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How do some of you feel when an interest ends

R

Rachie

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
I was wondering how do some of you feel when an interest ends. Some interests will come with a bit of a lifespan as there may be only so much of something that can be collected and you collect them and complete it. My waterfall hunt was started in good fun and something as I liked to visit and turned into a bit of an interest of its own in the end. When I thought I had completed all the waterfalls in London parks visiting them and filming/editing and uploading the footage I was a bit gutted and I was a bit of a loss. It didn't encourage me to think about something else going through that. Such is life and something else showed up. I still like waterfalls, but it is limited now, and I tried to to tune it to different directions a bit and will see them still if it is possible, but it is not as it was.

I finished a big writing project and was thinking, ahh life is done lol a bit...found something else.

I have never regretted though having an interest even though one which had an end point.

So, how have some of you felt when an interest pretty much or did so come to an end.
 
For me, it's not that I have lost interest, per se, it's more that I've discovered a new interest. I love taking the "deep dive" into topics and special interests, but it will eventually run it's course after nearly exhausting all the available information on the topic and perhaps trying my skills at it. My mind just needs something new to focus on. As you suggest that some of my interests I have had a lifetime (gardening), but even those that I have sort of "put on the back burner" I am still interested in and may actually pick up again (large aquarium ecosystems). I can keep myself stimulated with about 3-4 special interests at any given time. I can't wait until I retire and can dedicate more time to them.
 
Neonatal RRT said:
I can't wait until I retire and can dedicate more time to them.
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Now that I am retired, I am so busy that it's hard to imagine I ever had time to fit in 40 hours of work a week. There definitely still isn't the time I would like to devote to my interests. Life keeps getting in the way.

So far, I have not lost an interest. I just add more as life goes on. Then I have to time-share them all.
 
I feel a little guilty about dropping a hobby sometimes, because I usually leave my latest project unfinished.

I have to consciously remind myself that the hobby is for my enjoyment and I am free to change it or drop it if I enjoy something else more.
 
I've agonized over whether to give up plastic modeling for some time. The only thing is, I haven't really been involved in it for three or four years now. Making such concern possibly a moot point. Also the cost of such a hobby is completely out of control, with or without the specter of tariffs looming for so many products now made in Asia. But it's also a hobby still sentimentally dear to me, given it was one that began when I was eight years old.

I still keep involved with hardware and software issues with my computers, though I don't do much with digital imagery any more, with my camera or with Photoshop.

I suppose for the most part my special interests just ebb and flow. Though my interest in maps has never waned.
 
Nervous Rex said:
I feel a little guilty about dropping a hobby sometimes, because I usually leave my latest project unfinished.

I have to consciously remind myself that the hobby is for my enjoyment and I am free to change it or drop it if I enjoy something else more.
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Mea culpa!
 
Rachie said:
I was wondering how do some of you feel when an interest ends.
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I have the same interests at 56 that I had at age 6. Now I just have new ones I picked up over the years as well. Sometimes I find a different way to pursue an older interest (e.g. from the darkroom to Photoshop).
 
Same here interested in physics, since young have not lost interest to this day now 70. My interest in colour control ended when I retired.
 
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Mine don't usually end, I just cycle through them. When I lose interest it's kind of seasonal, I know it will come right around again. Mine are not the kind of interests that can be exhausted. Most are art forms, some fall into the humanities/social science camp and or esoteric camp. I just seem to accumulate more than finish any.
 
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It has been very interesting reading all of your replies.

Sometimes it may even seem better to go for interests that do not expire. Perhaps I may have some of those as well. As I wrote though it can really hit me though when some may come more to a natural end even though you may have some interest it is not what it was as you have achieved your first goal of collecting/seeing everything that you wanted to. Still though I never regretted having any interests that I do.

With some of us who may co conditions we may not wish to spend all our time engaging in, thinking and doing other things is positive in comparison. Sometimes you may think about really doing something that may have come to its natural end. Just try and give thought to whatever that you do next. For me I won't be chasing waterfalls all over the world where with my mobility issues I cannot get to, but keep it as simple as I can.
 
I feel like some of my interests are so ingrained in my personality that I cannot imagine what it would be like to separate it. There have been times when I have not engaged in a media or hobby for long periods, but my fondness for them does not waver. I still call myself a fan of things even if I haven't engaged in said activity for a while.

Since I was young, I've always enjoyed playing Pokemon. My interest in it waxes and wanes depending on the content coming out. If there's a new game, my interest flares up again. Once I've had my fill, it simmers down. Kind of like a refresher. Pokemon's also on my mind again because there was a recent announcement of a game coming out later this year, and I am excited for that, so please excuse my ramblings. This is my example of what I am trying to convey.
 
Glad.

If I were still obsessed with a certain bus service I used to get a lot, I'd be going ape right now because it's being axed by the greedy council. It would be like losing a loved one or breaking up from a relationship. The grief would be painful and I'd fall into a state of depression and feel like my life ain't worth living.

I'm so glad it's being axed years AFTER my obsession with it ended. The only thing I'm sorry for is the people who rely on the bus service, but that's a different topic.
(Yes, I'm not happy with it being axed at all but I'm just speaking from obsession context).

Obsessions really caused more stress than pleasure for me because I became so attached to them and they became such an importance in my life and I just couldn't live without them, and no platitudes like "find something else to be obsessed with" would work on me. I'm so glad I don't get obsessions any more. It's like freedom.
 
Richie. Have you seen the waterfalls in Wales? Some in North Wales are both numerous and impressive.

I don't think I have had a hobby end. I have tried one or two as sidelines and they were fun in their own way, but for me, my hobbies remain as they always have done. The two or three main interests which have not really changed since ai was a very young age.
 
Rachie said:
So, how have some of you felt when an interest pretty much or did so come to an end.
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I had a major, major interest in something as a result of emotional agony.
It was a distraction.
When I healed, the distraction lost its appeal.
I was thankful for that.
Peace at last, and thanks for the emotional band aid solution, even though it was an expensive way to go.

I never get bored, BTW.
Something always comes up, and my K9 kids are so demanding I often don't have time to be.

The END. :cool:
 
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