Can't pick an interest...

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I am fed up with my brain right now, it is jerking me around.

I usually always have just one or two main interests with a list of minor interests sitting behind them but which don't get much of my attention. Well my brain is now going back through that list and won't pick one or two main interests like usual. It wants to keep jumping through all of them...they are all old main and minor interests that have resurfaced but they have done so all at once.

I can't really get into anything when my brain does it. It wants to do them all and I can't as there is not enough time in the day and I don't have energy. As I am not able to decide which interest to spend time doing I often end up doing none of them instead.

My brain is jumping from old movies, to playing piano (something I wanted to do as a kid but couldn't afford lessons or a piano to play on), to learning to draw, to wanting to learn astronomy (old minor interest), to paleolithic nutrition/lifestyles and mental health (a variation on my oldest running interest of nutrition and mental health which has been with me since my early 20s), sharks species/shark movies (old minor interest that became my main interest for a week in the distant past but resurface recently), want to take up pottery, sequin art (old interest that was my main interest for 2 years once), cross stitching and tapestry (main interest for 6 years), History (minor interest), myths and the paranormal ( the scientific study of and an old main interest that ran for 3 years), to taking photos/videos of the coast, to bus riding which I can't afford at the moment (I miss my bus rides to and fro' Sheringham, Fakenham and Hunstanton... ) to jigsaw puzzles (I still have 15 of them to complete from the large collection of them I used to have but these were the only ones I could salvage for various reasons) to...argghhhhhhhh

Pick an interest brain...pick one....Just pick one!

Sorry about typos...migraine impending, I think going by the blurry vision (is there a squint emoticon?)

Gah!

Do others ever have the same trouble. I am actually quite lost without one main interest to fully absorb into like its the love of my life or something. I need my passion fix.....

I go through the same thing. I've been diagnosed with ADHD and Bipolar Disorder on top of my Asperger's, so that might be the reason for me. I've played music for most of my life, but I can never stick with an instrument. As it is, I rotate between five instruments and can play about nine. I also can't stick with one genre. Like, when I play guitar I'll focus on jazz for two weeks, then switch to classical, then rock. I'm also into programming and tend to switch between languages a lot. Then I have a lot of minor interests that I periodically get into. My experience is anecdotal, but I hope it might help you.

What I believe the problem is is that people like us get bored with the 'same old same old'. I don't like practicing the same piece of music over and over again, even though it's what I need to do to fully learn it. Using the same syntax in programming gets old. So what I do to sort of eliminate the boredom is to make projects based around my interests. I love to teach and show people things, so I make lessons. I'll take a part in a piece I'm learning and pretend I'm teaching it to someone out loud. Even if you're not an expert on the subject (I do teach private music lessons), it might help eliminate the boredom, help you understand the subject if you're trying to learn it, and get you excited about your interest. I'm even thinking of making a few blogs. One on music and another on a video game that I play.

Another thing is to see if you can turn your interest into a game (if it's not already). Another problem with interests (particularly ones you need to practice) is there's no visual indication of progress. There's no experience bar, achievements, gear, etc to show you how far you've come. Unless you do a side-by-side comparison of 'then' and 'now', it's hard to feel the impact. That's why I love websites like Codecademy and games like Rocksmith. You're practicing your skill/hobby, but there's that visual experience and gratification. I also throw knives every once in a while. I'll mark points on my big board and try to beat my high school. You can even use Habit RPG which rewards you for good habits (doing your hobbies, eating healthy, etc) and penalizing you for bad habit (not doing hobbies, forgetting to put down the toilet seat, etc).

If you don't mind me asking, what are your hobbies? Do you collect things about your hobby? I'm a collector and have more books on music and programming than anyone would ever need in their lifetime (my music book folder on my server alone is sitting at 109GB). There's nothing wrong with having multiple interests. Sure, it makes it difficult for us to find a passion that will turn into a profession, but we should embrace learning so many things. Even if you lose interest in a hobby, don't get rid of it because you'll want to pick it back up one day.

All of my interests are lying about gathering dust right now. That's the main reason I'm spending such an outrageously inordinate amount of time on WP lately - I just cannot raise any motivation to accomplish anything, nor generate enough interest to want to just do something for the sake of keeping busy. Even my fiction writing, which is always dependent on sporadic bursts of inspiration, has been dead in the water for several months. I waste my days staring into a computer monitor, doing nothing.

I suspect it's a form of depression, brought on by the fact that I never get out of the house and do anything physical. I work out every day, on the weight bench and treadmill, but that's not the same as getting out of doors and actually doing something, even if it's as simple and mindless as mowing a lawn. My home has become a prison cell and I don't know what to do about it, because I have no friends to do anything with and no reason to go anywhere. To even go for a walk, I would have to first get in my truck and drive somewhere else. I'd like to have a part time job, but there are so few things I can stay focused on and I always get fired anyway.

I'm learning to simply accept whatever level of focus I have, and try to find happiness within whatever mental state gets thrown at me from week to week – rather than worrying that how I'm feeling is wrong.

So if I'm having a phase (like now) where I'm between special interests, and feel compelled to flit between lots of different things... So be it. For the past few weeks I've been doing 5 minutes of one thing, then 5 minutes of another, and have enjoyed being on WP, because it's well-suited for someone who has no attention span, and I've learned a lot about autism in the process!

I also think that periods of scattered focus help us to branch out and search for the next great thing that will grab our interest on a deeper level. So I'd say don't worry about it – if your brain feels like alternating between lots of different things at the moment, then that's exactly what you should be doing!

I've had the same interests for 30 years and I can't wait to get to them every day, you guys have my deepest sympathies.

That's the same with me.

I't's been the same way with me for awhile. It sucks. I miss being obsessed with the Wheel of Time series.

Eh, it is what it is. I've had 5 or 6 special interests over the course of my life, and each one of them has enriched my life immeasurably. I can't imagine a life where I only had one interest; I would have missed out on some of the happiest experiences of my life.

Meanwhile I know people who have dozens of interests, and enjoy them all on a daily basis. I think each person's level of focus is exactly right for them, and one way is not better than another.

I can't imagine a life with one interest either. I also can't imagine a life where I'm unable to maintain interest in the things I am passionate about. It's like being driven by an outside force to do what I love to do and it's why I feel sad for people who don't have that.