Following special interests through to their end!

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So it's started to dawn on me that so far I have yet to really achieve any of the goals I have set with my special interests.

Each time I had a special interest I would foresee some kind of endpoint.

When my special interest was in 'tricking' the endpoint was being able to do a backflip, but I didn't have access to foam mats and didn't know anyone who could spot me, so all that time was wasted.

When my special interest was the stock market, my endpoint was making money. My ideas were almost always right but I always sold my shares soon as I needed the money to live.

When my special interest was theology, my endpoint was writing a book and helping with some humanitarian or missionary work. I never did, because I allowed others to discourage me.

The list goes on and on.

I'm not sure why I keep getting close to a goal then moving on to something else instead of following it through to its end. Maybe it's ADHD, I'm not sure. I do know that I had so many goals set as to who I wanted to be at this age and what I wanted to achieve, and I failed to reach most of them although they were not out of my grasp.

Anyone relate to this? Or maybe have tips on how to keep going and actually achieve that end-point?

It seems, and I mean no offense at all, that your end goals are somewhat impractical for your current stage in life; you don't have access to equipment, you don't have the money, and writing a book takes a lot of time and a huge amount of study (I'm not saying you couldn't have done that one, just saying most people don't because of that)

Perhaps more attainable goals, that are more realistic to what is available to you, would see you through to the end. Setting goals that you can't meet is tough on your positive outlook, and I know that I constantly rework mine to fit what I feel is practical (for example, I wanted to learn every language on earth. Now I'm aiming for 4 to fluency (not inc. English) and 4 more to semi-fluency, because that is much more realistic.)

Like with the stock market; If you can't directly make money from it, perhaps manage someone else's for a fee. If you don't have mats or a spotter, perhaps consider joining a gym, and making your goal meeting people with which to share your hobby (which may or may not lead to finding a spotter) If you don't have the patience to write a book, perhaps write a paper, or make your goal to learn everything you can find about the topic.

It's not that you've failed, it's that reality is painfully oblivious to your needs, so your needs have to adapt. You can't take something to completion if it's unobtainable in the first place, right?

Thanks that's practical advice. But looking back I don't think any of those things were insurmountable.

I spent 8h a day for 3+ years studying the special interest I was interested in writing a book about. I knew the topic well and could even see mistakes in the work of other more established scholars.

The backflip wasn't insurmountable. I had the flexibility and could do other moves (handless kip-ups, etc.) but my isolated / withdrawn nature meant I really didn't know how to go about finding a partner to spot or to locate some mats.

The humanitarian / missionary work was also in my reach but I told a close family member about it and instead of encouraging me they went and did it themselves. They later came back and boasted about how they stole my idea. I'm still resentful about that, people seem to think they can take advantage of me.

The shares also were good picks. Looking back I can see multiple examples of shares I bought at a certain price which if I had just had the leisure to hold and forget about would have been worth considerable amounts (10-40x return).

I feel like I have difficulty translating thought to action.

What confuses me is the idea of special interests having (pre-defined) ends.

I didn't mean to imply they were insurmountable, just impractical, considering. Smaller goals leading up to the biggest goal might be the way to go for you, it certainly is for me. I call the big goal my "ideal goal" and the steps leading to it "practical goals". My "ideal goal" is to work as an interpreter for the UN. It is certainly possible, however many things need to be done before I can do that. My "practical goals" to lead to my "ideal goal" are learning languages, learning about the position, learning about cultures and politics, having job experience, etc. and those goals are crucial as stepping-stones. I will feel very accomplished if I meet most of my "practical" goals, even if I don't reach my "ideal".

In the case of having your "ideal goal" as, say, a backflip, your practical goals would be things such as finding a place to do it, meeting at least one person who can show/help, and getting to the physical point of being able to do it. For stocks, the practical goals would be having enough money set aside to do it, learning how to do it, and making initial investments. You've managed some steps for both, but because you didn't meet all of them, the "ideal" goals were not practical or simple to complete.

As for the missionary/humanitarian work, even though this family member was a jerk about it, you inspired him/her to be a better person. I commend you! It always sucks when someone beats you to the punch, but there's no reason you still couldn't do it, if that's what you want to do. There is almost nothing on earth that hasn't already been done, at least once, by someone. That should not deter you from doing what you want.

If any of this sounds preachy, or offensive, I certainly apologize, I don't mean it to be ^_^

Those three special interests of yours are as far apart thematically as they come! Gymnastics to theology authorship to stocks? Impressive, really. I guess this change of interests is definitely an aspie thing. I do tend to see mine all the way through, but the payoff in loneliness and isolation! Is it worth it in the end? I don't know.

When I tackled my last album, it took me about a year to complete. Before that, when I wrote my 6th screenplay, it took me about 8 or 9 months to complete. This summer I started writing short stories. I've written 4 already. One of them was accepted for publication yesterday. I thought maybe I'd put some of them in a book, the ones that fit a theme anyway. Since I've already written about 25 pages, I could see this book become a reality. Again, there's the tradeoff which is profound, punishing and abject isolation.

Monkeybuttorama I really like the way you break it down into ideal goals and practical goals. That helps as I've always had a tendency to lump everything together into one then wonder why I never seem to achieve that "ideal" goal. I will give this more thought I believe it's at least part of the answer.

Redrobin well done! I'm curious to know if you have any Aspie-compatible tips for writing? I know some people favor having a definite schedule (e.g. write everyday between 6am and 8am etc.), but I wish I could find something that works for me. I recently got the software 'Scrivener' which is great but I am not persistent enough and get distracted easily.

Thanks both of you =)

This is so true. I have trouble doing this myself, I set too big goals, and end up getting discouraged.

I've gotten some good advice on this a while ago, try to set smaller goals on the way to a bigger goal. Baby steps.
If you want to do a backflip, set some small goals:
Save money for foam mats;
Buy foam mats;
Train on a smaller trick that utilizes the same mucles you need for a backflip;
Do a backflip
..it doesn't have to be like this, but you get the idea. It's a good feeling each time you reach a goal. You can split "save money for foam mats" into smaller steps aswell: Get extra job; Work extra in my main job; etc.

Edit:

I guess I should read the whole thread before giving advice next time.

I've never thought about my special interests having ends. I suppose if I had to say I had a goal, it would be to reduce my carbon footprint so as to be the smallest in history, and perhaps to have a conversation with the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge on their environmentalist views and about their ancestors and predecessors.

I'm sorry, I should have started with that, but my brain hasn't been working right today; I'm multitasking hardcore trying to get everything done before Wednesday night ^_^

The idea of end goals for a special interest is not something I do. Within my special interest, there are things I do. For example, I want to grow more of my own food, but I live in a difficult, short-season climate, so I decided I needed a greenhouse. Learned about GHs, made my decision which one, built it... but I'm still working towards growing my own food & I don't see there being a set end to that. Same w/my other special interest.

Interesting.