Stop Chasing Shiny Objects

About the shiny object syndrome and how to stop lying to yourself.

If you are anything like me, you may find yourself watching yet another business idea video or reading yet another productivity book, looking for that one perfect hidden trick that will change your life and make everything fall into place.

That’s not the way to go.

What does it mean to chase shiny things?

Let’s start with getting an understanding of what it even means. If you already know or got it after the intro, go to the next section.

If you feel like you never have enough and your YouTube watch later playlist is 1000+ videos long, you might want to read that.

As the name says — it’s looking for something that will finally “click” and satisfy you. Being constantly distracted by something new, exciting, or seemingly better. It’s the trap of flitting from one opportunity to another, never truly focusing on or completing anything.

How to overcome shiny object syndrome?

The biggest struggle here is acknowledging that you won’t see results for a while and still doing what you have to do anyway. We want something that will bring immediate results, but unfortunately, most things worth doing in life take time to gain momentum.

If you have started a new YouTube channel, a new online business, weightlifting, or a newsletter, All the while, keep in mind that it will take some time before you see results and that’s the default, it’s just part of the process, and you have to go through it to see the real gold.

That’s not an opinion, but a fact. If you don’t have that already engraved in your mind, you need a mindset shift. Giving things up can be very tempting, but once you’ve done something and seen real results, it’s easy to do another, similar thing.

Where does the shiny object syndrome come from?

Let’s break it down.

• The charm of what’s new: Shiny objects represent a constant influx of new ideas, trends, or ventures that are promising. It could be a new marketing strategy, a different learning path, the latest software, a seemingly better business opportunity.
• FOMO (Fear of missing out): Shiny objects often tap into the fear of missing out on something potentially better. We chase them because we worry that if we don’t, we’ll be left behind. The truth is — we most likely won’t, we will be if we drop something important early instead of sticking to it. The truth is — you don’t need the newest Premiere Pro update to upload a new video on YouTube, or a cooler keyboard to write a script.
• Short-Term Focus: The pursuit of shiny objects prioritizes excitement and “the joy of new” over long-term goals and deep work. We get caught up in the initial wave of enthusiasm without considering the long-term effort required to achieve success.
• Lack of Clarity: Chasing shiny objects often stems from a lack of a clear vision or well-defined goals and action plans. Without a guiding compass, it is easy to get carried away by any trend that seems promising.

Perception of time

Chasing shiny objects has to do with the perception of time.

If you are guilty of this — you focus on the present you. We want to be you in the future.

Take a pen and paper and write down all the cool things you have ahead of you, waiting for you to focus on just one long-term thing. Visualize in detail, and think about what it will look like when you finally achieve it. Place the piece of paper in a prominent place.

Think of it like this: When you’re hungry, that slice of chocolate is incredibly tempting. But, if you take a moment to remember your fitness goals, how many calories you ate today, the fact that eating that will ruin it, and the delicious (and healthy!) meal you planned for later, that immediate craving loses its power. Or does it? If not, you need to put future self as a new default.

Time will pass anyway, it’s up to you how you use it.

Is shiny object syndrome ADHD?

It might be, I don’t know. I’m also not in competency to diagnose that, nor do you are. If you think so — don’t read Reddit doctors, go to the right specialist.

Roadmap to success

The chart, which can be seen below, shows a “dip”, and a more optimistic rise.

Chasing shiny objects is being in a constant “Uninformed optimism” phase. As you can see, it won’t take you far.

Source

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