We don't start if we can't see the end goal?

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I once read that a major reason many (not all) of us on the spectrum don't start engaging in activities that interest us, is because we can't 'see' the end goal.

In an employment or major study scenario, we might like the idea of becoming and architect or plumber or doctor. An NT, apparently, will start at the beginning and trust to the procedure that in the end they'll come out qualified.

But if I remember correctly, this often isn't the case for us. Supposedly, we don't start if we don't have a firm grasp of what the end looks like. And realistically, who does know what the finish line looks like?

With as many as 80% of us being unemployed or underemployed, this theory may be likely true. Certainly a contributing factor. And not just employment. Maybe any endeavour with a specific end point, rather than engaged in for fun wherin there's no end goal.

What do you think? Do a significant number of us stop ourselves from starting if we can't see/visualise the end product?

I do like planning more than average, but sometimes I can't see any ends, just promising directions to explore. Sometimes, I'm curious enough to go.

I'll look at stuff just because it "seems interesting."

It may be that as a child resources were limited so I never counted on being able to finish stuff.

I get involved in things that interest me, and don't get involved in things that don't interest me.

Goals?  How do, "Clothe, feed, and house my family, and provide for their education and medical care" apply?

Also, if you look around website long enough, you will see that some of our members can only seem gloom, doom, and failure for their efforts.

Every major decision has endless possibilities and it can be difficult to choose. I can get stuck and take weeks/months to source info and to mull over as to what to do next. If I've done something similar it is much easier to decide.

At the same time if a situation needs an immediate decision I can calmly and easily make it, based on past experiences and by the statements of those around me.

Regarding needing a desired end goal - I've taken crash online courses geared toward a job prospect with decent pay and instantly quit when I realized the posting was filled. You'd think I would continue in case another opportunity came up. One of them I was 3/4 through and the work wasn't difficult, quit anyway.

I quit a lot once I realize I'm not getting what I want. Or the people are difficult and I can't imagine being stuck long term. Sometimes it takes a while but in general I do get what I want in life, but now older I've set the bar lower.

Yes I usually wait till I can see my way to a goal before I start a project. I don't like investing a lot when I don't know how I'm going to get the result I'm after. But I do a lot of "trailblazing" where the task is simply to look around to find feasible pathways to what I might want. A lot of it is theoretical, just finding information and thinking, and some of it is practical experiments to find out what I can do and get a feel for whatever techniques I think might be useful to me. It doesn't seem wise for me to just jump in without knowing roughly how I'll be able to get to the end point.

With my life in the workplace my main goal was to get an income without sacrificing too much time, effort, comfort, or standards. I didn't think about any particular "career path," I just hoped to hold onto a job.

With my music recording, I've got tons more tests than completed songs. I'd usually think of a possible arrangement and try out just a few bars, then if the result was promising I'd start work on the whole song. A lot of the time I wouldn't know how to extend the test into a full song, so I'd never try to.

A lot of my activities just seem to grow around me. I might start in a small way thinking I'm just exploring a bit, and then I get absorbed and I keep extending the thing. I don't often have much of an idea where it's going to go.