Skip to main content

The useless analysis

All of us without exception do the following quite consistently. 

  • We analyze profusely whether required or not and do not let up before it's too late. 
  • We torture and blame ourselves for a complication even when we are not sure about the root cause
  • We hang onto a remnant of the past which inevitably sours the present
This vicious cycle of analysis, regret and uncertainty has to stop. You might ask me how?
I might be able to offer some advice with the help of the following scenarios.  

Scenario 1

Ever messaged, called or greeted someone with an intention of opening up a conversation only to run into a situation where the other person just doesn't want to open up. The person you called upon could be someone with whom you had a storied history but they at this very moment are decisively stonewalling your attempts at initiating a conversation with their terse response style. You can do one of two things when this happens:

  • If this behavior was caused by an earlier action of yours then apologize and make things right
  • If you have no idea what's causing this make due enquiries and give them plenty of space to get back to you
Let's say you have already done one of the above, then there's nothing else for you to do except to get on with your life. Sure, you can try apologizing a few more times or delving into their psyche a bit more but beyond that the analysis has to stop before it leads to heartburn. 

Time has a way of healing people and mending relationships. If the person who moved away opens a communication channel once again, try to find out what went wrong and decide whether it's in your best interest to continue the association. If the person never comes back, then they were never meant to be in the first place. In either case putting a full stop to the incessant analysis will allow you to move on and do something constructive with yourself. 

When analysis is prolonged it does more harm than good
When analysis is prolonged it does more harm than good <Courtesy: Firmbee>

Scenario 2

You have attended an all-important interview where the interviewers gave you a mixed reaction. The result confirms your worst fears. Now the best thing to do is:
  • Make a list of the things which didn't go well and then work on those shortcomings
  • Consolidate your learnings and apply to a similar job so that you can gauge how far you've come from the previous interview
The worst way to handle it would be to not timebox this analysis and allow self-doubt to creep in. Sometimes you require multiple steps to get to a destination. Treat the previous interview as a mere step in your journey, restart your preparation and preferably put the skills you learn to test and upgrade them with real-life lessons.    

Scenario 3

You find out that a classmate, colleague or a peer of yours is doing extremely well in their life. The competitor in you wants to find out what went right for them. If your mind analyzes their career, their education and the strategic moves they've made, then you are on the right track. If your mind veers off into all the things that went wrong for you and engages in self-blame then you should cease that sort of a useless analysis immediately.

Life doesn't afford everyone the same growth trajectory. Some start fast and then slow down, some start slow and then pick up pace, some blow hot and cold routinely, while there are some who maintain a steady tempo. If somebody's career is going great guns while you are streamlining your own life, applaud them but don't let their success get to you. Give yourself the reassurance that you will rebound at the right time. Apply confidence, hope and a pinch of the right perspective to throttle all kinds of useless analyses.  

In conclusion, use your idle time to rejuvenate yourself. If your mind can't stop thinking then focus on what needs be done next rather than mulling over what happened. There's no greater stress than the one we give ourselves. So, train your mind to heed your directives and cease the useless analysis.

Until Next Time,

Your Life Analyst,
Chaitanya J.J. 

 



 

Comments

Popular Posts

Mahabharata by C.Rajagopalachari

There are books which you read and then there are books which make you read them and change your life. Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari's (Rajaji's) Mahabharata belongs to the latter category. Mahabharata introduced me to the joy of reading books as a kid and today I couldn't have picked a better topic for my 25th post. I cannot describe what a pleasure and honor it is to extol the virtues of this classic book during this holy festive season of  Makar Sankranti . Mahabharata by C.Rajagopalachari The story of Mahabharata is as old as the mountains and has been retold several times. Mahabharata by Rajaji however stands out in my mind because here is a story which is spiritual yet not religious, is thought provoking yet not preachy, is compelling yet not tedious. The story left an indelible impression upon me for several reasons which are: Rajaji uses extremely simple language to convey some of the finer aspects of the saga. I was 10 years old when I read Mahabharata ...

Zamarrud Theatre Hyderabad

More than two decades ago a 5 year old boy (yours truly) found himself in Abids which was certainly then the microcosm of Hyderabad. Abids in the 80s <Courtesy: OkaTeluguAbbayi > The occasion was a family outing to Zamarrud Cinema. And we are stepping out for not just any movie my friends, my parents decided that nothing less than the Raj Kapoor blockbuster Chori Chori was good enough for us. To be honest I wasn't exactly enthused about watching a black and white film of a bygone era even though the movie had all the credentials of a classic. But that was before I saw Zamarrud, the theatre where the movie was being played. Nested in the heart of Abids, Zamarrud was the perfect amalgamation of Hyderabad's old world charm and new fangled ways. Zamarrud was not just any theatre, it was one of the first air conditioned halls in Hyderabad, a premiere cinema hall which used to host the best of what the film industry had to offer and the place to go for Hyderabad...

The Punisher (2004)

There are very few movies which make for a fun repeat watch. The 2004 version of ' The Punisher ' belongs to this rarefied category. I watched the movie almost 10 years ago and then caught up with it again last month. The plot twists were familiar the second time around but the fun was still the same. That's what probably got me started off on this movie review.    Tom Jane as 'The Punisher' The Plot:  When the younger son of mafia boss Howard Saint ( John Travolta ) gets killed in an FBI operation headed by Frank Castle ( Tom Jane ), Saint swears revenge and wipes out Castle's entire family. Castle himself barely survives before emerging from his injuries as the crusading 'Punisher'. 'The Punisher' resolves to extract payback from Saint and proceeds to punish everyone on the wrong side of law with his brand of justice. Will 'The Punisher' succeed (Of course he does)? Watch this lesser talked about installment from the Marvel Cinematic Un...

KBR National Park

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the fifth largest city in India - Hyderabad lies KBR (Kasu Brahmananda Reddy) National Park . It's difficult to imagine a natural habitat in the center of a concrete jungle but that's exactly what KBR park is - an oasis in middle of an urban desert . One of Hyderabad's prized tourist attractions which in my opinion doesn't get the attention it deserves. The Entrance <Courtesy: Andhra Aroma > I don't remember when I first noticed the park but it soon became a sight which I couldn't miss during the course of my everyday commute to work. I always wondered what lay beyond the entrance but never found the time to check it out for myself until last year. But let me back up a bit, there's a back story to my first visit to the park. In my ' Count Your Blessings ' post, I talked about how a walk around my office building started a positive change in my life. That incident made ' walking ' ...

Dunkirk (2017)

Background:  The Second World War and my family go a long way back, members of my family took part in the war on behalf of the British. My grandfather himself had a fortuitous escape when the Japanese bombed  Vizag harbour  and Vizag thermal power plant on April 6th, 1942 . The war and its stories have ever since then, been a source of discussion in my family. Being inquisitive about history, I spent a lot of time trying to know about various facets of the war including watching whatever movies or documentaries I could lay my hands on. However, I have never read or watched anything about Dunkirk until I saw the movie. This was fresh territory for me and I wanted to approach the movie with a clean slate to know more about history ( which I confess wasn't a very bright idea considering how well history is manipulated in movies ). Plot Setting:  It's May 1940,  Netherlands , Belgium and Luxembourg have all fallen to the German Offensive. France is on its wa...