Inquisitive.me

Open just one door.

You don’t have to predict what’s behind the fifth or tenth door when you’re still standing in front of the first one.

My brain is remarkably good at planning 15 steps ahead. It does this regularly—and then rewards me with anxiety about problems I don’t even have yet.

I solve fictional problems.

I prepare for events that may never happen.

I try to make decisions without having the information those decisions would require.

All of it happens in my head. None of it has happened in real life.

Sound familiar?

I feel the need to build an entire system down to the tiniest detail before I’ve taken a single step in its direction.

I don’t know whether a project works, but I’m already thinking about selling it internationally.

I don’t know whether I enjoy online coaching, but I’m planning how to expand it before I’ve even tested it locally.

I haven’t applied for the new job, but I’m already wondering whether I’ll regret accepting it.

I don’t even know whether I like the first book, yet I’m wondering whether I should commit to the entire series.

The details change. The pattern stays the same:

We try to make decisions about doors we haven’t reached yet.

I’ve struggled with this for most of my life, but I notice it more now than ever. A few years ago, I was mostly living from one day to the next. Now I’m building something. I have ideas, projects and a vision for where they could lead.

That vision gives my brain plenty of material to work with.

The funny thing is that I’ve trained AI to help me with this exact struggle. I found the solution myself—I just keep forgetting it.

So AI keeps reminding me:

Focus on the first step.

Build Version 1, not Version 15.

I even have a quote from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on my desktop:

The steps you take don’t need to be big. They just need to take you in the right direction.

Jemma Simmons

And yet, I still sometimes forget.

So what does opening one door look like?

1. Gather information.
   Don’t try to predict what someone will do—or how you’ll respond to a situation that hasn’t happened yet.
2. Make the first decision.
   Open the first door and see what is actually behind it.
3. Test it.
   Run a small experiment and observe what happens. This will usually send you back to Step 1, but now you’re gathering real information rather than inventing it.
4. Learn from it.
   Failure gives you information. Success does too. Neither one is merely a verdict.
5. Make the next decision.
   Open the second door.

Rinse and repeat.

You don’t need to make every decision today. You don’t need to plan 15 steps ahead when the information required for Step 15 doesn’t exist yet.

And you certainly don’t need to fuel your anxiety by solving problems reality hasn’t given you.

I use the same principle with patients who are afraid of movement, overwhelmed by their rehabilitation or trapped in overthinking:

Position → Stability → Movement

First, find a position that feels slightly uncomfortable but still manageable.

Then create enough stability to feel safe there.

From that foundation, explore a little movement.

You don’t begin with the most difficult exercise, the full range of motion or the final goal. You begin with the next tolerable step—and let the experience tell you what comes after it.

You don’t need to know what’s behind the tenth door.

Open the first one.

🧪 Let’s Experiment

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Don’t solve problems that reality hasn’t given you yet.

Planning can feel productive—even when you’re only reacting to fictional scenarios. The goal isn’t to stop thinking ahead. It’s to notice when thinking ahead stops helping.

🎯 Try This:

Think of something you’re currently overthinking and ask:

• Which door am I actually standing in front of?
• What information do I need to open it?
• Which decisions can wait until I know what’s behind it?

Then take one small action: send the email, test the exercise, create Version 1 or have the conversation.

🧠 Final Thought:

You can always solve the next problem when it becomes real. Until then, it doesn’t need your energy.

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