James Clear expressed a fascinating, but incomplete idea:

The problem with smart people is they can come up with a good reason for not doing anything. They are smart enough to find the cracks, to foresee the challenges, and to talk themselves out of the idea. They are experts at justifying their lack of courage or lack of action with an intelligent excuse.

But there’s an uncomfortable flip side he doesn’t acknowledge:

Sometimes, the “good reason” is the right answer. Sometimes, talking yourself out of something does save you from a dumb risk or a time sink. Intelligence is not just about manufacturing excuses. It’s also about identifying hazards and dead ends.

The problem is, the mind is a hall of mirrors. Every argument for action has a counter-argument for restraint, and vice versa. You don’t get a signal telling you, “This time, your caution is wisdom,” or “This time, you’re just rationalizing your own avoidance.”

You only know in retrospect…when the outcome lands, when the door closes, when the opportunity or disaster plays out.

That’s the real agony of being “smart”. It’s the endless capacity to generate convincing reasons for and against anything you care about.

I think…atsome level, this is where faith comes in?

Faith in your process, your ability to recover, adapt, or just the fact that movement is usually better than stasis.