There are a lot of sparkly things out there to get our attention.
From the latest productivity app to the newest course by the big name leader to the latest and greatest book on leadership, there’s always something vying for our attention.
Most of the time we give in. We grab the shiny, new object and adore it. Until we’re finished…
Then we put it aside.
We close the book. We forget what we read. We move on.
We watch the video course. We absorb a little information. We move on.
We play with the app. We get bored. We move on.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
We Like Shiny And New
The shiny objects are fun.
They promise to make us more productive or to increase our knowledge. They beckon us with their sexy covers or smooth promises.
We like these things, we really do.
They make us feel better about ourselves. They make us feel like we’re making forward progress.
There’s a problem, though. They’re not making us any of those things. Rather, they’re taking away from what we could be.
The Problem With Shiny And New
They lay out big promises. They tell us how much we’re going to improve. They tell us we’ll be changed when we use them.
By now, you know that’s not true.
After you’ve picked up the new shiny object, you’re already ready for the next new thing. The next promise, the next great thing, the next object that will change your life.
And that’s the problem. Right there in front of you.
Before you’ve had any chance to make a change, you’ve already put aside the thing that could change your life.
You rapidly read through the new business book, ready to read the next book that will change your life.
You play with the productivity app. Then check out the next app that’s guaranteed to make you better.
We only give a brief moment to the life-changing opportunities in front of us. We want the next and new. We want shiny and flashy.
Stop Chasing The Shiny And New
Instead of going after the latest book that will teach you the newest leadership technique, decide to dive deep into a classic leadership book. A book like How To Win Friends And Influence People or Good To Great.
Take your time to read through each page. Digest what Dale Carnegie or Jim Collins wrote.
Scribble notes in the book margins. Dog ear the pages to denote where the meat of the book is at.
Finish the book. Then go through and read it again. And again. And again.
Put the new and shiny aside. Choose to devote time to studying the works of art in front of you.
Go back again and again and learn anew what you’ve already read.
You’d be amazed at what will leap off the page when you re-read books or what new insight you’ll glean when you re-watch a course.
Books, courses, apps… They’re not one-stop and done.
Oh no, they’re more like an all-you-can-eat buffet. They’re meant for you to go back again and again.
You need to return to the trough and get more from these things.
It’s not about the shiny and new. It’s about studying a work and getting the most out of it that you can.
Question: Are you guilty, like I am, of moving from one thing to the next without digesting what you’ve ingested? What are you going to do to change this behavior? Let’s talk about it in the comment section below.
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This essay originally appeared on Joseph Lalonde.
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The world, and all the “stuff” in it, just is what it is. Sometimes newer is better, sometimes it isn’t. Everything that’s considered a classic now, was once the “shiny and new” thing. Sometimes people write a new book because they have something original and worthwhile to share. Sometimes they write it so they can make money. Same goes for all other areas of human endeavor. It’s all down to the attitude we each have towards the things we acquire and consume. Sometimes I buy something on the spot because I see it and exclaim “OMG, that’s so cool!!!” Sometimes… Read more »
We’re a society that thrives on immediate gratification. It’s not that it’s new or shiny but that which you have has lost its appeal … it’s no longer gratifying. So we move on to something bigger and better and no more then we get it, there is yet something else bigger and better.
Look at the iphone …
The job of marketing is not to sell, but to instill in the buyer a need. Shiny and new promises to renew, invigorate, enhance, all things impossible to attain from the outside in, yet marketed, packaged, sold as such. None of it works, but sets one on a series of short term highs, and Like any drug, it becomes addicting. Fashion is a grand example. The reason that there are fashion trends is because the high ends, people become bored, the need to renew, enhance, invigorate is soundly instilled and desperately needed. I think that the sudden diminishing of male… Read more »