[NT] Nt's and trouble sticking with things

[Philosorapteuse]

You need to find something that's difficult enough to hold your attention almost indefinitely. Try going for a PhD in theorethical physics aiming for a Nobel Prize, for example. Or climbing every >8000 mountain on earth.

I don't think this works, at least not for me. It's generally not a case of completing things or finding them too easy, it's a case of getting distracted by *other* things. (To be fair, it used to be this - I could see how I'd do it, and knew I could, at which point I'd lose interest, because why would I bother actually doing it at that point? ) Aiming high doesn't help with that - if anything it suffers most from this, as "I've been working on this for three years and it's difficult" is reason enough for me to be distracted by something new! I think the key thing is related but not identical - finding something that changes often enough to hold my interest. That and having multiple things on the go at once so that I can switch around. Maybe I just have a need to feel that I'm bunking off from something.

 

[Such Irony]

Does anyone else have this problem?

Yes. I've tried alot of things that I've failed to stick over a long term. Sometimes I just get bored with it and something more interesting comes along that captures my attention.

Also, I have competency issues. If I don't think I'm good enough at something and the time and effort it would take to truly become good at it seems to be more bother than its worth, I may drop the activity altogether.

 

[Hresvelgr]

I do this as well. I generally have 1-3 things I'm obsessed with at once and spend a ridiculous amount of time on those things but get bored within a few months without so much as a lingering interest. The only time I've stuck with things longer is when nothing else came along to take my attention away.

Unfortunately, this also happened with both of my past romantic relationships, in which I was incredibly attentive and interested in the other person for a while and then my interest level dropped like a rock. I am staying out of romantic relationships for now.

I barely ever did my homework, but I sure as hell spent a lot of time figuring out ways to avoid getting in trouble for not doing my homework. In the end I think that perhaps that was a more valuable skill anyways.

 

[Within]

I would pick something up, get good at it, get bored with it and move onto something else.

I used to do the same thing with sports when I was younger. These days I'm a lot more focused on mastering what I'm doing and often in for the 'long'er run. There's still need for a level of discipline on top of the the pleasure it gives me though. If that were to become diminished and I would find myself realizing that I'm doing something purely out of habit I would discard it without a second thought.

 

[Fluxkom]

Same for me.

Usually I'm totally enthusiastic when finding something new and exciting. I go into full research mode on the topic and become an expert on the surface and after 2-6 month I drop it completely.

So depressing when you see what others achieve just by sticking to something.

 

[Fluffywolf]

If I'm really passionate about something, I have trouble letting go.

But indeed most of the times, the opposite is true.

 

[Stigmata]

Have that problem myself with just about everything. For me, I was fully content with knowing I had the ability to do something (or could at least maintain some level of proficiency), that actually doing it and sticking with it just wasn't appealing. I tend to lose interest in things once I can dissect the concepts enough to notice any routines or patterns.