Action is the Prescription to Overcome Confusion

Action is the prescription to get out of your confusion and dilemma leading to indecision and inaction. Taking action can be a powerful antidote to overcome confusion and dilemma that are leading you to indecision and inaction. Even small steps, can help to clarify the situation and provide a sense of direction. In a gist taking action can be helpful to reduce anxiety and gain clarity. And it will get you to build momentum towards your goals.

Many a time in life we are stuck up due to confusion and indecision. We stand still at a crossroad with two or more options, unable to figure out the path to be taken ahead. Often the road we are comfortable with, is the one we are treading currently, providing us security and comfort. The one we truly desire is the one which is out of our comfort zone and is full of uncertainty. The greener grass on the other side of the fence promises lots of fun and adventure. Or maybe its sheer paralysis of analysis that holds us back.

Thus the big confusion – Do I do it or not do it? Do I take the leap of faith – listen to my heart? Or do I listen to the prudent and conservative thinking of my head? Security and comfort zone, or sweat and action? Yes or No?

Confusion ??#@?? Confusion ??#@?? Confusion??#@??

How to overcome confusion?

How do we empower ourselves to make the right choice when faced with such dilemma and indecision?

How do you find clarity when confused?

When faced with a challenging situation, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to proceed. You may be plagued by many questions – What should I do to overcome confusion? How to overcome confusion and find clarity?

Let us check out a quick list of pointers to help you figure out how to find clarity when confused:

Recognize and accept the state of confusion

Understand that it is okay to be confused. Confusion is a natural process. Action is the prescription to confusion – take actions to fine tune yourself and overcome dilemma and indecision.

Many of us have heard Steve Jobs‘ famous speech delivered at Stanford in 2005, even he said that we can connect the dots only looking backwards and not looking forwards. These dots are the steps we take – the actions taken and the journey we cover to deal with confusion and arrive at the final destination.

Confront your fears to overcome confusion

It is very natural for people to feel afraid and emotionally challenged of the new and the unknown. This fear can stem from a variety of sources, such as a fear of failure, a fear of the unfamiliar, fear of difficult conversations, or a fear of change.

Appreciate that we all are afraid of the new and the unknown. This is primarily because there is never a 100% guarantee of success when taking the leap of faith.

I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.

Rosa Parks

While fear of the new and the unknown can be emotionally challenging, it is important to recognize that it is a natural and common experience. Confront your fears head on. This will help you deal with unnecessary fears.

Acknowledge this fear and re-frame it as an opportunity for growth. Take up this as a challenge to learn new things and sharpen your saw.

Draw up a plan – be clear of the steps you shall take. Taking small steps to gradually explore and become more familiar with new situations can also be helpful in reducing fear and building confidence.

Get going to overcome confusion

It is very easy to get stuck in a cycle of inaction, particularly when faced with a challenging or overwhelming task. However, taking action, even small steps, can help to break this cycle to put you in control and build momentum.

Move out of your inaction and start working on it. Get going immediately… begin by penning down your thoughts on paper/mobile/laptop or computer. This will get you started.

When taking action, it is important to break down the task into small, manageable steps. This can help to make the task feel less daunting and more achievable.

You may find it helpful to establish a routine and set aside specific time each day or week to work on this task.

Begin by figuring out what you can do, on your own first. Then reach out to people around. Seek help and ask for guidance. Take professional guidance rather than relying solely on friends, family and the people around. Seeking support from others, such as a friend or mentor, can provide encouragement and accountability in taking action.

If you want to be truly successful, invest in yourself to get the knowledge you need to find your unique factor. When you find it and focus on it and persevere your success will blossom.

 Sidney Madwed

SWOT Analysis

Do a SWOT analysis identifying your Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. This technique is typically used to identify internal and external factors that can affect one’s ability to achieve their goals and objectives.

SWOT analysis can be a highly useful tool to help get out of confusion and dilemma leading you to indecision and inaction. Be honest with yourself and list your strengths, weaknesses, limitations, resources, obstacles, any unforeseen issues that may arise:

Strengths:

Identify your personal and professional strengths that can help you make progress and overcome inaction. This could include skills, experience, or personal qualities.

Weaknesses:

Identify your personal and professional weaknesses that may be contributing to your inaction or indecision. This could include gaps in your skills or experience, or personal barriers that are holding you back.

Opportunities:

Identify the opportunities that are available to you to make progress. This could include new projects, training or development opportunities, or collaborations with others.

Threats:

Identify the threats or challenges that may be contributing to your inaction or indecision. This could include external factors such as competition or economic conditions, or internal factors such as your own perception, fear or lack of motivation.

By completing a SWOT analysis, you can gain clarity on your personal and professional strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats that are available to you. It helps you to identify areas where you need to improve or develop new skills, as well as opportunities for growth and advancement.

This can help you to develop a plan of action to address your weaknesses, leverage your strengths, and take advantage of the opportunities available to you. Additionally, SWOT analysis can help you be positive and productive and provide a structured approach to decision-making. This can be particularly helpful when facing complex or challenging situations.

Follow this up by equipping yourself to handle your weaknesses better. Accept your inabilities/weaknesses and keep a sharp focus on your strength/abilities. Accept your truth – educate yourself. Do you find it difficult to learn new things? Here is a tip to help you out with this difficulty, read up the insight shared on the FTEM platform – 4 simple steps to learn anything without breaking sweat.

Prepare a List

If you are still wondering how to overcome confusion, start with the first key step. Do through groundwork. List out your choices clearly along with the pros and cons of following each of them. Make the list a very detailed one. Think deeply, try to brainstorm different scenarios and work out your options thereafter.

You are free to exercise choice

Remember that you always have a choice, no matter what the situation and what the circumstances. In fact we should be grateful to have the freedom to make choices. Each choice may come with its consequences and costs. Noteworthy though is that you are in control of your decisions. You can break free of indecision and dilemma!

Weeding out

Be ruthless in weeding out all the lies that you might be telling yourself, your friends and family about your idea, choice or business proposition. Think of various hurdles that may crop up and come up with a game plan to deal with them. A well thought out plan for dealing with possible hurdles will help toughen you up mentally. It will be like a mock drill to prepare you to deal with any kind of issue that may arise.

Own accountability

Take full responsibility for your actions – do not plan to hold on to the crutches of excuses. Find your wholeness and depend primarily on yourself. Have a back up plan ready, to deal with contingencies such as change in market conditions, the exit of a team member, internal dissent and disagreement, etc. Remember – this is your plan, your vision, your goal and no one sees it the way you do. Your reality may not match the perception of others and be totally different from that of others.

How people give meaning to things around them depends on several causative factors. Hence, even your close friends and family may not be able to appreciate your vision. However, as long as you have faith in your idea, you will find a way to follow through with it.

Even your close friends and family may not be able to appreciate your vision. However, as long as you have faith in your idea, you will find a way to follow through with it.

Crispy Maheshwari

Be Practical

Be practical, do adequate research for your ideas, its viability, its acceptability, its need, your purpose for doing it etc. Become well-versed with all aspects of your idea and have a clear picture of your motive. This will help you to be positive and productive.

Don’t wait for that time to come!

Explore the option that taking one path need not necessarily mean forgoing everything else right at the outset. For example, you could start working on your blog/startup part time while still doing your job, since it takes time to establish yourself and get accepted in the market. You may want to get up early and devote time to physical training, if you want to become an athlete. You may want to set aside some time everyday for writing , if you want to become an author.

Then again, this strategy may not be suitable to all ideas, choices, plans, goals and business propositions. Here is a tip to help you out with this difficulty, read up the insight shared on the FTEM platform on How to Manage Time with your plate so full? Plan, draw up a schedule and stick to it. Need more help, read on how to put Time Management in Practice. Read up more and equip yourself in the spheres that you lack.

If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

Dale Carnegie

Test yourself

A good test for yourself would be to figure out your level of passion for your goal. Would you forego all other options to choose only that which you want to do? What is the cost that you are willing to pay to achieve your goal? Are you ready to face the inconveniences and discomfort required to trod the new path by foregoing your current comfort zone? Are your family members willing to be inconvenienced and be partners in your new journey? Ask yourself the hard questions. Remember, there is a team behind the success of each person. The maximum burden of sweat and sacrifice for a person’s success invariably falls on his support system – his family, friends, partner, teammates, coach etc.

Are your goals clear, well-defined and achievable?

Understand that doing something in a state of confusion helps you figure out your thoughts and goals better by asking yourself questions. It fine-tunes them, leading you on further and closer to succeeding in figuring out and implementing what you can do best. Each effort made, and each step taken brings learning, experience, confidence, knowledge, insights, wisdom and new sets of friends/acquaintances and a growing network of people in your contact. These, in turn, ultimately come together to contribute to your success – the achievement of your goal.

On the other hand, sitting idle and simply wondering you should or should not – doesn’t take you any where. Whiling and whining about your dilemma and indecision will not help. As they say, “Work does not get done just by wishing!”

It is certainly better to implement your idea, take a decision and do something, than to do nothing at all and wonder ‘What if I had done it?’

Success seems to be connected with action. Successful men keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.

Conrad Hilton

What’s the next Big Question?

What to do once you decide to take the plunge?

What to do to Overcome Confusion?

Here is a quick list of Top 5 things to do to empower yourself to overcome confusion and dilemma:

Immerse yourself fully

Give yourself enough time and space to implement your ideas. Rushing into a project can lead to mistakes and missed opportunities, while taking the time to plan and execute your ideas with care can help you achieve your goals more effectively.

Additionally important to have adequate room for contingencies and pitfalls, as unexpected setbacks and challenges are a normal part of any project.

Be strong and learn how to deal with adversity.  Adversity is an inevitable part of any project. It is important to learn how to deal with it effectively. This may involve developing resilience and persistence and seeking support from others. Additionally you may need to develop coping strategies to manage stress and uncertainty. By learning how to deal with adversity, you can stay focused on your goals and make progress even in the face of challenges.

Show up for yourself

Showing up for yourself means making a commitment to your goals and giving your full attention and effort to achieving them.

Once you have made your choice and started your journey, stay focused and avoid getting distracted by naysayers. Also ensure not to let other external factors pull you off course.

Failures – the stepping stones!

Nobody likes to fail and yet we all are forced to face it and deal with it. Do not be afraid to fail. Do not let failure deter you, for failure loads you up with the arsenal of experiences and insights. Failures are to be looked at as stepping stones to success.

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.

Henry Ford

Learn

Learn from mistakes that others have made and ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated. Take help and guidance from others who have made mistakes – read up, talk and research. Make new mistakes, get new experiences and be sure to share your insights. Sharing your insights with others will help you to enhance your own knowledge. It will help you to network and connect with other people. Wondering if you have any insights to Share? Fret not for help is at hand on the FTEM platform.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill

Believe

After taking your decision do not keep looking back in confusion, thinking and rethinking again and again. Consciously choose to be determined to give your best. BELIEVE in yourself! Move ahead with zeal and be at peace. Choose to get out of dilemma, indecision and confusion.

Where do I get what I need?

Most importantly remember that you are more capable than you know. You are equipped with all that is needed for you to do whatever your heart desires. What is needed is your belief in yourself, and the distance you are willing to go, the sweat and sacrifices you are willing to make to attain your goal.

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.

Christian D. Larson

Editor’s Note:

How do you find clarity when confused? How do you overcome confusion? The Featured Snippet on Google from this article does a great job in summarizing the essence of this detailed prescription to take action and overcome confusion.

You may also like to read about what is ‘Gratitude and its benefits’,about Practicing Gratitude and about Meditation and its benefits and about how to deal with heartbreak by the same author Crispy Maheshwari.

About The Author

Crispy Maheshwari is the Founder of FTEM (From The Experts’ Mouth).

She is very creative and multi-talented. She likes to write, paint and craft. Crispy loves to network, motivate people, teach and spread positivity.

Some of her work has been published in leading national newspaper, International Literary Journals and has also been translated to other languages.

She graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi and has dual professional qualifications – Chartered Accountant and Lawyer (Faculty of Law, University of Delhi).