Do You Have "Shiny Object" Syndrome?

I often read people discussing the “Shiny Object” Syndrome and I honestly had no idea what it was.  I thought maybe it had something to do with jewellery or glossy paper!  Today while reading my emails I came across this article from Jack Canfield who explains perfectly what it is all about.  Enjoy!

Beat the "Shiny Object" Syndrome

Variety is the spice of life. But if you – like me – view the world as an exciting buffet of opportunities to learn, try and create new things, you know that variety can be dangerous. 

The problem is that it’s easy to get distracted from the goals and commitments you’ve already made. Rather than seeing things through to completion, you abandon the goals and projects you’ve already started to chase after whatever new thing has just caught your eye.

I call this “shiny object” syndrome, and it has derailed the success of many people who could be very successful – if they only could maintain their focus long enough to complete a goal.

If you frequently abandon commitments in favour of new interests and projects, here are five techniques I’ve found helpful in evaluating new opportunities.

•    Postpone Your Decision.  It’s easy to get swept away with excitement when you stumble across something new and exciting. Try waiting a few days before making a final decision about whether or not to commit to the new opportunity. During this self-imposed cooling-off period, you’ll probably find that your enthusiasm wanes and you’re better able to evaluate whether this new opportunity will move you closer to your goal.

During your waiting period, make a list of all things you could possibly do with your time, including both the new opportunity and your existing commitments. Ask yourself where you would schedule time for the new activity or project. You’ll quickly see that there’s not enough time for everything you want to achieve, and you’ll see exactly what you would have to give up to squeeze the new opportunity into your schedule.

•    Use Review Board.  I’m constantly coming up with new projects that I want to do, as well as fielding exciting joint venture proposals from colleagues. Rather than making the executive decision to take on a new project and then delegating the work to my staff, I now seek my team’s buy-in first. If they say that taking on a potential new project would require sacrificing a more important existing goal, the idea is put on hold.

If you don’t have a staff or co-workers, create your own review board. Ask people you trust and who understand your goals for input before you commit to taking on any new projects or work.

•    Inner Board of Advisors.  Create an imaginary group of mentors that you can turn to for advice. Simply create some quiet time, close your eyes and ask your board for advice about the opportunity you are considering. Your inner board of advisors can include anyone – alive or deceased, famous or not, people you’ve met and people you’ve only read about. Mine includes author and activist Helen Keller, as well as President John F. Kennedy. Although both are deceased, I get very distinct guidance when I ask for their help and open up to their wisdom.

•    Forced Choice Technique.  Write a list of all of the things you want to do. Then prioritize your list using a forced comparison. With this technique, you compare items one at a time, from the top of the list to the bottom. Start by asking which you would rather do – item 1 or item 2. Take the winner and compare it to the next item on the list. Then compare that winner – let’s say it is item 3 – and compare it to item 4. Once you’ve done a forced comparison with all items on the list, you’ll have identified your number-one priority.

Now go back to remaining items on your list, and start the forced comparison process again with the first two items. Repeat the entire process until you have prioritized the entire list of activities. This will help you gauge the importance of the new activity or project you are considering in comparison with everything else you have already committed to.

Finally, ask yourself the following two questions: “What is the most effective use of my time now?” and “What’s the most important thing to do today?” This will help you maintain focus in a sea of choices.

•    Muscle Testing.  Your body never lies. So when in doubt about your enthusiasm for the fun opportunity you just discovered, simply ask your body for its input. The easiest way is to use the standing body lean. With this process, you stand and ask your body to show you a “yes.” After a few seconds, your body will start to lean forward or backward. Then ask your body to show you a “no,” at which point it should lean the opposite direction. Once you’ve calibrated yourself, ask your body whether you should act on the opportunity. The answer you receive in the form of a simple lean will reveal what truly is in your best interest.

Maintaining the focus you need to complete goals can be difficult when the world offers so many exciting things to learn, do and experience. Use these 5 tips to ensure that any new opportunities you choose to pursue will support, rather than detract, from your existing commitments. By resisting the adrenaline rush that comes from starting something new, you’ll find it easier to complete more of what you start – delivering a sense of accomplishment that’s hard to beat.

Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Interview With A Fellow Blogger - Who Is It?

“Not the maker of plans and promises,

but rather the one who offers faithful service in small matters.

This is the person who is likely to achieve what is good and lasting.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I chose to interview Retha Groenewald, not only because she is one of my blogging buddies, but she shows determination throughout the challenge by never failing to ask questions and asking for help. 

Although Retha is not in the same niche that I am in, although I am a very spiritual person, she believes strongly in her topics and in her own way is also trying to make the world a better place.

Let us see what she had to say …………….

1.         Your first comment on my blog was on the elevator pitch and you said you enjoyed the words “Recovery is all about change”.  Can you explain why?

Those 5 words are so profound. You can write a book on those words. Recovery to me means that a person has been in a situation (physical, emotional, spiritual), that needs to change. Most of the times we recover from something bad. Something that will kill, steal, destroy us or someone that is precious to us. To get out of that situation we need to make a choice, which begins the domino effect of change. It reminds me of when we repent, it is a change of direction, and we move in the opposite direction.

I said I enjoyed those words because they bring hope. One tiny change like going left instead of right,  a thought or decision can bring total recovery and restoration.

2.         We are the only two bloggers in the challenge that come from South Africa. 

Yes, awesome and both from the sea            

(a)        Have you always lived here?

Yes, except when I was 10 we lived in USA for a year. That was wonderful.

(b)       What do you love about our country?

Everything, we are truly a rainbow country, we have different seasons, nature differs from area to area, different cultures, we have everything. I live in Cape Town where you can have all four seasons in one day. I really don’t know how to answer this except to say I think our country is the most beautiful country in the world. I love SA.

(c)        What don’t you like about it?

Nothing.

 3.         You have two blogs in the challenge – can you tell us:

(a)        Where we can find your blogs?

Discover Bible Treasures and

Bible Fascination

(b)       Why did you decided to blog on the relevant subjects?

I am passionate about the Word of God. I decided to go with multiple blogs, each with its own niche, instead of one blog with different niches. My reason is that although the target market could be the same in both sites, the niches do differ. Discover Bible Treasures is a site where the heroes and heroines go on Biblical journeys, with quizzes and puzzles for them to solve. Bible Fascination is a site where we do Bible study to get to know the Bible better and to apply it in our lives. Both sites are about getting to know the Bible better but in different ways. Discover Bible Treasures is for the child in you that likes games and puzzles and adventure. Bible Fascination is a more serious approach. Here you find Bible Study / Devotional, for example, of the Gospels in chronological order.

The purpose of both sites are to awaken the love for the Word of God and having a closer relationship with God.

(c)        What was the most difficult assignment in the challenge so far and why?

Leaving my computer to go on a field trip, no just kidding. Finding a forum to take part in is the most difficult. There are many forums out there, but because I am new to the blogging world (started blogging in June this year), and I am not sure what my niche is exactly (whether it is Bible Study, devotional, Christian living, personal growth quiz, puzzle, etc), I am not sure where to look. (Thought of starting a forum on my DBT blog, but not sure how)

4.           What do you think are the differences between Religion and Spirituality?

Wow, difficult question. I believe Jesus hated religion, because the religious spirit defined holiness with works whereas we know without our Saviour we are nothing and we cannot be saved with our works or how good we are. Jesus is the only way that we can be saved. Therefore I believe in a personal relationship with my Lord and Saviour. (sounds like I am preaching).         

5.           You have just written an ebook.  Can you tell us more about it?

(a)        What inspired you to write a book?

I believe it is part of my calling and the road God has set me upon.

(b)       What is it about?

The eBook is called “Teach the Word” and it is about teaching the Word of God. It is short and to the point, a guideline.  The eBook tells us about some of the teachers in the Old Testament, Jesus the Teacher and the Holy Spirit that teaches us. The teaching methods Jesus used are also mentioned. It also touches on the responsibilities of the learner.

(c)        Where can we download a copy?

You can download it from Amazon or Smashwords.   

The book is a Kindle Edition, but you can download it even if you do not have a Kindle. There is a free Kindle reader you can download from the Kindle site for all gadgets.

(d)       What difficulties did you encounter with the writing or publishing process?

The whole process was new to me,  and some of the things I am still wondering about. My greatest difficulty was the formatting for Kindle and getting the images right (due to lack of knowledge). Oh yes and the cover. But the easy part is when you have overcome these difficulties and press publish.

(e)        What advice can you give to others who are thinking of writing an ebook?

Write it, if you are thinking about it, you have a message that the readers want to hear.

6.         Do you see blogging and/or writing as a future career?

Absolutely, blogging was the door that opened the first step on this new adventure.

So show some support by visiting Retha’s website and checking out her ebook – you never know how much you may learn.  Thank you Retha for answering my questions and keep on writing. Here is one of my favourite prayers to share with you, our 11^th Step prayer in AA:

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace - that where there is hatred, I may bring love - that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness - that where there is discord, I may bring harmony - that where there is error, I may bring truth - that where there is doubt, I may bring faith - that where there is despair, I may bring hope - that where there are shadows, I may bring light - that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in the giving that we receive; it is in the pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Intuition

I am sure we have all had to make a decision in our lives and somehow we know exactly what the choice must be – almost like a gut feeling.  They say you should always go with that gut feeling and not change your decision because somehow, without knowing how and where it has come from, it is the correct one.   Like creativity, intuitive inspiration most likely happens when we are highly focused on a certain activity in a state of joy and fulfilment.

Most of us have made many intuitive decisions in our lives.  You might meet someone for the first time and know that it is your soul mate or walk into a job interview and just know that is what you want to do.  Finding the exact home you have been looking for is a great example. These decisions can also crop up in a simpler ways like selecting a meal, your next book to read and how to dress for the day.

This is the definition of intuition:

 Immediate insight into a fact or feeling without using any process of reasoning.

The ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning.

Intuitive decision making is far more than using common sense because it involves additional sensors to perceive and get aware of the information from outside.  Sometimes it is referred to as sixth sense, inner sense, instinct, inner voice or spiritual guide.   It is related to developing a higher consciousness in order to train these sensors and to make the process of receiving information intuitively a more conscious one.  People who can't accept the existence of such sensors may instead call it tapping into “collective intelligence" or “collective unconscious".

This is what a few famous people have had to say about intuition:

Albert Einstein

Theoretical physicist who is widely considered one of the greatest physicists of all time. Best known for the theory of relativity, Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect and "for his services to Theoretical Physics":

“The only real valuable thing is intuition”.

“There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance”.

Alexis Carrel

French surgeon, biologist and eugenicist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine:

“All great men are gifted with intuition. They know without reasoning or analysis, what they need to know”.

“Intuition comes very close to clairvoyance; it appears to be the extrasensory perception of reality”.

Robert Graves

English poet, scholar, and novelist:

“«Intuition is the supra-logic that cuts out all the routine processes of thought and leaps straight from the problem to the answer”.

Lao Tzu

Ancient Chinese philosopher:

“The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days”.

Anne Wilson Schaef

Writer and lecturer:

“Trusting our intuition often saves us from disaster”.

Andie MacDowell

American screen actress:

“I think women have an innate ability to be intuitive with people that they truly love, but they have to trust that inner voice, and I think it is there. I think we are more intuitive than men”.

I have always wanted to write a book based on my life experiences.  About a month ago, I received an email saying that Steve Harrison and Jack Canfield were doing a webathon on book writing so I signed up.  As the sound was rather bad, I started following the chat at the bottom of the page and someone suggested we all open a Facebook page for authors – I think I was the first one to sign up!

Through this I came to hear of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and thought what a great opportunity to start off writing on a daily basis and get motivated.  So I signed up, rather late, for that.  Strangely enough as I was pondering what to write my next article on, I came across this interesting article I would like to share with you – definitely intuition at play! 

Jack Canfield on Intuition

For most people, early education and training taught us to look out outside of ourselves for the answers to our questions. But we have the answers we need inside. Our unconscious mind is the source of our hidden genius.

Everyone has intuition. Successful people learn to develop this muscle and follow their inner guidance. If you want to leverage your innate wisdom to create greater success, you must learn to tap into your intuition at will.

Recognize When Your Intuition Speaks

To be able to use your intuition, you must able to recognize when it is speaking. Intuition is not loud and demanding. It is subtle and appears differently for different people.

Some people receive messages as visions or images, which can appear in quick flashes or unfold slowly, like a movie. Your intuition might speak to you as a hunch, a thought or in words. You may even find that you are able to dialogue with your intuition to get more information and clarity.

You might notice physical sensations, such as goose bumps, discomfort in your gut, a feeling of relief or a sour taste in your mouth. Others experience intuitive messages through emotions, such as feelings of uneasiness or confusion when their intuition is trying to steer them away from something or, when the message is positive, feelings of euphoria and profound peace. Sometimes intuitive messages are simply a deep sense of knowing and certainty; if you’ve ever said “I felt it in my heart” or “I knew is in the depth of my soul,” chances are it was a message from your intuition.

Deepen Your Intuition

Although intuition is something everyone has, you must cultivate it to receive the maximum benefit. Here are 5 tips to help you access and use your intuition to greater effect.

•    Use meditation to deepen your intuition. Regular meditation will help you clear your mind of distractions, as well as teach you how to better recognize the subtle impulses from within. As you become more attuned to your inner world, you’ll be able to more quickly and easily pick out the sound of your higher self or higher power speaking to you through words, images and sensations.

•    Make time to listen. Life is busy, and in the rush to achieve our tasks and goals, it’s easy to forget to stop and tune into our higher wisdom.  Your most valuable wisdom comes through when you are open to receiving it. Devote time every day – and even multiple times each day – to consciously giving your intuition centre stage.

•    Ask questions. Don’t be passive when communicating with your intuition. Step up and ask for answers to the questions you are struggling with.

•    Write down your answers. Intuitive impressions are subtle and can “evaporate” quickly. Neuroscience research indicates that intuitive insights not captured within 37 seconds will likely never be recalled again. Many people find journal writing to be a highly effective way to access their intuition. Try it – you’ll be amazed at the clarity of what comes through.

•    Take immediate action. When you act on the information you receive, you’ll find that you get more and more intuitive impulses. After a while, you’ll be living in flow. Intuition works best when we trust it. The more you demonstrate faith in your intuition, the more you will see the results in your life.

Whether you want to make more money, make better decisions, solve problems more quickly, or create winning plans, tuning into your intuition will help you achieve your goals. Trusting your intuition is trusting yourself. The more you trust yourself, the more success you will have.

Note:

Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at:  www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com