“I don’t know what I want.”
That’s one thing I hear a lot as a performance and leadership coach.
“I like a lot of things.”
That’s something else I hear.
Then I hear something like this:
“I’m ready to leave my job and try production. Or media. Or TV. Or museum design. Or UX…or maybe law school.”
People are attracted to a lot things.
They often blame it on their attention spans.
I see it as Shiny Object Syndrome. A state of being in which people are attracted to one interesting thing and before they even scratch the surface of it, they jump to the next interesting thing.
Keep leaping and you won’t miss anything. Of course, you won’t catch anything either. You won’t get hooked.
It’s a form of FOMO aka “Fear of Missing Out.” The FOMO being, if you focus on one thing you can’t do another. So you keep looking at the next thing. The next distraction. And the warped logic? Keep leaping and you won’t miss anything.
Of course, you won’t catch anything either.
You won’t get hooked.
So here is my suggestion: replace FOMO with FONE.
Not your iPhone.
FONE.
F-O-N-E, as in “The Fear of Not Exploring.”
If you’re in a job and you’re ready to move, take 3-months and explore one thing.
Sure, you probably have a lot of shiny things that are catching your eye.
Why not let the shiny thing in front of you light the way forward?
But instead of a steady stream of flirting, commit to something and explore it.
Let’s say you’re in a finance job and for whatever reason Graphic Design flashes before your eye.
Before the next shiny thing starts blinking, stop here and try doing the following:
Step one: Find the origin story. Why did graphic design become a force in the world?
Step two: Learn about the icons: Paul Rand, Leila and Massimo Vignelli, Paula Scher, etc. Learn about the kinds of work they did and the problems they solved.
Step three: Focus on the current practitioners. Who’s doing great things now? Who can you follow on the socials? Who can you meet with in real life?
Step four: Take a class: Learn the skills. There are so many resources online. In fact here is a platform called Alison, which shows you hundreds of free graphic design classes.
Now if you do all of that — with real focus — one of two things will happen: You’ll find your next move. In this case, Graphic Design.
Or…it will invariably open another door. And you can start this deeper process all over again.
You see, shiny object grazing only leads to more window shopping.
Rather, get focused and go deeper. Explore one thing.
Sure, the shiny objects twinkle all around.
But why not let the shiny thing in front of you light the way forward?
Rob Schwartz is the Chair of the TBWA New York Group and an executive coach who channels his creativity, experience and wisdom into helping others get where they want to be. This was originally posted on his Substack, RobSchwartzHelps, where he covers work, life, and creativity.