feeling lost without a new special interest

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lostinlove
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16 Oct 2013, 7:06 am

usually the death of an old special interest comes about when I start spending time on a new interest, but it's been a few weeks since I was obsessively learning about accounting and this just kind of fizzled out and nothing new has taken it's place yet. I can't remember being like before! Does anyone else have time between obsessions, or does one always replace another?



CyclopsSummers
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16 Oct 2013, 8:22 am

I've known a period in my life where my old special interest (biology) had all but left me, and I didn't really have an actual special interest for some years. Yes, there were a couple of 'stopgap' interests that I devoted my attention to (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, comic books), but it was more like spending time on that for the sake of spending time than that it was genuine interest. It wasn't until late 2011 that a new special interest came along that continues to be my special interest to this day, namely Indonesian culture and history, and that one only came about due to several factors pushing me in that direction. Otherwise, I might have been just as disinterested and detached as I was then. It didn't feel nice at all, not having a special interest, and I was very apathic.


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auf_ehre
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16 Oct 2013, 9:53 am

Go to the nearest railway line and try trainspotting for a while.


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lostinlove
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16 Oct 2013, 10:05 am

I've been feeling quite apathetic, just been going to bed as soon as I've got the kids in bed. If I drove then trains would probably be a special interest of mine, though the spotting part doesn't really interest me, me and my son really like steam trains, though it's more about the actually riding on steam trains, I particularly like the smell. But getting to places when steam trains are on public transport is usually a hassle.



wozeree
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16 Oct 2013, 10:19 am

Science has a lot of potential interests.
Except when I was very young, I've never had just one special interest. I just obsessively and compulsiveness study whatever is on my mind on any given day.



auf_ehre
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16 Oct 2013, 2:28 pm

lostinlove wrote:
I've been feeling quite apathetic, just been going to bed as soon as I've got the kids in bed. If I drove then trains would probably be a special interest of mine, though the spotting part doesn't really interest me, me and my son really like steam trains, though it's more about the actually riding on steam trains, I particularly like the smell. But getting to places when steam trains are on public transport is usually a hassle.


I have a tourist railway about 75km from me that runs a steam engine in the Summer months.

I watch reruns of Eisenbahn Romantik a lot.


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naturalplastic
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16 Oct 2013, 5:09 pm

Keep studying accounting anyway.

Get an accounting job. Makes stacks of dough.

Then youll be able to spend money a deejay mixer, or on a metal detecter and a vacation to vero beach florida to find spanish gold dubloons washed up on the beach from the local ship wreck, or whatever has taken your fancy by then.



franknfurter
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16 Oct 2013, 5:57 pm

I get like that as well, I got through months with a special interest that disappears and I feel lost, almost grieving for the interest I had, unfortunately I think tis more of a go with the flow thing, wait for something else to catch your interest that's what I do. trying to find something does not work I find



cro
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16 Oct 2013, 8:23 pm

My current strategy is to make a list of all possible activities that could lead to an interest and choose the most alluring one.



lostinlove
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17 Oct 2013, 4:05 pm

cro wrote:
My current strategy is to make a list of all possible activities that could lead to an interest and choose the most alluring one.


I like this idea! I would love to get back into the accounting one, but my heart is just not in it..



CockneyRebel
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18 Oct 2013, 12:04 am

I went through all of 2004 and 11 months of 2005 without a special interest. It's a good thing I had Chico at the time. I would have gone insane if he wasn't around during that 23 month period.


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23 Oct 2013, 2:25 am

I went two solid years (May '11 - June '13) without a special interest. I was absolutely miserable! Now I have around half a dozen special interests. The only thing that changed between now and a couple of years ago is that my criteria for special interests has loosened up. It's taken me a long time to reach this point, but I have learned that a special interest doesn't have to consume every single aspect of your life in order for you to find enjoyment in it. I have also learned from personal experience that it's also a bad idea to base your sense of personal identity around your special interests, particularly if yours have a history of changing every couple of years, because every time you lose one, you will have an identity crisis.