Beyond Analysis Paralysis: Practice 3 Somatic Skills for Decisive Leadership
Tired of second-guessing? Discover three somatic skills to limit uncertainty, overcome tough choices, and cultivate unwavering confidence in your leadership, even in volatile times.
Today’s complex business world is filled with constant disruptions, leaving even the most seasoned organizational and people leaders feeling overwhelmed and uncertain.
Each new day unleashes an avalanche of choices, big and small, chipping away at our mental bandwidth. This diminished state leads to decision-making fatigue.
Sources estimate that the average adult makes roughly 35,000 decisions each day.
Our conscious brains can’t possibly handle the sheer volume of these choices, which explains why about 95% of them are made in the subconscious mind.
Relying on our subconscious mind is a double-edged sword. When our subconscious takes over, we often fail to make intentional decisions that align with our values.
And here's a crucial and often overlooked truth: every decision we make, especially the significant ones, involves a form of grief.
Saying "yes" to one path inevitably means saying "goodbye" to others, triggering a cascade of emotions that can cloud our judgment and increase feelings of regret.
Tired of Second-Guessing?
If you’re tired of second-guessing your decision-making process, you’ll want to save this article for when you’re faced with the next difficult choice.
By practicing these somatic leadership skills, you will learn to intentionally connect with what matters most to you by tapping into the wisdom of your body’s tissues.
These practices will help you move beyond purely analytical thinking and tap into an infinite source of intuitive knowing.
They aren’t designed to bypass your emotions. Instead, they will help you integrate them into your decision-making process, leading to more regret-free choices.
Below, please practice the following somatic skills to help you navigate uncertainty with greater clarity while reducing decision-making fatigue.
1. Write Morning Pages to Liberate the Mind
Our minds are often cluttered with a constant stream of thoughts, anxieties, and to-do lists. This mental noise significantly impedes our ability to make clear decisions.
One powerful practice for quieting this internal chatter is Morning Pages, a cornerstone of Julia Cameron's transformative book, The Artist's Way.
Morning Pages involves the simple yet profound act of writing three pages by hand, first thing in the morning, before anything else.
No editing, no judgment, just a free flow of consciousness onto the page. You can write your dreams, worries, to-do lists, or even "I don't know what to write” on repeat.
The practice was initially designed to unlock creative blocks. Today, its benefits extend far beyond artistic endeavors. This daily practice acts as a mental declutter.
The practice creates the space for greater clarity and intention for the day ahead, including the many decisions that require your attention.
This consistent act of writing interrupts our "autopilot mode," inviting us to engage with our lives and choices more consciously.
Personally, my Morning Pages routine has been invaluable in navigating complex decisions and understanding my underlying motivations over the past decade.
Research supports the power of expressive writing in reducing stress, improving focus, and enhancing self-awareness – all crucial for effective decision-making.
2. Explore the Wisdom of 1-2-3 Space
Often, we approach decisions solely from an intellectual standpoint, analyzing pros and cons and weighing logical arguments.
While valuable, this left-brain approach often disconnects us from the equally important wisdom held within our bodies and our more profound sense of purpose.
The 1-2-3 Space, demonstrated in the following video, offers a simple yet powerful way to integrate these different levels of knowing into our decision-making process.
Here’s a breakdown of the practice as demonstrated in the following video:
1 Space - The Mind. The space closest to your immediate focus represents the realm of the mind. It’s in this space where we engage in analytical thinking and evaluate options based on pure logic and available information.
2 Space - The Body. This space allows you to tune into the realm of felt sensations and your intuition. What emotions arise as you consider the decision? What does your gut say? Why physical cues transcend pure logic?
3 Space - The Spirit. This third space invites a connection to something larger than yourself - your spirit, your values, or your deepest longings. With your arms outstretched, what clarity emerges that aligns with your core commitments?
By physically embodying three distinct spaces —your mind, body, and spirit —you are better positioned to make a more integrated, aligned, and authentic choice.
3. Imagine Being the Body that Made the Decision
When faced with a significant decision, particularly one with inevitable trade-offs, it can be incredibly helpful to explore the potential realities of each path.
The somatic practice of imagining being the body of the person who made the decision allows you to do just that, moving beyond simply analyzing the decision.
Consider a decision like pursuing an MBA. Instead of just listing the pros and cons, take a moment to fully embody what each decision feels like in your body.
The Enrolled Body. If you enroll, what do you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste in your imagined environment? What does it feel like to be a graduate student? What did you have to say “no” to to commit to being in this body? Does this align with what matters most to you? Why or why not?
The Unenrolled Body. What does it feel like to be in the body of the person who declined to enroll in the MBA program? What new possibilities open up? Perhaps more time for travel, deeper engagements in hobbies, or a different career trajectory? What other personal pursuits can you say yes to?
By fully immersing ourselves in the felt experience of each potential decision, you gain a visceral understanding of the implications and trade-offs involved.
This embodied awareness can reveal which path resonates most deeply with your core values and your life vision, leading to a more aligned and confident choice.
Decide Without Regret
In our increasingly complex and volatile world, these somatic practices offer a vital anchor, a way to navigate uncertainty with greater clarity and conviction.
By making time to practice somatics, you allow your mind to settle and gain perspective. This helps you feel into the body that makes values-aligned decisions.
These are not quick fixes, but rather ongoing practices. They require commitment, repetition, and support. The following resources can help you develop these skills:
Belonging Practice Host Guide. This timely resource offers somatic practices you can share with your colleagues to help reset your nervous systems at work.
Values-Aligned Decisions (without Regret). This video series offers quick tips on how to do the Morning Pages, 1-2-3 Space, and Imagination Exercise above.
Apply for Belonging Coaching w/Me! Are you seeking a somatics coach to help you clarify who you need to become to be the leader the world needs you to be?
When we cultivate clarity about what truly matters to us, making values-aligned decisions without regret becomes significantly easier.
We deepen our capacity to show up for ourselves with greater kindness and grace. This inner work, in turn, profoundly impacts how we relate to and lead others.
By committing to our core values and making decisions that honor them, we naturally move in the direction of our greatest longings, with integrity and grounded purpose.
This powerful personal work empowers you to contribute to growing the impact of our Belonging Movement with our goal of building a Belonging Society. 🙏🏻✨