Breaking Free from Decision Paralysis:

Does anyone else think a menu has too many options that sound great? I can read and re-read a menu, make a choice, then change it, only to change it again when the waiter looks expectantly at me to say what I want.

The time to make that choice — and the brain energy it took — is disproportional to what should be spent. I know I’ll be happy with any of the choices. I have the option to return to get the other option another time. Yet I get stuck in that rut every time I see a menu.

It can be even worse and more paralyzing with decisions that actually are important.

We’ve all been there — staring at a list of choices, feeling overwhelmed, unsure of what to do next.

Decision paralysis can creep in when one has to:

• write a term paper

• make a major life decision

• decide what to wear to an important event

• make any decision, big or small

But staying stuck doesn’t have to be the end of your story. You have the power to break free, take action, and move forward with confidence.

10 steps to overcome decision paralysis:

1. Acknowledge your fear of the unknown

The first step to breaking free from decision paralysis is recognizing what’s holding you back. Most of the time, it’s the fear of the unknown.

What if I make the wrong choice?

What if this decision leads to failure?

What if a different choice would have been better?

Understand that uncertainty is a part of life. Avoiding decisions won’t eliminate the uncertainty, it will only lead to not having a chance of getting what you want or need because you didn’t make the decision.

Embrace the fact that no choice comes with 100% certainty, but every step forward gives you the chance to learn and grow.

2. Clarify your priorities

When faced with a tough decision, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters to you. Take a moment to reflect on your values, goals, and long-term aspirations.

What is most important to you in this situation?

What are the potential outcomes that align with your core values?

By getting clear on your priorities, you can filter out distractions and focus on making decisions that move you closer to your ideal life.

3. Limit your options

Sometimes, having too many options (like a fabulous restaurant menu) can cause decision paralysis. The more choices you have, the more overwhelming it feels to make a selection.

Much like at a restaurant, you can start by limiting choices. Narrow down your options by eliminating choices that don’t serve your goals or align with your values. This doesn’t mean you’re closing doors forever—it simply helps you focus on what matters most right now.

4. Make small, actionable steps

Big decisions don’t have to be tackled all at once. If the path ahead feels daunting, break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.

Start with a single action that moves you in the direction of your goal. You don’t have to know the entire plan, just focus on the next step.

If the step still seems too hard, break it into a smaller step. Sometimes the act of making a decision, no matter how small, is the key to moving forward.

Small actions build momentum, and before you know it, you’ll be closer to making that final decision.

5. Trust yourself

You’ve made decisions in the past — some great, some not-so-great — but you’ve grown and learned from all of them.

Trust that you have the inner wisdom to make a good decision and the resilience to handle whatever outcome results from it.

Even if you’re unsure of the outcome, trust that you’ll adapt and find a way forward. You can do hard things!

6. Embrace imperfection

Perfectionism often fuels decision paralysis, as we fear making a choice that isn’t flawless.

But here’s the thing: no decision is perfect.

Say it again: No decision is perfect.

Sometimes you have to make the best decision with the situation and the information you have.

There will always be trade-offs. Some parts of one option may be favorable, yet other parts of the other option are better. Weigh the pros and cons and choose the better option. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just better.

Give yourself permission to make imperfect choices. Growth comes from action, not from waiting for the "perfect" answer.

Make the best decision you can with the information you have available and don’t look back with regrets.

7. Reach out for support

If you feel overwhelmed, you don’t have to go through it alone.

Reach out to trusted friends, mentors, or a professional who can offer a fresh perspective. Sometimes talking through your thoughts with someone else can help you see things more clearly and gain the confidence to take the next step.

While it can be hard to ask for help, remember that people like helping. You feel good when you help someone, right? They also feel good when they help you. It’s okay to ask for help when needed!

8. Just do it

The Nike slogan has become one of the most iconic marketing catchphrases and slogans because it rings true. Just do it.

Sometimes the fear of failure or the pressure for perfection keeps us from making a decision. The best thing to do sometimes is to just not think about it and do it. Seriously — jump in and do it.

Doing something is better than ruminating about what to do and getting nothing done. The tight pressure of a short amount of time can be very motivating, so give yourself a quick deadline.

Example: you’re not sure how to write the first draft of an important paper:

• Set a timer for a short time - maybe 5-10 minutes. Anyone can do anything for a short time. If it still feels overwhelming, shorten the time - maybe just 2 minutes. You can do anything for 2 (or even 10) minutes, right?

• Do as much as you can before the timer goes off. Remember the quality here is not important. All that is important is working for the time set to work.

• Quickly reward yourself when the time is up. Don’t review the work or try to correct it, just celebrate that it’s done - a quick pat on the shoulder or get up and move for a minute.

• Reset the timer and work again for another set amount of time - maybe even longer if the time was easy to do.

• Celebrate when you worked for that time.

• Repeat until done.

• When you’re all done, then you can edit or correct the paper as needed.

9. Leave it up to chance

Okay, this isn’t for every decision, but sometimes it really doesn’t matter.

Ordering off a menu, picking a movie to watch, choosing an outfit to wear… all of these decisions take brain energy but really have low return. Does it really matter? No. 

If you don’t have the energy to give to the choice, flip a coin. No coin? Use a free online virtual coin flip.

If there are more than 2 choices and you know how to make the fortune teller paper, put all the choices in and play to make the decision. (If you don’t know how to make these, just use your favorite search engine, there are many online directions.)

A third way to relieve decision fatigue with some chance is to use dice. With this one you can increase probability for some outcomes. You’re going to roll the dice (technically one die) to help make a decision here.

• Get a 20-sided die - if you don’t have this, you can use a 6-sided die or a free app.

• List out things that need to get done, numbering your list. Your list should include the highest priorities of the day and should not be too long.

• Think about which things are most important and assign them the widest range of numbers and the least important things a narrow range. This increases the odds you’ll do a more important task, but there’s still an element of chance, which can be motivating. You can even make one number a totally fun thing that you want to do but isn’t something on your to-do list. That way you could possibly have to do the thing you want to do, which again, helps with motivation.

• If you really need to work on your English paper, have a Spanish quiz but are pretty confident with the materials, need to clean your room this week, and want to check social media, this might look like:

  • Numbers 1-6: Pick up room (6 chances because you need to get this done)

  • Numbers 7-8: Review Spanish vocab (only 2 chances because you’re confident you already know it)

  • Numbers 9-19: Work on English paper (11 chances because this is most important)

  • Number 20: Check social media for 10 minutes (1 chance because this doesn’t accomplish what you need to do, but it’s what you want to do, and is a possible outcome, so can be motivating)

  • When you roll the 20-side die, you could get any of these things, but you have to do whatever you roll. When it’s done, cross it off, reassign numbers, and roll again!

10. Pros and Cons list

If you’re not one to leave it up to chance, a list of pros and cons is a great way to make decisions.

You can even add points to each listed item to help give more weight to the things that mean more to you or the situation. Add up the points for each column and go with the one that gets more points.

A pros and cons list feels less like a decision to make and more like a calculation, which helps those who aren’t confident in their choices — and helps organize thoughts so it is a best-option decision in the end.

Remember, being stuck in decision paralysis is just a temporary state. You have the ability to move beyond it by taking small steps, trusting yourself, and embracing the journey.

Every decision you make brings you closer to where you want to be.

You’ve got this—take that next step, and watch your life evolve.