Planning is overrated.
I think planning is massively overrated. If you’re searching for that one metaphysical piece of understanding that you tink is needed in order to start something, but you don’t know what it must look or feel like, you’re idling. And to waste your time like that is truly one of the most horrible sins against oneself, it is a path towards regret, bitterness and self-resentment that will manifest in other people finding you super unpleasant to be around.
Here’s my theory: action should always precede planning. It does sound counterintuitive, but planning is worthless if it is not corrected by the outcomes of the real world. And if small actions do not precede planning, then you will be stuck in that planning phase forever, precisely because you won’t have any way to “test” if your theory, your plan is correct. Without testing and adjustment, your plan will ALWAYS feel unfinished to you. And of course being the rational, smart person that you are you’re going to want to polish it some more. Who’d not want to come up with something that would make your actions meaningful? But it actually works the other way around: Your actions is what makes your plans meaningful.
Overanalysing and overthinking probably happens for people who are not dumb though, so I guess that is something to feel cheerful about. After all, it can only happen if a person is capable of some sort of multistep reasoning and is (a little) anxious, though I’m not sure what this anxiety is about.
I am susceptible to this particular kind of anxiety, that’s for sure, and still I can’t with full confidence explain, what am I anxious about.
That others will judge? We all have had this experience through life, one way or another, and we’re still alive, so that can’t be it. Also, I think the majority of people fully understand that being liked by everyone is a silly thing to want.
Am I (+ are you) being anxious of failing? Can’t be that either, because not doing something will with absolute certainty not bring any results, while doing something does hold a positive chance at success. The math is very simple.
Perhaps, what stays is some, as mentioned above, metaphysical belief that there is some broken part in your psyche, something about the way your grew up, what you experienced and so on that had installed some implicit mechanisms into your brain that just prevent you from being your best version and living your best life.
This belief is as wrong as excessive planning being prerequisite for action, of course.