the skateboard before you jump on your keyboard and search “how to…”
Try to work out the idea in your head as you go.
In an era of perfectionism, public display, and scrutiny, it's hard for us to get out of our own way. We see these people who've "figured it out" and think we've got no shot so why try. We've forgotten, or maybe never learned, how to improvise. No one's got it all figured out, and no one has ever learned how to face problems by trying to solve them before they even arise.
When you come up with an idea, in your heart, you know what to do. You've gotta act. You've gotta start. You've got to exorcise that idea, and you've gotta do it quick.
Get something down, do something, and when you hit a problem you don't know how to handle - don't look to the internet, look inside yourself, how can YOU solve this problem. Even if it's not the "right way," it's ok for something to be "your way."
After you've gone and done it, then comes the thinking - what went well, what could I do next time, do I wanna do a next time? At least you've done it once. A lot of times, riding the first wave leads you to the second. The stoke builds - because you see it in action.
All of life is improvisational.
Anyway, just a little rant I thought of in my shower last night. Don't worry so much, no one is looking, so fuck around a while and see what happens.
I bet you'll have more fun anyway, maybe get those hands dirty.
