You know the feeling. You have a decision to make and you're not sure what you should do. No matter how much you turn the situation over in your head, you can't figure out what's best. Your mind becomes muddled, confused, and overwhelmed; or you draw a complete blank. 

Here are five ways to untangle yourself from all the confusion, gain clarity, and activate forward motion when you're struggling to make a decision and the solution seems far off.

The overthinking trap: you find yourself going back and forth endlessly, struggling to make an important decision (or perhaps even a not-so-important one). You weigh your options in hopes of identifying the best course of action, but you don't seem to be making any progress. Instead, you keep winding up right back where you started.
 
It's easy to start overthinking when you're aiming for a perfect decision that guarantees everything goes exactly as planned. But given the complexity of life with all its twists and turns, you never know when or how something unexpected might come along and throw things off. At the same time, decisions carry real consequences that can be far-reaching and long-lasting, so it’s worth investing time and care to make the best decisions possible. 

Here are five tips to help you find that healthy middle ground: sound decisions without falling into the trap of overthinking.