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I can't tell you how many times I've opened my phone to “just check one thing” and somehow ended up drowning in different how to survive in your 20s hacks, ten ways to lose weight, morning routine reels, and a full-blown thread about how a carbs free diet is the new lifestyle! By the time I put my phone down, I'm so damn exhausted. And now suddenly, I don’t want to do anything anymore!
That, my friend, is what we call information paralysis. And in this social media age, it’s practically a pandemic. We have more access to knowledge than ever before, yet putting it into action becomes a whole issue in itself.
Social media loves to show us “100 ways to do X.” Sounds generous, right? Wrong! Too many choices make your brain short-circuit. Suddenly, cooking dinner isn’t just about boiling pasta now it’s about choosing between keto, vegan, gluten-free, high-protein, 10-minute meals, or the TikTok videos giving you 15 recipes on quick meals to make with an air fryer. By the time you’re done scrolling, you’re too tired to cook at all.
To be honest, saving tips on Instagram or TikTok feels really good. It tricks your brain into thinking you’ve actually achieved something. Not to be rude, but you've actually done nothing, but your dopamine levels say otherwise. You feel accomplished without leaving the couch, so you close the app, believing you’re on the path to greatness, when in reality, your to-do list is still untouched.
That quick rush you get from learning a “new secret hack” is addictive. You’re always chasing the next new tip, yet you never sit with one long enough to let it work. We love to collect resources like they’re trophies. E-books, free courses, Pinterest boards, Google Docs full of notes, but ask yourself, how much of that have you actually used? You're out here switching workout plans every week because each new one promises “better results.” In the end, you’re just sore and confused.
Another thing I've observed is that experts rarely agree. One financial guru tells you to invest in stocks, another swears by real estate, another tells you crypto is the answer to financial freedom, and some tell you to avoid all and “just manifest abundance.” Instead of choosing a path, you get confused and freeze. Because what if you pick the wrong one? So you do nothing.
We’ve become so used to looking for “what the experts and influencers say” that we stop trusting our own judgment. Every decision gets delayed because you need to check if someone on YouTube has already given you "permission". You wait for the perfect timing, the perfect system, the perfect advice, the perfect tips, until you realize you’ve wasted more time waiting rather than actually trying. You outsource your thinking to people who don’t even know you exist. It’s one thing to learn from others, but if you never practice deciding for yourself, you’ll always need someone else to hold your hand.
Information paralysis isn’t about being lazy or undisciplined. It’s about being overloaded. I know you've heard people often saying, “Listen to your gut.” Well, that’s hard to do when your gut is buried under algorithms, ads, and the endless “top 10” lists. This constant noise makes you second-guess your instincts.
Bestie, at the end of the day, no matter how many videos, posts, articles or how (to s) you consume, none of them matter if you don’t take action. Social media will always throw more options your way, the real task is knowing when to close the app. Pick one source of information you actually trust and apply it before collecting more. Give yourself permission to start imperfectly. I mean, JUST START! And most importantly, practice listening to yourself.
BTW, how do you usually decide what advice to follow and what to ignore?
I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks a bunch for sticking around.
See you next time, bye!🤎