The Great Filter: Analysis Paralysis

The Fermi paradox asks: if the universe is so big and full of stars and planets, why haven’t we found any signs of alien life yet? One possible answer is the “Great Filter”: the idea that most civilizations end before they become advanced enough to be detected.

This isn't exclusive to aliens.

In life and business, your "great filter" is simply doing something. I've gone through this multiple times, especially in solopreneurship. It doesn't take long to realize that, in this space, a lot of people talk but very few people do.

Overthinking Your Way To Nowhere

Overthinking prevents most people from getting to the starting line. I went through this when I started building products to sell. Starting a business feels vague and nebulous. You know what you want to do but you have no idea how to get there. Where do you start?

There were so many options in front of me. The entire idea of starting a business was intimidating and I didn't want to fail. That was when my good ol' friend Analysis Paralysis came in.

Having too many options and not knowing what you're doing is a rough combo to deal with. It felt like navigating a minefield while blindfolded and wearing absurdly large clown shoes: there are more ways to fail than to succeed.

Analysis Paralysis gets it's strength from our weaknesses:

• Fear of failure: you imagine a bad outcome and freeze because we don't want it to happen.
• Overoptimization: we think the "right" choice will lead to a "perfect" result.
• Overload: there are too many options to choose from.
• Perfectionism: it the result won't be perfect, there's no point in starting.

What's Actually True

You can fail forward. Sure, failing doesn't feel great but you shouldn't ignore the fact that you're still learning. Inaction guarantees failure. At least with action, you have a chance.

Overoptimization assumes there's one perfect choice. There isn't. You can only find "better" by starting somewhere.

Overload disappears when you pick one thing. Sure, it'll feel hard to choose but the noise will die down when you do.

Perfectionism is procrastination in disguise. You know perfect doesn't exist so it gives you an excuse to never start.

"Overthinking prevents most people from getting to the starting line."

Getting Through the Filter

• Recognize that failing forward is a thing: don't bother with perfect and prioritize learning through doing.
• There's never a "perfect" choice: you'd be surprised how far people can get with a "good is good enough" mentality.
• Bias towards action: when you feel yourself freezing up when making a choice, just choose one and go with it. Get something done and you'll feel better.
• Accept imperfection: Perfection isn't real and it was never necessary. You can do something now and improve it later.

I learned those lessons the hard way. Sometimes I had to relearn them. I'm sure I'll have to re-relearn them, too. Nonetheless, they've been vital to helping me get unstuck.

I'm still figuring it out and I always will be. That's what I enjoy the most about this.