Do you take things up only to drop them again?

[Lark]

I was talking to someone lately about a tendency to take up sports and drop them again or conversely to keep them up, have any of you taken things up only to drop them or taken things up and kept them up without any difficulty?

One example is that of a gym membership, everyone knows people to take out memberships but never keep going beyond january, the new years resolution members.

Then there is the slightly different example of football or other team sports, you take them up but discover that you have difficulty building any relationships with the other players, do you keep it up for the sport or drop it?

 

[ceecee]

Other than normal exercise I do by myself, I curl in the winter months and I've been doing it for 4 years. I like the club and the people. I don't participate in all the tournaments at other clubs out of state, I'm not shooting for the US Olympic team or anything like that. Of course people think it's boring and not at all difficult. Until they try it. Hehe.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Other than normal exercise I do by myself, I curl in the winter months and I've been doing it for 4 years. I like the club and the people. I don't participate in all the tournaments at other clubs out of state, I'm not shooting for the US Olympic team or anything like that. Of course people think it's boring and not at all difficult. Until they try it. Hehe.

You should take up a more popular sport, like Tiddlywinks.

 

[Frosty]

I don't really like to take things up to begin with. I value my own time, don't particualrly want to give it away. When I get particularly stressed though then I start withdrawing while simultaneously joining...

 

[Hawthorne]

All the time.

In fact, if I could actually maintain momentum in all the activities I take up, I would be fluent in about 5 languages, written at least two novels, and be proficient at three instruments. Also, my staves wouldn't be collecting dust, my garden would be flourishing, my Goodreads library would be way larger, and my muscles would be way more impressive than they are now.

Alas...

 

[ceecee]

You should take up a more popular sport, like Tiddlywinks.

I've done other sports. Hockey, lacrosse, softball, track, tennis, swimming... I'm old. I had to find something low impact and since I've been skating as long as I can remember, I figured curling would be a natural progression. I was totally wrong about that. I do draw the line at any ridiculous pants choices. If I wanted to dress like this, I would take up golf.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I've done other sports. Hockey, lacrosse, softball, track, tennis, swimming... I'm old. I had to find something low impact and since I've been skating as long as I can remember, I figured curling would be a natural progression. I was totally wrong about that. I do draw the line at any ridiculous pants choices. If I wanted to dress like this, I would take up golf.

I don't know, they have kind of a Piet Mondrian feel to them.

Of course, he was Dutch, and there are only two things I hate, people who don't respect other people's cultures, and the Dutch.

 

[Opal]

I'm better at visualizing and initiating than following the plans I lay, but am kept engaged by a group's dependence on my participation, usually.

Not sure how to respond to the OP's football example. I do what I enjoy and make progress in, and divert my attention when either of those falters.

 

[Chrysanthea]

I thought this was gonna be how clumsy you are with handling objects, but since the question is obviously way off from that assumption I will crawl back into my corner of shame.

I guess I will answer while I am here. Yes. Yes, I do.

I am by nature very unmotivated, even with the things I claim to enjoy, which certainly doesn't help my case. I am also very quick to boredom, and considerably difficult to please, which isn't a very good recipe for building up a drive to achieve my goals in the areas I love. I am known to start reading a book or a video game and get really into it, but once I stop the very next day I will forget about it and never care to carry it on. Lame, I know. >.<

 

[Anomoly]

If I am connected emotionally to what I consider something of value, like playing an instrument, then I never give it up. But some of the things I do on a whim I *try out* to see if I like it. If I don't like it, I give it up as a bad job. Sometimes I even go back to things I half like, to see if i like it again.

@ Chrysanthea, what is the R in your type stand for, I'm curious.

 

[Chrysanthea]

If I am connected emotionally to what I consider something of value, like playing an instrument, then I never give it up. But some of the things I do on a whim I *try out* to see if I like it. If I don't like it, I give it up as a bad job. Sometimes I even go back to things I half like, to see if i like it again.

@ Chrysanthea, what is the R in your type stand for, I'm curious.

The R stands for Reasoning, the center of the two extremes Feeling and Thinking, which to me represents my uncertainty towards INTP and INFP. That's all it is. ^_^

 

[Galena]

One example is that of a gym membership, everyone knows people to take out memberships but never keep going beyond january, the new years resolution members.

Not use it while they're paying for it? Are they mad!? With the gym, it was the money that kept me going long enough that observable progress became an even greater motivator than that. If it had been free, though, maybe I wouldn't have been so disciplined. In many things I've "tried on", I haven't been. I have a few core passions that will never fade, but outside those, I dabble.

 

[sprinkles]

I dropped model trains but only because the hobby is so damn expensive. I still have my set that I started building and I still look at it longingly, wishing it had materialized into the dream I had for it. But I don't have the thousand dollars it'd probably cost.

I don't ordinarily just drop things unless there's a practical reason though.

 

[Bilateral Entry]

I exercise because it's good for me, but fuck do I hate it. I don't find it fun, and it's usually painful. That's why I never stick to anything. Although, I'm sure some genius out there has found a way to make exercise more fun and posted it on the internet..... who wants to Google it for me? Volunteers?

 

[Lark]

All the time.

In fact, if I could actually maintain momentum in all the activities I take up, I would be fluent in about 5 languages, written at least two novels, and be proficient at three instruments. Also, my staves wouldn't be collecting dust, my garden would be flourishing, my Goodreads library would be way larger, and my muscles would be way more impressive than they are now.

Alas...

Maybe you and I have a lot in common in this respect, although I would add proficiency in weapons, martial arts styles and a large social network to the list.

 

[Lark]

I'm better at visualizing and initiating than following the plans I lay, but am kept engaged by a group's dependence on my participation, usually.

Not sure how to respond to the OP's football example. I do what I enjoy and make progress in, and divert my attention when either of those falters.

I was trying to find an example of a team sport or activity as opposed to what is simply an individual sport or activity pursued in a group, if that makes sense.

 

[Hawthorne]

Maybe you and I have a lot in common in this respect, although I would add proficiency in weapons, martial arts styles and a large social network to the list.

My staves would fall into the first. I'm interested in but haven't made any progress with the second. The same could be said for the third too.

So this is the part where we hunt down and eliminate the other to prevent a dimensional paradox, yes?

 

[Opal]

I was trying to find an example of a team sport or activity as opposed to what is simply an individual sport or activity pursued in a group, if that makes sense.

Oh, okay... my experience with soccer was very different from group projects over the years, so that caught me up.

 

[Bush]

I don't want to admit to dropping things because they're hard. No, sir. I would never do such a thing.

So I'll say this: If some activity is no longer worth pursuing -- if it doesn't tick a box on a resume, if it's not fun, if there are no long-term benefits -- then I won't waste any more of my time on it.

In some group activities, lacking synergy with the group has led me to believe that the activity's no longer worth keeping up. Team dynamics matter.

But out of courtesy and not being a total dick, if there are other people involved I do give them a heads-up, finish up whatever I need to finish up, and ensure that they're in a place where they can continue without me.

 

[EJCC]

I'm very consistent when I actually like a thing. If I don't, then I'm not. I tend to put off, forget about, or intentionally drop, things that annoy me or stress me out. (It's the 7 fix at work.) So, up until I found forms of exercise that I enjoyed, I was constantly picking up types of physical activity and then dropping them. I tried lifting weights, didn't like it. Tried bodyweight exercises, tried the elliptical, didn't like them. Tried kung fu, tae kwon do, tai chi, rock climbing, cycling, skiing, snowboarding, exercise videos... none of them worked for me. The only forms of exercise I like are hiking, snowshoeing, running, and yoga. So I stick with those. Hiking/snowshoeing when I have people to go with, running and yoga the rest of the time. Running and yoga really complement each other, so that's an added bonus.

One of the issues I've had with a number of the forms of exercise above, is that I was starting from a very low level of physical fitness. Made them more difficult. For example, I think I'd enjoy cycling if it weren't for how hard it is for me to navigate the rolling hills in my neighborhood. I also think I'd enjoy bodyweight exercises more if I could do actual push-ups. Yoga is a great way for me to exercise the weakest parts of my body -- triceps, shoulders, chest -- without feeling disheartened.

Someday I want to try boxing. But I've dropped every martial art I've ever tried, so