I remember a term that used to be common, but I haven’t heard it in a while: ‘paralysis by analysis’. The idea that worrying too much about what the next step should be to actually act. The reason I think of that phrase now is because it relates to the age of abundance we are in. We are constantly bombarded by new choices and opportunities.

A perfect example is that I was shopping for adjustable weights recently and once I did an internet search my social media algorithm started pointing me to ads for adjustable weights. In all honesty, this didn’t speed up my search, but rather slowed down my purchasing timeline. I ended up continuing to look and shop long after finding the ones I ended up with, and then I ended up going with a local company to save on shipping, rather than any of the companies I saw in the ads. I spent an extra couple hours over several days shopping, and I barely saved myself $50… but also ended up having to drive almost an hour away to pick them up.

If that abundance of choice given to me was just for one one-time purchase that would be fine, but the reality is that the choices keep coming. I’ve got 3 books in my reading queue right now and a connection on LinkedIn just gave me a free preview of her new book. The book looks interesting but I’m not sure yet if I’ll get to her book any time soon. It’s a good thing to be offered a free copy, but it’s yet another choice to make. Free offers are very challenging to turn down.

And yet free offers keep coming. Exclusive first looks, first order free, year long trials, early access, just share your email, get on the mailing list, and then get bombarded with more choices.

I find myself being an arbiter of choices. Free (or mostly free) resources come my way all the time and I have to choose if I should pass these on to my staff. I have to make a choice as to whether to pass the choice on. Do I inundate my team with choices? Am I helping them or overwhelming them? If I don’t pass it on, am I taking away a good opportunity?

It seems that in an era of abundance we can have too many choices. Paralysis by analysis is back, and the analysis is created by too much choice.