INFJ Interests

Questingpoet

Questingpoet

Not Afraid to Use His Beard
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I noticed a tendancy a long time ago in myself regarding my interests and hobbies, and wondered if anyone else has noticed the same thing in themselves. My interests include a large variety of non-like things, which is not all that uncommon. But what I have noticed I do is often latch onto something very intensely for a short period of time (could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few years), and as I approach being really good at it, I lose interest. As soon as I realize in my mind that I can master something, it loses most or all of its appeal.

I have suceeded at pretty much anything I have thrown my mind at 100%. Collecting, music, writing, cooking, pool, college (when I finally got serious). The only things that really hold my interest are the very creative things--and even those interests wax and wane. I go through intense creative bursts, then nothing for a while. That is the nature of creativity sometimes, so it's understandable. But all the other things, I've never understood it. Jack of all trades, master of none?
 
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Questingpoet said:
But what I have noticed I do is often latch onto something very intensely for a short period of time (could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few years), and as I approach being really good at it, I lose interest. As soon as I realize in my mind that I can master something, it loses most or all of its appeal.
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Yes, totally relate.

The only things that really hold my interest are the very creative things--and even these interests wax and wane. I go through intense creative bursts, then nothing for a while. That is the nature of creativity sometimes, so that is understandable. But all the other things, I've never understood it. Jack of all trades, master of none?
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Yes, feel the same. So many diverse interests. Yeah, creativity is one of those things - it's like the gift which keeps on giving, and there's always something different or new to create or learn. I just recently started to write poetry again after a long stretch and it's really great. And I would love to study art. I've always been a big fan of photography, nature photography especially. And I've recently (last few years) become interested in the fields of speech pathology, and more recently neuroscience.
 
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Funny, I was thinking along pretty much the same lines earlier today. Maybe it's common among INFJ's to have intense interest in something, and then loose almost all interest in said subject.
 
I am somewhat like this. I am currently a chemistry major in college, and I do well at it. There are times where I feel that I just want to stop, because I am not interested in the current topic. However, I realise that this is just temporary, and I keep going despite not wanting to. There are several things (chemistry, ceramics, my personality / what makes me tick, skiing, to name a few), that at times I will feel a resistance to moving foward, but I know that when I first began I had a very strong passion for these things, so I refuse to give in and give up. There have been things in the past that I was passionate about in the begining (calculus if you can believe it, physics, forcing socialization), but fizzled out with. In hindsight though, I realise that this "passion" didn't have the same spark, that true passion has. I am not one to give up with things, and it has actually been a bad thing in the past.
 
mf said:
Funny, I was thinking along pretty much the same lines earlier today. Maybe it's common among INFJ's to have intense interest in something, and then loose almost all interest in said subject.
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Thanks for the replies guys. Hopefully more people will respond because this has been something I've really wondered about as the years have went on. And yeah, usually when I get intensely interested in something, I tend to obsess. That's not always a bad thing too. It helped me become a pretty darn good guitar player in about a year. That one lasted almost three years before I lost most of my interest.

I heard Einstein became obsessive when he was writing his General Theory of Relativity and his Special Theory of Relativity. Creative types can get that way it seems. Not that I'm comparing me learning guitar to him formulating one of the most far-reaching scientific theories ever. Just an analogy.
 
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I've always thought of myself as a Jill of All Trades. What's frustrating, I guess, is that some of the things I thought I'd enjoyed longer I just lost interest in after a small period of time lapsed. I did fencing, karate (both Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan), indoor rock climbing, inline skating, running/jogging, yoga, cooking/baking (from all over the world), grinding my own coffee beans, knitting, sewing, needlepoint, stamping/stampbooking/carving my own stamps, carving, pottery, camping, backpacking, traveling and backpacking, crochet...and the list goes on and on and on. The only thing I haven't done yet is organic gardening, and that's probably my next step. I really only come down hard on myself, though, if I leave a story unfinished. That's my main unpardonable sin: Unfinished, half-published stories.

But my mother makes fun of me for buying all these cool gadgets for my "next big project" but then I only use it for a few months before it starts collecting dust. So, yes. I completely, unequivocally, undeniably understand how you feel.
 
Unfortunately, that's a big trait of mine. One of my problems is time, though, too -- it's hard to devote hours to a creative project anymore :/ I jump around a lot because I have many interests, but also because it's difficult for me to devote all that time to a single thing and become really good at it without sacrificing a lot of the rest in the process.
 
People tell me I'm good at lots of things...I suppose it's because lots of things interest me (especially instruments).


Next endeavours: violin, ukulele, and skateboarding.
 
midnightmelody said:
People tell me I'm good at lots of things...I suppose it's because lots of things interest me (especially instruments).


Next endeavours: violin, ukulele, and skateboarding.
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And all at the same time! :D You'll be the best acrobat in the circus, m'dear...
 
midnightmelody said:
People tell me I'm good at lots of things...I suppose it's because lots of things interest me (especially instruments).


Next endeavours: violin, ukulele, and skateboarding.
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I've played both violin and ukulele. Violin in Elem./MS/HS for 8 yrs. I took up the Uke two years ago, for about a year. Uke is easy to learn, portable, and more versitle. The violin is a labor of love! It is difficult to learn, but is one of the absolutely most beautiful sounding instruments ever! Learning it is not an endeavour to be taken lightly.

I also play a bit of (Blues) harp--i.e. Harmonica. The harmonica is a tradition in my family, as is writing and music. My Uncles have small suitcases full of old Harmonica's that we cousins would love to get our hands on!

Good luck, I admire your energy!
 
Haha thank you! I want to get a teacher.


All of my technique is totally horrid. I can play songs though, and for now, I am alright with that.

Ukulele seems super easy and ligthearted.
 
arbygil said:
I did fencing, karate (both Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan), indoor rock climbing, inline skating, running/jogging, yoga, cooking/baking (from all over the world), grinding my own coffee beans, knitting, sewing, needlepoint, stamping/stampbooking/carving my own stamps, carving, pottery, camping, backpacking, traveling and backpacking, crochet...and the list goes on and on and on. The only thing I haven't done yet is organic gardening, and that's probably my next step.
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Arbygil, this.list.is.awesome! :m172:

WOohooo organic gardening! :D
 
I'd love to be fluent in 5-7 languages during my life.

I can be obsessive about some things, yeah, definitely.
 
I am exactly like this. I just feel like life is short, there is too much to explore, so much I want to learn and try, I can't focus on one thing forever because it gets boring and deprives me of engaging in my other interests. I know after focusing on something for a while, its time to move on to something else.
 
This seems to be where I lose it in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. In theory, you are suppose to specialize in a particular set of skills to attain self actualization, but my interests vary from week to week. I'm a regular wiki hopper because I love reading one page and then jumping to another, trying to learn more and more things.
 
i do that too hahahaha.... except that i don't think i achieved something that i want .... i am in the process of achieving it hope i don't get tired of it.. cuz i love:mlove2: dancing .... I WANT TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING... BUT I HAVEN'T ACHIEVE ANY..... :m033:THAT'S SOO SAD....

maybe different genres of dances.. i switch from ballet to jazz to ballroom to:m2: folk dance back to:m168: jazz then:m183: gymanstics then:m036: hip hop... and now i'm seriously taking :m096:ballet...and want to take gymnastics again and will soon take contemporary dance.

ahahahahahahahha i want to be good at all those things... but i think it's impossible.. but i want to make it possible... my tutor told me not to be a jack of all trades, and a master of none... so maybe.. i'll focus on ballet and jazz? ahahahhaa and gymnastics!?!?....:md:.. i can't make up my mind but definitely ballet is there ;) ;)
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but the thing is, if i'm serious about the hobby, i don't switch from one hobby to another unless i perfected/ i think i'm good at that.

unfortunately, when i was younger, i didn't realize that and switched from one genre of dance to another:m067:
 
In a way yes. It's the freshness, newness and intrigueness that hold my interest and motivation - I want to learn as much I can if I really am interested and it's true once I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of it, the thing loses its appeal and I move on.

God, I'm becoming such an ENTP, always on the lookout for the next shiny thing. :D
 
I was thinking about this just today as I was catching my bus home from school.
Then my interests were the history of the wives of King Henry the 8th which we're learning about in Euro, tortilla chips and string cheese which I had a craving for at the time, and Hamlet which we are reading in my AP Lit class.
And also my MBTI thinking/ day dreaming that is with me always.
 
yes I'm exactly the same too... lose interest after a while. I thought it was just because I'm a Gemini ;)
 
i do this too..but i don't lose interest, i just move onto something else that might be more useful at the time. recently i find myself going through my old journals and collections to see what i used to like and resurrect those, connect them with present interests... and develop them more


Einstein was mentioned
and looking back, i notice myself going through the same things.. I can read and absorb so much information on one object it becomes obsessive almost, unable to stop till i get where i need...
but i have a bit of INTJ in my mix
 
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