You really caught me off guard with the goose pulling and the plot twist to buying pizzas being so abrupt. 😂
I find it intriguing how you contextualised the added challenge of resisting shiny objects through the ADHD passion cycle as you highlight that it is a natural occurrence rather than a diagnosable issue/disease and I appreciate you sharing one of my posts on Shiny Object Syndrome. It takes me back to that discussion we had in the comments of 'Why are you always distracted?' which was the first time I really had a back-and-forth interaction in the comments.
Learning about the ADHD cycle won't be the only thing I take away from this - I can't unsee SOS now meaning 'Save Our Souls' now. 😂
Mark, great post. "I'm going to be out there actually trying things".. that is great sentence.
"Shiny Object" could be replaced with "wide range of interests" and "This is what I am doing now". And, you never know what might stick, or rekindle. I mean, what's the other option? Start nothing, learn nothing? I don't think of it as ADHD. I think of that as someone who's buys all the tools, then does nothing to learn the skills. Skill development takes patience! If you completed anything, you did build skills.
On your drafts, I think of this as always a good thing. You want to get those ideas down, and let them simmer. At some point one of them (or more) might spark something.
Given your wide range of interests, you'd be fun to have at a dinner party. So many stories.
Ha thanks Marty, the drafts situation is a good problem really, it's just always more exciting to start writing something new and exciting than do what actually feels like work of organising what's already written.
It's not all bad, it's just quite annoying sometimes when I'm all in on something and then my brain just says, that's enough of that, we don't like that anymore. My daughter does it with food, so we stock up on that particular type of food then she decides she doesn't like it anymore. Like me and the pizzas perhaps.
You're right the other option is too boring to consider! Thanks for reading.
Thank you! Maybe I'm not as bad off as I thought. I have to constantly remind myself of two "f" words: focus and finish. I hope you keep writing. I'm encouraged. 😊
Myeah that goose pulling caught me off guard just like Malick.
I also have shiny object syndrome but just like you, I don't discard of the tools and you can't lose a skill so one way or the other I always circle right back to them however brief.
Haha I'm so glad you pulled that out. There is usually a line or two in each post I wrote that I really like, usually they're more serious, but I did chuckle to myself when I wrote that line 🤣
You can't lose a skill, you might get rusty but It's usually like riding a bike!
I related very closely to your Shiny Object Syndrome, and know several adult ADD people who have it severely. I, on the other hand, while, yes, being somewhat easily distracted, am one who wants to( or used to want) know everything there is to know about everything there is to know about. I have a varied skillset (woodworking, not included), and a vast amount of knowledge about a bunch of stuff that nobody cares about except me. My SOS is facts and historic accounts, memoirs and biographies. Sometime in the last 15 years I realized that I don't have to care about everything. Ignorance is bliss. Thank you Mark! Love, Virg
I always kind of think of new hobbies and pursuits and interests… Like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine. I learned from studying French for three years that I was not going to master it without the opportunity to speak it with people daily. Oh I can read French really well. I can read it very well. But just don't ask me to converse fluently. ...So I kinda just think about all these new hobbies and pursuits as the next vine. And it will lead to the next vine after that. Less judgment on mastery and more focus on where it takes me. 🙂
That's not a bad idea! Sadly my need for the language has decreased as I'm no longer going back-and-forth to Paris. But I still love the language. And the pastry. lol
It surprised me when I went to Paris last year how much I remembered from school. I didn't really need to use it a lot but I like to not be the typical English tourist if I can help it.
My hobby graveyard 🪦 is huge. It's so funny because when I'm interested in something I can spend hours researching it. But sometimes small tasks that will take me several minutes to do - it's such a struggle! Lol
Haha yes, the hobby graveyard, I like that! Filled with sports equipment, tools and books.
I definitely feel that it's easier to research a new interest than fill out the form that's been waiting in my inbox for ages that will only take 5 minutes!
Felt like you were spying on me! Diagnosed as an adult courtesy of my ex trying to prove me mentally unfit. ADD explained a lot (don’t have the hyperactive element). Kept laughing as you cited your explorations. Sounded so familiar. Never have fit in a box or thought just like everyone else. It’s a gift; we can see solutions where others encounter roadblocks. Always was organized in my own eccentric way because I didn’t like wasting time looking for things. It made me a better teacher and parent. Far more patient with foibles and quirks than most. Thank you so so much for your words.
Thanks for reading Valerie, I'm glad you laughed. I do think it's a gift in a way, just finding out was a weight off my shoulders. Now I know it explains a lot!
I was fascinated and horrified while reading your post, some parts described me so well, do I have ADHD as well? I definitely have the shiny object syndrome, but so far I've managed to hold to a few old loves (books and writing), those are definitely not shiny objects, in fact they are downright rusty, but I still hold them dear. Truth is, I do have lots of half baked ideas all over in my journal, reading back made me rofl sometimes, how ridiculous they are, and yet they are part of me as well, so yes, acceptance, and picking up skills and wisdom along the way, even if they half baked.
It's a spectrum of course and lots of people will have the odd symptom or even all of them and it doesn't effect their life negatively. Might be worth running through the checklist!
Yes the poor geese! I can't imagine who thought that "game" up!
You really caught me off guard with the goose pulling and the plot twist to buying pizzas being so abrupt. 😂
I find it intriguing how you contextualised the added challenge of resisting shiny objects through the ADHD passion cycle as you highlight that it is a natural occurrence rather than a diagnosable issue/disease and I appreciate you sharing one of my posts on Shiny Object Syndrome. It takes me back to that discussion we had in the comments of 'Why are you always distracted?' which was the first time I really had a back-and-forth interaction in the comments.
Learning about the ADHD cycle won't be the only thing I take away from this - I can't unsee SOS now meaning 'Save Our Souls' now. 😂
As always, great post. 👏🏾
Haha I was trying to illustrate the tangents my brain go on and goose pulling popped it's head up at just the right time to be included.
A lot of my ideas come from other people and the discussions we have, if I'm organised enough I add the links into my notes.
Thanks for reading Malick
And then the meatballs! 😆
Mmm meatballs 🤤
Mark, great post. "I'm going to be out there actually trying things".. that is great sentence.
"Shiny Object" could be replaced with "wide range of interests" and "This is what I am doing now". And, you never know what might stick, or rekindle. I mean, what's the other option? Start nothing, learn nothing? I don't think of it as ADHD. I think of that as someone who's buys all the tools, then does nothing to learn the skills. Skill development takes patience! If you completed anything, you did build skills.
On your drafts, I think of this as always a good thing. You want to get those ideas down, and let them simmer. At some point one of them (or more) might spark something.
Given your wide range of interests, you'd be fun to have at a dinner party. So many stories.
Ha thanks Marty, the drafts situation is a good problem really, it's just always more exciting to start writing something new and exciting than do what actually feels like work of organising what's already written.
It's not all bad, it's just quite annoying sometimes when I'm all in on something and then my brain just says, that's enough of that, we don't like that anymore. My daughter does it with food, so we stock up on that particular type of food then she decides she doesn't like it anymore. Like me and the pizzas perhaps.
You're right the other option is too boring to consider! Thanks for reading.
I couldn’t concentrate on this.🥸
🤣
I am such a giddy kipper. Where is my head. 😵💫
Thank you! Maybe I'm not as bad off as I thought. I have to constantly remind myself of two "f" words: focus and finish. I hope you keep writing. I'm encouraged. 😊
Thanks Elizabeth, I hope I do too, I'm almost certain that I will, but it feels like I don't have a say in the matter 🤣
Focus and finish= fantastic
Big plans for my big pans 🤣
Myeah that goose pulling caught me off guard just like Malick.
I also have shiny object syndrome but just like you, I don't discard of the tools and you can't lose a skill so one way or the other I always circle right back to them however brief.
Haha I'm so glad you pulled that out. There is usually a line or two in each post I wrote that I really like, usually they're more serious, but I did chuckle to myself when I wrote that line 🤣
You can't lose a skill, you might get rusty but It's usually like riding a bike!
I related very closely to your Shiny Object Syndrome, and know several adult ADD people who have it severely. I, on the other hand, while, yes, being somewhat easily distracted, am one who wants to( or used to want) know everything there is to know about everything there is to know about. I have a varied skillset (woodworking, not included), and a vast amount of knowledge about a bunch of stuff that nobody cares about except me. My SOS is facts and historic accounts, memoirs and biographies. Sometime in the last 15 years I realized that I don't have to care about everything. Ignorance is bliss. Thank you Mark! Love, Virg
Haha ignorance can be bliss, but it can also mean you don't know all the good things you're missing!
I always kind of think of new hobbies and pursuits and interests… Like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine. I learned from studying French for three years that I was not going to master it without the opportunity to speak it with people daily. Oh I can read French really well. I can read it very well. But just don't ask me to converse fluently. ...So I kinda just think about all these new hobbies and pursuits as the next vine. And it will lead to the next vine after that. Less judgment on mastery and more focus on where it takes me. 🙂
I like the vine analogy, it is like that, kind of having to let go of one as soon as you grasp the other.
Can you try out your French with the chatGPT voicemode maybe?
That's not a bad idea! Sadly my need for the language has decreased as I'm no longer going back-and-forth to Paris. But I still love the language. And the pastry. lol
It surprised me when I went to Paris last year how much I remembered from school. I didn't really need to use it a lot but I like to not be the typical English tourist if I can help it.
Same!
My hobby graveyard 🪦 is huge. It's so funny because when I'm interested in something I can spend hours researching it. But sometimes small tasks that will take me several minutes to do - it's such a struggle! Lol
Haha yes, the hobby graveyard, I like that! Filled with sports equipment, tools and books.
I definitely feel that it's easier to research a new interest than fill out the form that's been waiting in my inbox for ages that will only take 5 minutes!
I know - I do it all the time and I usually create more work for myself later on! lol
OMG yesss me too. And sometimes that form will sit there for days until I have to fill it out.
I've got one now, I've starred it in my email but I have no intention of doing it for quite some time!
I can so relate! I feel like we are kindred spirits Mark! lol
It's amazing how this platform shows you so many people in such similar situations with such similar outlooks.
Felt like you were spying on me! Diagnosed as an adult courtesy of my ex trying to prove me mentally unfit. ADD explained a lot (don’t have the hyperactive element). Kept laughing as you cited your explorations. Sounded so familiar. Never have fit in a box or thought just like everyone else. It’s a gift; we can see solutions where others encounter roadblocks. Always was organized in my own eccentric way because I didn’t like wasting time looking for things. It made me a better teacher and parent. Far more patient with foibles and quirks than most. Thank you so so much for your words.
Thanks for reading Valerie, I'm glad you laughed. I do think it's a gift in a way, just finding out was a weight off my shoulders. Now I know it explains a lot!
I was fascinated and horrified while reading your post, some parts described me so well, do I have ADHD as well? I definitely have the shiny object syndrome, but so far I've managed to hold to a few old loves (books and writing), those are definitely not shiny objects, in fact they are downright rusty, but I still hold them dear. Truth is, I do have lots of half baked ideas all over in my journal, reading back made me rofl sometimes, how ridiculous they are, and yet they are part of me as well, so yes, acceptance, and picking up skills and wisdom along the way, even if they half baked.
And the poor geese.... :(((
It's a spectrum of course and lots of people will have the odd symptom or even all of them and it doesn't effect their life negatively. Might be worth running through the checklist!
Yes the poor geese! I can't imagine who thought that "game" up!
This really resonates. And, I’m feeling a sudden urge to try my hand at candle making 🕯️