How To Stop "Shiny Object Syndrome" And Stay Focused & Aligned (Without Burning Out)

“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. Focus means saying no to something that, with all reason and logic, looks like a phenomenal idea — but just isn’t right now. ”

Steve Jobs

One of the biggest struggles for budding entrepreneurs is knowing what to focus on, both as individuals and as leaders.

When you’re your own boss, strategist, marketer, and maker, every new idea or opportunity can feel both thrilling and essential. But without clear direction, “shiny object syndrome” , multitasking, scattered goals and constant distract quickly turns into burnout and dilute progress.

Thriving as a solopreneur means learning to discern between what sparkles and what sustains—channeling your limited time, energy, and creative power toward the work that truly moves your vision forward. Narrow your focus to the most impactful priority. This is how extraordinary results are achieve.

“It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.”

Og Mandino

The One Thing

What is the one thing that every successful founder, solopreneur, and creative business owner has to do before they launch or scale?

It's FOCUS.

That means...

• One target market.

• One zone of genius.

• One product line.

• One offer

• One idea

• One skillset

• One perfect client

• One message that actually sticks.

Ask yourself: “What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” This key question helps you identify your highest-leverage action — the domino that topples everything else.

Purpose gives direction, priority brings clarity, and productivity provides momentum. The three work in harmony when you stay centered and focus on one clear thing at a time.

Top performers aren't better or busier at work. They don't have more time, or resources.They don’t "do" more; they simply focus more. They know how to align their choices, habits, and energy with what truly matters.

For Thought Leaders

One thing is all your audience can process at a time. So if you want to be known for something, you better know what that thing is and do your best to hammer it home over and over.

The ultimate pressure-cooker: Ask yourself these questions.

• What’s the one thing you want to be known for (professionally)?

• What’s the big idea you want people to associate with you?

• If you wrote a book tomorrow, what would the title be?

• If you had to write your big idea in a three-word sentence, what would it be?

• Many years from now, if your career had a tombstone, what would you want it to say?

  
  

"What do you want to be remembered for?" is a tough question for most people to answer, even when they have years of expertise, experience, and confidence.

The people who grow the fastest and the most sustainably have the courage to CHOOSE one thing—and go all in on that one thing. When you focus in on one thing, the chaos quiets down.Your message sharpens.Your creativity returns. And your body finally exhales.

Why Focus Feels So Hard (Especially for Multipassionate Creators)

If you’re anything like me, the idea of picking one thing can feel suffocating. I know what it’s like to be pulled in many directions, to have many passions and interests. I want to be able to do everything and chase every good idea.

But every time I’ve tried to do it all, I’ve ended up with the same outcome: confusion and exhaustion. When you try to go everywhere, you'll end up going nowhere.

Here’s the paradox. The more we scatter our energy across too many goals, ideas, or audiences, the less effective—and the less alive—we become.

“Success demands singleness of purpose.”

Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

“Where focus goes, energy flows.”

Tony Robbins

The Psychology of Focus

Fluctuating motivation is normal.For many, especially neurodivergent thinkers, our brain performs best under structured, meaningful pressure because it creates urgency, and thus a dopamine reward. Without it, focus fades.

The Pressure Advantage

Having a sense of urgency, deadlines, and accountability can create motivation and meaning.

1. Heightened Arousal and Focus: Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol increase alertness, sharpening concentration when a deadline is near.

2. External Motivation: Deadlines create urgency and importance, forcing prioritization and action.

3. Efficiency Under Time Constraints: Limited time triggers problem-solving focus and filters out distractions.

4. Clarity vs. Ambiguity: Open-ended tasks without deadlines cause indecision and lack of direction.

5. Low Perceived Importance: Without urgency, your brain devalues the task.

6. Reduced Dopamine Response: No challenge = less reward. No anticipation = lower motivation.

7. Conditioned Stress Productivity: If you’re used to working only under pressure, calm conditions feel uncomfortable.

   
   

“If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”

Russian Proverb 

Strategies to Build Focus & Motivation

1. Create Artificial Deadlines to mimic real urgency. Use apps (e.g., Notion, Trello) for organization and reminders.

2. Break Tasks into Small Steps to reduce overwhelm. Start Small to build momentum.

3. Use Time-Blocking to build structure and routine. Train your brain through consistency.

4. Celebrate Progress to reinforce motivation. Rewards will boost motivation and dopamine.

5. Connect to Personal Meaning—focus on why the task matters to you. Mindfulness can help stay present and focused without stress.

6. Accountability Coaches, Partners or Support Groups: Share goals with others to add gentle external pressure and social motivation.

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus. It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”

Bruce Lee

Stop “Should-ing” Yourself

If you’ve been in the online business space for a while, you’ve probably felt the pressure of the “shoulds.”

• “I should pivot.”

• “I should be posting more.”

• “I should be on that platform”

These are the thoughts that lead to weeks, month or even years of wasted time and energy.

When you make decisions from fear, guilt, or pressure —you disconnect from your own inner authority. You outsource your intuition. You drain your creative life force.

'Should’ is just ‘could’ but with added shame and guilt. Should comes from other people’s expectations, whereas ‘could’ comes from within, allowing for more autonomy and curiosity.

It's human nature to want to "be a part of the tribe". Afterall, we all desire love, acceptance, belonging and safety. But consider what drivers within that are real versus what's our ancestral wiring.

Being a soul-led entrepreneur means you stop centering the external voices and overriding your own messages. You stop following expectations of family, church, school, work, society. You shake off outdated ways, unlearn your conditioning and embrace the truth of what you actually want, need and value.

A helpful reframe is to pinpoint your internal motivators. Think about what you "need to be doing" or "should be doing", then ask yourself why you would WANT to do it. Oftentimes that reason alone is enough to motivate you. Move from "I need to do___" to "I want to do ___ because...."

Keep doing what feels right to you, not what looks right to others

Misaligned Decision-making

• Questioning your Zone of Genius

• Outsourcing your power

• Waffling on decision making

• Keeping up with latest formulas

• Squeezing yourself into a box

• Chasing every new idea

• Listening to gurus or experts who don't know you

• Trend Hopping

• Comparing

• Backtracking

• Trying everything and Seeing what sticks

  
  

Aligned Decisions

• Trusting inner knowing

• Blazing. a trail and forging ahead

• Staying commited

• Doing what makes sense to YOU (not what makes sense for other)

• Ignoring "the rules"

  
  

Affirm: It's ok to work at my own pace and with my own process and style. I don’t have to do anything before I'm ready. I don’t have to feel anything other than what’s present for me now. I am becoming someone I've never been before.

We’re a culture that often wants to rush to the finish line and puts a timestamp on progress, with goals to achieve or milestones to reach. But in reality the only requirement is that we feel to the depths of our being, that we live in a way that our soul feels like living, that we seek and work and move in whatever way we need to. Hold on and let yourself have this experience, with care and caution and consideration.

The online business landscape is evolving fast, and the audiences we serve have changed too. Consumers know what’s "going on behind the curtain" now and are more intuitive, and selective. The world itself is transforming, and the only sustainable way forward is by leading with your own alignment, not someone else’s agenda.

Before you change your offer, your strategy, or your entire business model, ask yourself: 'Is this a full-body Yes?' If not— Pause, breathe, and come back again later when there's more clarity or confidence.

Rest to Restore Focus

Focus is not just a mental discipline—it’s an energetic state.

You can’t focus when you’re depleted. You can’t sustain momentum when you’re running on empty.

True alignment requires rest—in every form: Physically, Mentally, Creatively, Emotionally, Socially, Spiritually.

When you’re rested, your intuition turns back on. When you’re clear, your energy flows where it matters most. That’s where the magic happens.

So instead of doing more, try doing less—but with intention.

Because mastery, magnetism, and money all live on the other side of focus.

You can’t focus your way out of burnout. You must first rest your way into clarity.

Tips & Tricks to Find Focus

• The Myth of Multitasking: Multitasking divides your attention and lowers quality. True productivity comes from deep, uninterrupted work on one meaningful task.

• Time Blocking: Protect your most important work by dedicating uninterrupted blocks of time to it — treating it as a non-negotiable appointment with yourself.

• Goal Setting to the Now: Work backward from your long-term vision to define what you must do this year, this month, this week, and today to stay aligned with it.

• Be A Morning Person: Manage your energy levels, not just your time. Do your most important work when your willpower and focus are naturally highest—usually early in the day.

  
  

Your Winning Formula: Drop the 80% that’s not moving the needle.Trust the 20% that’s working. And remember: you can always pivot again later when things feel more aligned.

Your Invitation

You don’t have to chase every idea to build a thriving business—you just have to honor the one that won’t leave you depleted or drained of resources.

If you’ve been should-ing yourself into burnout, this is your permission slip to STOP. Slow down. Rest deeply. Get clear. And finally listen to what your intuition and spirit actually want to do or say.

It’s not about narrowing your purpose; it’s about aligning your natural energy.

This is alignment. This is flow. This is FREEDOM.

Focus leads to Flow leads to Freedom. Focus doesn’t limit us. It liberates us.

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Erin Ratliff is a holistic business coach and consultant specializing in organic growth + visibility for heart-led soul-preneurs and energy-sensitive self-starters in pursuit of personal and planetary healing.

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