Few years ago I became fond of a concept called “Shiny Object Syndrome”.
It states that we become distracted by new ideas & objects without really sticking to anything.
I previously kept yapping about how I should resist it, and how shiny objects could come in form of ideas, people, activities, or material.
But that said I never actually took it serious until this year.
I internalized that motion brings clarity.
Starting out, you could never see how it could unfold.
Only momentum could activate Builder Mode.
Shifting into Builder Mode to get everything I need done means I cannot operate or live like a regular person. Time becomes my most precious resource, and means I must manage it far more ruthlessly than I have ever done and probably more than any of my close friends. So I must say no to much more fun stuff than normal.
Here lies the sacrifice.
You’re trying to balance achievement with FOMO. Trying to have just the right amount of each to maintain healthy levels of mental states. It’s part of the deal but it’s not easy.
And then with time you become more addicted to the process, vision becomes more razor-sharp and the value of everything else in life is reduced by orders of magnitude. You operate from a state where you know the contract is: I want nothing more than this and I will not stop till I make it happen. A blessing & a curse.
What I mean by “internalize” is that every time I’m not moving forward, I’m not static, I’m actually moving backward, because of the whole building momentum thing.
When I take a few days off my computer screen I feel like a better part of the ideas I had before logging off did magically evaporate. The only way to keep all fresh ideas front & clear is to constantly iterate over them, connect open loops, save highlights & insights, document everything and then keep this system up-to-date through constant reviews.
I keep multi split views of everything right in my browser just to not lose track.
So very recently I found out that to maintain that heightened focus state, I couldn’t but shut off the exterior, which doesn’t only include having fun outside, but also includes THE NOISE.
The world has become so noisy – More I grow the more I can’t keep track of how many things are wrong with the world we live in: politics, conspiracies, agendas, and misleading news. I mean you can’t help but think we’re in a very, very, rough place.
But then today’s reality is just the reality you prioritize.
Yes it’s not ideal and yes it sucks but at EOD I don’t have a choice but to cancel what I don’t have control over – “Don’t get lost in the sauce”.
So what you need to pull off to always stay focused on your next move in each of your projects becomes the sacrifice you make when you’re in your zone: Complete Detachment.
Reflecting back on the times I’m actively indulged (traveling, trying new things, etc) – I can’t say I regret them, yet, they are disastrous to my productivity & focus to an extent I could never make peace with. All which made me finally understand the quest:
“Who we are is defined by what we are willing to sacrifice”