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How do I finally stop "hobby hopping"?
| This is honestly getting pretty tiring and I can't get any sense of accomplishment out of any of the things I do, because I drop them way before that would be within the realms of possibility. And by the time I pick them up again, I usually have to start from scratch (or very close to it, anyway). It's just that I quickly lose enjoyment once that initial spark is gone, and I don't know how to power through it without looking at something else and going "oh cool, *I* wanna do that."
| I know I should stop whining and just pick something and stick with it, even though it stops being fun... But how do I pick just one thing? I wouldn't say that I like one particular hobby more than the other... Or rather, there *is* a few I like most, but that's still too many. And how to stop getting distracted by all the other cool things? I realize that I won't be able to achieve mastery in *everything* anyway so it is futile to even begin, but I still can't stop.
| I don't think there's anything wrong with that, OP. Who says you have to pick one thing as your hobby and ignore all the other interesting things out there?
I tend to try a lot of different things without going much past the surface level on them, and while that means I'm not an expert on any of those things, it gives me a wide variety of experiences and allows me to at the very least have casual conversations with all sorts of people about all sorts of things.
| If you want to do something solely for the sense of accomplishment, start lifting weights in addition to your hobby hopping.
| >>753136
Well, maybe not outright ignore... A passing interest is fine, I guess. But the thing is, as a result of it I'm not good at absolutely *anything*. Truly a jack of all trades, but a master of none. I know quite a bit about drawing/painting, but I don't have a single picture that's not just childish scribbles. I know some music theory, but haven't written even a single 4-bar loop. I get some ideas very often, but I don't have the skills to implement them in any of my hobbies
| >>753140
Perhaps "sense of accomplishment" was not necessarily the most correct phrase to use there. I want to actually feel like I am rather at least sorta good at something, rather than be sligthly above garbage level at everything. Something creative where I can be confident enough that I can bring my ideas to life.
As for lifting weights, I work out solely to stay (relatively) healthy at bare minimum, but just building muscle doesn't sound particularly inspiring to me.
| You're thinking too much. Empty your mind and start drawing and show me your awesome art.
| >>753152
Being slightly above garbage level at something makes you better at that thing than most people. It sounds more like you're looking to be semi-pro than a hobbyist, and the only way to do that is devote the majority of your spare time to that one thing.
Which there's nothing wrong with, but like I said before, I enjoy trying out lots of different things so that singlemindedness just isn't a mindset I can personally understand.
| >>753156
That I am. The thing is, I don't have any "awesome" art to show. And I probably won't if I don't stick with it for a couple years at *least*.
>>753166
A lot of people dabble at least as much as me, most probably more. I'm not even half as good as people who actually dedicate their time to their hobbies with at least some amount of stability. I guess going completely singleminded is not a good idea either, but it would be nice to figure out how to pick one main thing.
| Oh man. I undersatnd you so much, op, I'm honestly rather surprised there is also someone rather than me out there with the same problem. My own life is a very simple cycle: I get depressed because of being unable to find anything meaningful/interesting enough - something catches my attention - I overfixate on that "something" to a point where I can't think of anything else - I quickly loose my interest - repeat from the beginning.
| Even if "getting depressed" phase will somehow get lost on the way, one thing never changes: I pledge my undying love to something today, and tomorrow I won't give a single fuck about it. It almost seems like I am physically unable to devote myself to any hobby, person or anything, really.
| I'm not bothered too much about it though, not anymore I've just learned to accept that this is the way my mind works and there's nothing that can be done with it. It's still a bit sad to think about all the forgotten and abandoned stuff that I've sworn to love forever for the rest of my life, and I cannot fully master any kind of hobby, but, oh well. It is what it is, I guess.
| Do you, by any chance, have a diagnosed ADHD/ADD?
| Going after a sense of accomplishment on any of your hobbies will make it feel more as a chore rather than a hobby, you can have some goals on them, but it shouldn't be the main thing, hobbies are to empty your head, get relaxed and do some stuff to kill time, but if anything the advise I would give you is to DO IT. Stop planning so much, go ahead and do something about those rediscovered flames, even if it's small, do it, there you will have an achievement!
| >>753306
Not diagnosed, no. But let's just say that I do have my suspicions.
>>753310
Oh, I *do it* alright. But like I said, before achieving anything meaningful I switch to a different thing entirely. I'm not going after a sense of accomplishment specifically, what I meant is that at the end of the day I would like to be able to think "damn, I can *actually* do this." Instead I start over before any of the progress actually sticks, never raising my skill level in anything.
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| I think it's becoming a real problem for me. I (re)discover some thing I want to do, I get super into it (although usually the preparation aspect rather than actually doing it), then a week passes, maybe two weeks, a month if I'm lucky and... The spark is just gone, and I forget about it entirely. Then I procrastinate for a while and "hop" to a new (or old) hobby, and it all begins anew. From drawing to photography, then to music, to writing, to programming, to drawing again, etc.