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Smart people overthink. This was me, is it you too?
You want to make the right move. The perfect one. No missteps. No regrets. That’s how value is created, right?
But that mindset… You think it’s helping you. In reality, it’s slowing you down.
Your brain believes there’s only one right answer and only one shot to get it right. So you keep circling. Over-analyzing.
Second-guessing every option. So you can get it right.
Except… your brain is wrong.
There’s rarely one “right” move. There are usually many viable paths forward (if you look for them).
But if you believe there’s only one, you’ll put off taking the first step. Delaying progress. Pushing it out farther, and farther.
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
What works instead?
✅ Make a move – imperfectly
You learn more doing than you ever could researching.
✅ Shrink the pressure
It’s not one big moment. It’s a series of smaller steps.
✅ Reframe failure
Each decision gives you new data. Each “wrong” move gets you closer.
And that fear?
It means you’re growing.
Not that you’re failing.
→ If you’ve been stuck in your head, try this:
Pick one small next step.
Take it.
See what it teaches you.
Repeat.
That’s how leadership is built.
Through action—not perfection.
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
American Baptist Minister, Civil Rights Activist and Political Philosopher
