The Magic after the Mania

Conquering Shiny Object Syndrome.

I become enamored with something and it is all I can think about for days, sometimes weeks. Then all of a sudden like the tide rushing back out to the ocean the enthusiasm just drops.

I hate this about myself.

I do not hate the mania, I hate the feeling when it slips away.

In these manic moments I think my new thing is hands down the coolest thing on earth. Other times I think it’s the coolest thing that doesn’t exist on earth and I am going to create it.

This can drive me to make impulsive purchases, irrational uses of my time, and completely disconnect from reality. Growing older, I have come to realize it’s a product of my ADD. A mania that kicks in and creates obsessive tendencies.

The scary part is when I feel the mania slipping away. Like waking up from a good dream and just wishing you could return to it. Knowing that it wasn’t real and there’s no way back.

This can induce depression and malaise.

I want my shiny object back. I want it with all its original luster. Yet now I see it for what it is,

just a temporary obsession.

Learning how to cope with this side of me and channel it for good is a constant struggle.

Do you experience this?

Riding the tide

If so, I want to share with you some of the ways that I have learned to control my manias and channel them.

Awareness

Self awareness is a rare commodity in this world. We live in a world where most people don’t live at all. They record the moments they are in only to watch them in future moments to in lieu of being present in either.

Lao Tzu said,

“Knowing others is wisdom, Knowing self is enlightenment.”

We live in a world that tries to prevent us from self awareness. We consume less when we are self aware. Every marketer tries to pull us out of this moment and make us think about the next.

Learning how to recognize myself as a person that can become obsessed has a profound impact on my ability to channel it for good.

Now I recognize these feelings and assess them.

How can I best use this state of mind while it’s here to create positive changes in my life?

How can I find balance and sustain actions related to this manic state once it subsides?

These questions and others are what I ask myself any time I am lucid enough to recognize my manic state.

Forge Foundations

When I answer either of these questions and recognize the benefits of the object of my obsession. The next step is to recognize how I can build a solid foundation while in this manic state.

During these mania states I can remain in the flow for hours. This is a super power. Recognizing that this is a temporary state I can focus the energy on foundational components of a task that will serve me in the future.

Knowing the mania will subside allows me to funnel the energy towards crucial first steps in the process, setting my future self up to be able to learn and grow at normal human rates.

The magic

Existing in this manic state can feel magical but its is a trick the mind is playing on me.

It’s feel good-hormones run amuck.

Once these hormones subside and I return to earth from my daydreams, I am able to realize the idea for its true potential.

Take writing on Medium for example. I am still very enthusiastic about it. It is my hobby at the moment that is taking up most of my free time. The mania towards it however dropped off sometime in November. Since then it has become a delightful opportunity for me to share my thoughts and socialize with other writers.

I am still excited about it, but I am recognizing the sustainable levels of input that are pragmatic.

Another example from my past is making pizzas. When I first started I became obsessed. Rolling out the dough, ladling and spreading the sauce, balancing the toppings and cheese.

I was obsessed. Luckily I did it professionally for years and was able to approach mastery. The newness of making pizza’s wore off and when that left I was able to fine tune my skills. I could think clearer and more critically. I could recognize where I was making errors and correct them.

Writing here is the same. Now that the Newness has waned I can think critically of my approach, recognize the errors in my grammar, and writing style, and make necessary improvements.

I have a long way to go. My natural speaking voice and by extension my writing voice has inherent imperfections. Some should stay but others such as dangling modifiers need to go. During the mania I would never be able to look at my writing critically enough to see those errors.

Let the magic happen

I have learned not to fear the eventual tide shift. It is a natural part of my existence. Learn to focus the energy while it’s there and when its gone learn how to put in the reps towards the things you want to do.