Shiny Object Syndrome: How Quitting Too Soon Keeps You From Your Dreams

Fellow Riskologist,

This morning, I stepped into the shower to complete my daily ritual like I always do: wash hair, wash face with the face wash, wash body, rinse, and done. But today, something was different.

In the far corner of the tub sat a brand new bottle of shampoo. I bought it the other day after remembering my current one is almost empty. As it goes with most things that come in tubes and bottles, though, the current one continued to produce shampoo long after I thought it was empty.

When I got in the shower this morning, I looked at the new bottle sitting in the corner and thought to myself, “I want that new bottle. Why don’t I just throw this one away?”

I was suffering from Shiny Object Syndrome: the malady that convinces billions of people every day they should be doing something different from what they’re doing now, not realizing they may be just moments away from a breakthrough.

I didn’t want the new bottle of shampoo because I thought it was healthier or that it would dry out my oily hair or wash and condition all at the same fancy time. I wanted it because it was new and different. That’s it! It wasn’t going to do anything fantastic for me; it was just different.

In the end, common sense took hold, and I gave the old bottle a few more shakes to get the last remaining bits out.

I could have thrown the bottle away and moved on with little consequence, but this story isn’t really about a bottle of shampoo, is it? It’s about the risk of moving on from something too soon.

A Smart Riskologist knows embracing change is important. The only thing you can truly count on in life is that things will change without your consent and often when you wish they wouldn’t. Getting used to this will improve your life tremendously.

But change should also be deliberate. When you choose to stop doing one thing and start doing another, there should be some thought behind it.

Will it make your life easier or better?
Does it align with your values?
Do you have any indication that making this change will actually make you happier?

If you can’t answer yes to those three questions, you might be suffering from Shiny Object Syndrome—moving on from something you know is important just because things got dull and you’re ready for something new.

Today, we live in a world where just 8% of people achieve their resolutions each year. I don’t know if those statistics were any better in the past, but they don’t need to have been better to tell us they’re pretty bad now. And while we’re also good setting goals that were never achievable in the first place, most aren’t met because we simply give up on them.

But this isn’t condemnation of laziness or lack of effort, either. When we give up on our goals and our dreams, it’s not so we can sit idle and watch cartoons. It’s so we can clear space for new goals and new dreams. We get addicted to moving on, often prematurely. Doing big, important things takes awhile.

One of the biggest regrets of my life—as trivial as it may be—was quitting the Boy Scouts one merit badge shy of becoming an Eagle Scout when I was in high school. I was on the brink of achieving a goal I’d work towards for years. And I gave up just before I made it to do some things that seemed more fun. Oops.

So what to do about this?

The problem isn’t the thing you’re working on that isn’t fun anymore. And it isn’t the thing you think you should be working on that looks more fun. The problem is how you look at them. The problem is distraction.

What you need is a system for keeping yourself on track when a Shiny Object appears in your life to distract you from your mission. When you’re really engaged in your work and you feel like you’re making progress, Shiny Objects aren’t a problem. You ignore them and keep doing your thing. It’s when you feel like you’re not getting anywhere that abandoning the dream and moving on to something new becomes so attractive.

If you really believe in what you’re doing, though, here are some things you can do to keep yourself focused, free from distraction, and headed towards the goal post:

Blow up the system and try something new. When you’re struggling with a decision to stay or go, it’s often because things have become dull or aren’t working. But there is alway more than one way to do the same thing, and if what you’re doing isn’t working anymore, something obviously needs to change. Before you abandon a project, try experimenting and changing different pieces of it. Switch up your routine. Start a new initiative. Completely change the way you’ve done it. If you really care about what you’re working on, then your work deserves a chance to survive before you call it quits.
Add more milestones to see more progress. Sometimes, the problem is the sheer size of what you’re doing. If you were on a mission to walk around the earth, and you had no sign of where you were at besides “in progress” and “finished,” you’d probably get frustrated and give up since you had no way of knowing how well you were doing and success was going to take a long time. What you’d want to do is add plenty of milestones along the way to let you know that you’re on the right track.

The world is your oyster, and focus is your pearl. Sometimes, quitting is the right thing to do. But not before you’ve given your dream a fair shot. Your ship may be off course, but you get it back on track. If you believe in what you’re doing—if you believe in yourself—then you owe your dream another shot.

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea a bottle of shampoo was going to give me better perspective and focus on the risks I’m taking. Hopefully, that bottle of shampoo has helped you a little, too.

What are you going to do today to get your dream back on track?

Yours in risk-taking,

Founder, Riskology.co