Follow the bouncing ball.
Busy ≠ productive and with so many distractions around us it can feel like we never stop moving, yet never get anything done. Knowing how to avoid Shiny Object Syndrome can keep our goals from slipping away into the next year.
You’re listening to Episode 70 of the Music-Preneur Mindset Podcast.
Hello! You’re listening to Episode 70: How to Get Rid of Shiny Object Syndrome.
I’m your host, Suz – a mindset coach helping music professionals get clear on their goals and find the time to get it all done while maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
I want to welcome you to the premiere episode of Season 3 of this podcast! I want to thank you for being here with me today, and if you’ve been with me for previous seasons, I’m eternally grateful for giving me your time.
As of today, this podcast has been downloaded over 33 thousand times and I don’t take that lightly. I started this podcast on a whim, inspired by the first Music-Preneur Mindset Summit back in the fall of 2017 and I’m thrilled to still be creating episodes 🙂
My goal for this season is to bring you more amazing Spotlights on music-preneurs who are leading by example as well as discussing topics that often get overlooked or misunderstood when it comes to the day-to-day of building a sustainable career in music.
If there’s a particular topic you’d like to hear about or a guest you’d like to see on this show, please feel free to reach out with an email! Contact me any time – suz@therockstaradvocate.com.
Today, to celebrate Season 3, I’ve released TWO brand new episodes. In addition to this one, I’ve released Episode 71, which is my Spotlight on Ari Herstand, so be sure to take a listen to that episode as well!
THIS episode, is about something that I see music-preneurs struggle with daily. Shiny Object Syndrome is just as its acronym implies – it’s an S.O.S. situation! It’s something that needs to be addressed and dealt with ASAP as it far too often knocks people off the path to their goals.
Shiny Object Syndrome is when you drop what you’re doing to chase the “next best thing” or try the “next new solution” or follow the “next new thought leader,” abandoning what you’re in the middle of working on in hopes of finding something better.
It can also entail being constantly distracted by the shiny promotions and marketing we see on our Instagram & Pinterest feeds, getting lost for hours in day dreams and promises of a better life while our actual life passes us by.
I’ve noticed it often pops up in 3 distinct circumstances.
First, it rears its destructive head when we’re embattled in Fraud Talk. If you remember from Episode 11, Fraud Talk or Imposter Syndrome is that voice of doubt that creeps in that tells us we’re not worthy of pursuing our goals. It’s the voice that says, “Who are you kidding? You’re not good enough to succeed at this. No one will take you seriously. What could you possibly offer that someone else hasn’t already offered?”
Yea… that guy. That horrible, obnoxious, irrational voice that tries to talk us out of what we’re going after the minute a situation gets hard and we’ve got to push ourselves to leave our comfort zone.
When that guy is present, Shiny Object Syndrome is free to play!
This is the BEST time to distract you with something else that can take you away from having to stand up to Fraud Talk, telling it to get lost. Shiny Object Syndrome also allows Fraud Talk to get stronger while you bounce around anxiously to other ideas.
While you peruse Instagram and start escaping to other possibilities than the one you’ve been working hard to bring to fruition, those anxieties that Fraud Talk stirs up often increase as you realize everything else that everyone else is sharing online while you continue to get less and less done.
Sound familiar?
Enter, the 2nd situation that allows Shiny Object Syndrome to roam free: Competition.
When we start to look over at what others are doing and fill ourselves with envy, that Shiny Object Syndrome spurs us on to seek help in areas where we feel others are “beating” us.
For example, let’s say you were working your album and it was almost ready for release day. You started out feeling super confident that this was your best music yet, you couldn’t wait to share it with your audience.
But, as release day draws near, you start to get anxious about all the work that needs to be done, so you allow yourself to get distracted online and you spend an hour on Instagram looking through all the new releases all of these other musicians have put out.
“Oh, Charlie’s album artwork is better than mine. Who designed it? Maybe I should contact them… how much do they charge?”
“Damn, Keisha dropped a lyric video alongside her release, I didn’t think to do that. I’m so stupid, why didn’t I think of that? I don’t think I have time to make one in time for the release. Let me see if any other musician released a lyric video after they released the single. How much time does it take to create a lyric video? OOOOHHHH an ad for a new video software that allows you to make your own lyric videos in minutes! Let me purchase this and learn how to
make mine!”
“Son of a… I was going to focus on a Spotify pre-save campaign for this release but I had too much to do and my day job demanded so much of my time this week, but Adrienne did this awesome rollout of her pre-save campaign over IG stories and now if I do it it’s never going to look as cool as that and no one will pre-save my song so now it’s all pointless…”
Sound familiar???
First the Fraud Talk and anxieties hit and then the inevitable Comparison Paralysis kicks in and forget it… S.O.S. is allll over the place and has completely taken over your life. Before you know it, it’s 3 a.m. and you’ve downloaded 15 different e-books, subscribed to 30 newsletters and nothing you had planned to get done today got completed.
You wake up the next morning stressed out by all the new things you’ve convinced yourself you’ve got to learn and master before taking your next steps and your goals that you were once focused on are buried beneath a sea of e-books and judgments.
Both Fraud Talk and Comparison Paralysis are primed to creep into your brain when you lack focus on your why and on your current goal(s).
When you don’t know what you’re working towards, and more importantly, WHY you’re working towards it, anxieties and irrational comparisons have an easier time taking hold.
If your goal IS clear, it may be too long-term of a goal. If you can’t fully grasp that the rewards of your hard work are just around the riverbend, then you may want to break that goal down further until you have a closer, more short-term goal that you can work towards.
When the fruits of our labor feel far off, it’s easier for us to let our mind wander and find satisfaction in nonsense, instant gratification, even if that immediate gratification ends up bringing with it more frustration and overwhelm.
The third instance when Shiny Object Syndrome takes a foothold is when we lack clarity in our goals.
It’s funny, to me at least, that the things we see as “distractions” are often simple joys of self-care that we foolishly deny ourselves – binging a show on Netflix, meeting friends for dinner, taking a nap, spending time on a puzzle or other mindless hobby.
But the minute we distract ourselves with social media or YouTube tutorials and ebooks that teach us something we don’t yet need in our careers we consider that productivity.
This, in fact, is the perfect example of busy ≠ productive.
Just because you’re doing “market research” or learning a new skill, if it doesn’t serve your current goal, it’s a distraction! You’re better off taking a nap when you feel anxious about what’s in front of you or stressed about what’s being asked of you, than spending time spiraling down another avenue that’s not connected to your plans.
So how can we combat this S.O.S. situation???
Well, let’s look at each case where it pops up, because we first need to combat the environments that give it oxygen to breathe.
In order to limit the amount of Fraud Talk, the best thing you can do is step away from what you’re doing and RATHER than search online for help {as often, you don’t need help, nothing’s wrong with you, you just need a shift in mindset}, shut everything down and set a timer for 3 minutes. In those three minutes take a pen to paper and write down everything you’re grateful for until those 3 minutes are up.
Challenge yourself to find as many things as possible to be grateful for, and try to focus on YOU -what is it about yourself that you’re grateful for? What traits? What strengths? What do you like about yourself?
Another thing I suggest doing to silence the Fraud Talk is to get in the habit of saving screenshots in a file on your desktop or on your smart device of every nice thing someone messages you or says about you.
I save letters as well, but since snail mail is often hard to come by, create a digital snap cup, as Elle Woods would call it.
When you’re doubting yourself, read those comments! Remind yourself there was a time you didn’t feel like a failure or useless or incapable.
When it comes to Comparison Paralysis, the digital snap cup comes in handy for this as well.
You could also shift your mindset here by complementing the person you’re comparing yourself to – make it less about what it says or doesn’t say about you and instead celebrate them! They’re killing it! That’s great! Congratulate them and then go kill it on your end! Use it to inspire you rather than send you into S.O.S. land. It’s also important to know that just because it looks like they’re killing it online, they, too, could be in the middle of a Comparison Paralysis and adding to their digital snap cup could do them some good!
Lastly – when you feel that pull to get distracted, turn off all notifications on all devices, take a break from what you’re currently dragging your feet on and go map out your goals a bit further.
Get reacquainted with your why. Get clear on what may need tweaking in your plans.
We often drag our feet when we’re either not clear on our goals or no longer connected to our goals. Think of it like a relationship that’s gone stale, you’ve gotta spice things up and reconnect to what you loved about your goals when you first created them!
Luckily, if this is something you struggle with, I’ve created Planchella – a FREE 5-day virtual planning event where I’ll share EVERYTHING I’ve learned over the years not only about planning and visualizing goals but also how to set yourself up for success while combating this Shiny Object Syndrome and every other devilish distraction that may come your way.
It will all be hosted inside a private pop-up Facebook group, where each day will consist of a 1-2 hour workshop followed by sporadic check-ins to hold you accountable. You’ll also have 30 days to watch the replays!
If you’re interested in joining me, the link to RSVP is located in the show notes, www.therockstaradvocate.com/ep70, AND when you RSVP you’ll also receive a discount code for The 2020 Rock/Star Life Planner!
In the meantime, try out the digital snap cup, building both yours as well as your peers’ cups, and get going on those gratitude lists!
I thank you for tuning in and celebrating the premiere of Season 3 with me! Don’t forget, this episode was 1 of 2 released today, the other was Episode 71: Music-Preneur Spotlight: Ari Herstand so if you missed it be sure to go and give it a listen!
Again, if you’d like to learn more about Planchella, leave a comment about this episode, or set up a time to speak with me for FREE, head on over to the show notes page: www.therockstaradvocate.com/ep70.
Until next time, Rock/Star! Have a wonderful week and I hope to see you back here for next week so we can get grounded to get rising! Take care.
Key Highlights
- What Shiny Object Syndrome is
- It’s connection to Fraud Talk
- It’s connection to Competition
- It’s connection to clarity around our Goals
- 3 ways to combat SOS
- Details on our upcoming event, Planchella!
Links/Rocksources
- Theme music brought to you by DC-based Indie/Pop band Sub-Radio
- More podcast episodes can be found here
- You can download a copy of the episode’s transcript here
- Wanna chat??? Schedule your call here
- RSVP for PLANCHELLA so you can go into 2020 WITHOUT S.O.S! PLUS get an exclusive discount code for the 2020 Rock/Star Life Planner!
Join us this December for PLANCHELLA!
Thanks for listening!
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