6 Ways to Combat Shiny Object Syndrome (Before It Kills Your Dreams)

Don’t let your good ideas be bludgeoned to death

Let’s say you’re building something online. A side hustle, or even an entire business. You’re so excited about this new opportunity and you know this is the path you should take.

However, problems start to arise. You’re not making any money. You aren’t growing your followers. Even worse, you’re getting bored with it.

You’re frustrated and ready to quit.

Then you see it.

“We’ll help you make $10,000 in the next month with our super secret formula.”

That’s it! You just didn’t have the super secret formula! This will solve all of your problems. Now you’re excited again!

Until…

Boredom, distraction, and impatience set in again. And the cycle continues.

Welcome to Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS).

Shiny Object syndrome isn’t a real syndrome, but it’s what happens when you get bored and antsy with the current thing you’re working on and you see something new and exciting.

Because you get excited, it reinforces your brain that it’s a good thing! (Yay dopamine!) That’s why it can happen over and over again.

The issue with SOS is you never get anywhere.

SOS takes good ideas and bludgeons them to death.

The good news is, you can combat this problem with these simple solutions.

1. Don’t compare yourself with others.

Ever go to X or Medium and see someone post about how they got 2,000 followers in a month? You start to envy them.

Then they say they’re willing to share their secret with you (for a cool $1,000 in coaching). You get excited to learn this never-before-heard-of secret so you can also gain 2000 followers in a month.

This is a great way to stoke the SOS flame (and lose $1000 in the process). If you can stay focused, you can get to that amount of followers too. Without spending an arm and a leg.

2. Lengthen your success timeline.

“OK, that’s it. I’m doing it this time. I’m going to make $10,000 in the next month! I’ll show everyone!”

Building up a side income takes some time. Giving yourself a short timeline will give you anxiety and make you feel desperate. Desperate, anxiety-ridden people don’t make good choices. (Ask me how I know.)

3. Stop listening to your thoughts.

Our brains are cuckoo. One minute our thoughts are all like “Hey! look at you! You’re so good at this. You can do it!”

The next second it’s “OMG! You made a mistake in that email. You suck at this! You are a failure. You might as well quit and go get a real job, you loser.”

You have to learn to silence those thoughts. One trick I’ve learned is to stop and observe them as if I’m an outsider. That usually allows them to float off into the ether.

You can also practice meditation. Meditation is like an off-switch for the brain. (And when you turn off your negative thoughts, you can “hear” solutions to your problems more clearly.)

4. Commit to what you say you’re going to do.

Pick a goal. Write it down. Stick to it.

Tell people about it who will hold you accountable. Last year, I wanted to do a dry November challenge where I abstained from alcohol for the month. I joined a Facebook group and I wrote in that group every single day about how it was going.

Not only did it keep me accountable, but it helped others who were staying dry that month too. I ended up sticking with it for nine months.

You can do the same for a side income goal. Let’s pick Medium. Commit to writing on Medium three days a week for a month. Find a group where they can hold you accountable, or write about it somewhere in public.

Making firm decisions and committing to them will help keep you focused and away from the shiny objects.

5. Compare yourself to the right people.

Comparison can be motivating in the right circumstances. It can give you a competitive edge.

“Sally has 300 followers and I have 250. I’m going to catch up to her by commenting on more posts!”

But, if you’re following people who trigger you and make you feel upset every time you see them posting, here’s a simple solution:

Stop following them.

“Linda has 3000 followers and I only have 250. Why does Linda have 3000 followers? I can’t stand it. I need to know what she’s doing that’s so special. I’m going to obsess over this and beat her!”

Unfollow Linda and chill. You’re on your own path, which will look different from Linda’s.

6. Know it’s normal to have shiny object syndrome.

Impatience. Doubt. Frustration. Boredom. These are normal feelings if you’re a human. (If you’re from a planet far, far away, please comment and let me know if these are normal feelings for you too.)

If you can expect these feelings to come up as you’re building your side income, you can more easily let them go instead of running to the next new thing.

You’re going to get bored. You’re going to get distracted. It’s OK. Don’t make any decisions during those times. Let the feelings pass, go back to your plan, and see if you need to make any small changes to your existing goal.

Final Thoughts

Every time you start something, get distracted and then find something new, you are delaying your success. You will never reach your destination if you keep changing your starting point.

Can you imagine trying to plan a trip to Las Vegas (I love Las Vegas) and saying, “Let’s fly out of Philly. Philly is close.” Then you think, “Well, maybe I should fly out of Newark instead. It’s cheaper.” Then…“But Newark is far. Baltimore is far too, but it’s cheaper. Maybe we should start there.”

You’ll never get to Vegas like that!

Pick a starting point. Pick an endpoint. Commit to that journey. You can iterate along the way without starting something brand new every time you get distracted.

It just takes a little focus.

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina. I’m a married mom to two teenagers (and 3 cats and a dog). I love drinking coffee, listening to rock music 🤘, and reading murder mysteries. I also love creating quick, easy-to-digest newsletters to help busy people find simple side income ideas online.

When you sign up for the free Intellectualists newsletter, you’ll receive a short list of ideas and resources each weekday. Come on over. I’d love to have you! 👉 intellectualists.com/newsletter