For some reason humans have some gene that wants to make simple issues complex.
Overcomplicating. Making something bigger than it is. Creating a mountain out of a molehill.
Call it what you want, but there aren’t very many things that mess up situations in life more than making a problem or situation grow to disproportionately. Think of the last time you had an argument or disagreement with someone - did you find it escalate? Each side digging their heels in more?
I think we (all of us) have a tendency to read too much into things - we make assumptions and judgments and conclusions without having anything real to base them on. It seems that our brains don’t like to sit on issues for very long. It suits us better to make a snap decision, check the thought off of our mental list and move on.
In relationships, how many times have you heard: “sex will just complicate things”? Why is this? The pressing emotional and physical needs get ‘checked off’ by the brain, regardless of the consequences.
It happens all the time in business (if it didn’t, then Dilbert writer Scott Adams would be out of a job). Meetings and discussions ad-nauseum for the sake of more meetings and discussions. The more time, effort, analysis are wielded to decide to make decisions to make an end decision.
Overcomplicating can be insidious. It creeps up on you when you least expect it.
We were recently looking financing for our real estate investment business. The structure, terms and payment schedule were what we expected - however, when it came down to which properties to finance the water got a little murky. We started to analyze things more and more. We questioned our original plan; was it still valid? What about “X” or “Y” or “Z”? It seemed like our minds were playing tricks on us. We had lost sight of the overriding goal and intent of our actions. We had overcomplicated a situation that, in its essence, was really quite simple.
Too much information can cause analysis paralysis - which we experienced. Fear and uncertainty can also cause us to make things much bigger than they really are - if we overcomplicate it, we can analyze it more and more and avoid making a decision.
Remember the KISS principle? Keep It Simple Stupid. The more we adhere to this the better off we will be - in all situations.
