Navigating my Way Through Life with "Too Many Interests Syndrome!"

I always admired those kids who knew at age 11 that they wanted to be "a farmer" or "a veterinarian" when they were 11 years old, and then they just methodically pursued that dream with no deviations from their path.

A Terrifying Question

When I was little, the inevitable question "So what do you want to BE, when you grow up?" tended to fill me with a sense of dread because I knew the questioning adult expected some kind of answer.... and yet I had not the faintest idea what I wanted to "be." 

I got in trouble a couple of times for answering "bigger," but quickly learned that the punishment for being a smartass was just not something I wanted to deal with.

It wasn't even a case of my constantly changing my mind... it was a question of simply not knowing because there were so many possibilities yet to be explored, and I didn't feel like I had even the vaguest sense of which one I might like to commit to.

College Daze... and Setting a Record

I ended up going to college about 2 1/2 years after having decided that I was not going to go to college. 

In the course of about five years, I managed to change majors more times than the wind changed direction, and even was part of various "unspecified" programs in between. 

I ended up setting somewhat of an informal college record by getting special permission to change my major after what was to be my final semester had actually begun. I sat down with a degree counselor and we determined-- based on my close to 185 credit hours (120 needed for a degree)-- which degree I was closest to graduating with... and that's what I ended up with: General Business with a minor in English. 

It should be said, for the record, that 32 years later I have never used my degree for anything.

But that's not really what this article is about.

The Problem is... Pretty Much EVERYTHING is Interesting!

One of the things that has caused me to seldom hold "regular" work is that I am capable of doing almost anything people can come up with... yet I excel at pretty much nothing.

If you look at that slightly differently, it means I'm qualified for almost every job, but I'm the "standout candidate" for none.

Of course, saying that "pretty much everything is interesting" is a bit of a misnomer. These statements should be taken with a grain of salt and understood in the context of the broader reality that I generally don't have much of a work ethic and I'm neither particularly driven nor ambitious.

I tend to do exactly enough to get by, and then I pretty much stop.

Well, Today I'm Going to.... Oh, SHINY!

Those who have followed my blog here for a while might be a bit surprised because I seem able to write something new, every single day.

But the truth is that an environment like Steemit is actually ideal for someone who's interested in lots of different things and can only hold a thought for a fairly short time. 

And even as I write this post, I have already "broken away" TWICE to furiously type out outlines for two completely unrelated posts... triggered by something I just wrote. 

Steemit is ideal because I can write about one thing now, and something completely unrelated in 20 minutes and then a photo post and then something on @zappl. 

How the HELL Do You Do That at Work?

Work-- in the conventional sense people understand it-- was always a challenge for me because I would branch off into 47 unrelated things while working on a main project. Whereas I excelled at various forms of brainstorming, I pretty much sucked at executing any of the ideas I'd brainstormed.

Originally, I became a self-employed person because it would allow me to work "in fits and starts" which suited me... but even here, I suffered under the illusion that I had to "pick a lane, ANY lane, and STICK to it!" 

Yeah, not so much.

As the Universe would have it, I am currently:

A writer and blogger
An artist
An online seller of jewelry and artist supplies
A dealer in rare postage stamps and paper collectibles
An opportunistic flea market seeker and reseller
A self-development workshop facilitator
With my wife, co-administrator of a non-profit organization

It's not your normal bag of goods, but I make it work for me because the ability to flit from one unrelated task to another suits my temperament.

So... Can You Just NOT Concentrate?

Funny thing is-- I can actually concentrate really well when something matters and there's a deadline. 

I once completed 38 pieces of art in 14 hours because I had an unexpected show in a couple of days... and the work was actually quite good. 

The strange flip side of this equation is that whereas I tend to be "all over the map," I can also "hyperconcentrate" when the situation calls for it. And, in general, got more done with greater accuracy than a roomfull of people... and in less time.

I just don't enjoy doing it. Of course, that brings up the whole secondary question of whether we're even supposed to "like" what we do for work... but that's for another post!

How about YOU? Did you know what you wanted to "be" when you were a kid? Are you a stick to it type of person, or someone who moves around a lot? Can you relate to "too many interests syndrome?" If you can, how has it affected your life; your relationships; your work? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

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created by @zord189

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 171219 17:12 PDT