I Can’t Stick with Anything
I’d love to find something that I can put all my time and energy into, but I’m scared I will lose interest in whatever I choose. I’ve never stuck with anything long enough to get good at it and my interests can change drastically within a short amount of time. I wouldn’t feel that this is such a problem if I weren’t already in my early-mid twenties, without a college degree (because I couldn’t commit to a program I thought I’d lose interest in), and little experience in anything other than low end jobs. Basically, with anything I pick, I’ll be starting from scratch. This makes my decision feel all the more crucial as I don’t feel I can waste anymore time at my age. Clearly there are some flaws in the way I am approaching the decision making process.
It’s very common to have no idea what you want to do in your adult life when you are in your mid-twenties. Think about it: You have spent most of your life in school, learning things that do not help you figure out adult life. So now you have had only three or four years to figure out how you want to be as an adult. That’s not very much time. You have about fifty more years of adult life. You have plenty of time to get a good plan.
Meanwhile, keep trying new things. The way you find something you want to stick with is to try a lot of things to figure out what you are passionate enough to stick with. There is no hard in trying 20 things and stopping them because you don’t like them. There is more harm in pretending to be fine with what you are doing because you think you SHOULD be fine.
You are not wasting time if you are learning about yourself. Are you learning from all the things you are doing and not sticking with? Then you’re okay. If you are not learning about yourself then you might be paralyzed by fear. And then you might need help — coaching to get some focus, or therapy to get some personal insight. But most people who are lost in their twenties are just fine.
Side note: It’s too bad parents don’t warn kids, as they are growing up, that one’s twenties is a time for being lost.
Penelope
I am the same, I attended university straight out of school and lasted one week. I have worked for the same company off and on for 10 years and almost every 12 months to 2 years I become unhappy and change my position or leave. I have recently decided to return to uni to study a different course which I thought I was interested in however I am thinking about dropping my studies altogether. The problem is attending uni required a major move and as I am 24 leaving woul require me to return home, jobless and feeling like a failure. Why do I keep finding things to hate about each role or project I take on and bouncing back and forth between things? I feel as though there is something wrong with me, my 2 older brothers never seemed to have this problem but I feel that at my age I should be settled and stop being so indecisive