The Mental Energy Tax: Why We Overthink Instead of Act

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." - Lao Tzu

But what happens when we get stuck before that first step?

I've been observing a pattern in myself and the people around me. We're masters at spending enormous amounts of mental energy on tasks that would take minutes to complete. We overthink, over-plan, and overwhelm ourselves out of taking action.

Here are three stories that illustrate this perfectly—and the simple shifts that can change everything.

Story #1: The Cello That Judges Me

There's a cello in my office. Every day, it sits there while I tell myself "15 minutes a day is all it takes." Yet weeks pass, and I remain a cello owner, not a cello player.

I moved it into my office thinking proximity would help. It didn't. The issue wasn't location—it was the gap between desire and commitment. I wanted to play, but I hadn't committed to the daily practice.

The breakthrough came when I stopped fixating on the 10,000-hour mastery myth and focused on the 100-hour improvement reality. At 100 hours, I'll definitely be better than I am now (which is nowhere).

Story #2: The Five-Minute Mental Marathon

My friend spent two months thinking daily about cleaning her toilet. Two months of guilt, planning, and mental energy—all for a task that takes five minutes.

When I pointed out this math, she laughed. She was spending more energy avoiding the task than it would take to clean every toilet in her neighborhood.

The solution was simple: do it now, or schedule it for next week and stop thinking about it until then. The middle ground—constant mental spinning—was the real problem.

Story #3: Kaylee's Gym Guilt

My daughter Kaylee has been paying for a gym membership while spending her energy feeling guilty about not going. By the time she's done expending mental energy on guilt and planning, there's not much left for actual exercise.

I asked her: "What would it be like if you just decided and went, or put it off and revisited starting back up in a month?"

Sometimes the simplest solution isn't the gym at all—it's free weights at home, daily walks, or logging steps. For me, the identity shift to "I'm just a person who walks regularly" changed everything.

The Common Thread

All three stories reveal the same pattern: we're investing more energy in thinking about tasks than completing them. This "mental energy tax" depletes us before we even start.

Three Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. Where are you investing your energy, and what's the payoff?
2. What's the next smallest win you could add today?
3. Are your thoughts about this task motivating you, or do you need to rethink them?

The Real First Step

The journey of a thousand miles doesn't always begin with forward movement. Sometimes it begins with being honest about what you're avoiding and why.

Your cello, toilet, or gym membership isn't the real obstacle. The real obstacle is the mental energy you're spending on everything except taking action.

What small step will you take today?