ADHD Hobby Jumping

I have persevered through many things in my life. Some much longer and with more emotional pain than the average person would be willing to handle. Many times forcing myself to do things that others wouldn’t imagine forcing themselves to get through. I’ve been admired for my ability to overcome anxiety and fear.

But I have a secret. I’m a huge quitter.

As a child I played violin as my first hobby. I was 4 when I started and I took lessons until I was in my teens. In that time frame, I played soccer, played flute in the junior high band, and sang in a handful of choirs. Believe it or not, I was even in the ukulele club… In high school I swam competitively, played basketball & field hockey, ran track and cross country, and performed in musical theatre. I was in a youth choir outside of school, and a women’s chamber choir inside of school. Since then I have worked in a climbing gym and competed as a rock climber, have performed as a coffeehouse folk singer, an actor, a stand-up comedian, an improviser, a voice actor, and of course, this girl loves writing. You get the picture.

In all these pursuits, I have been pretty good when I first started, better than most beginners, yet in every case, I hit a plateau shortly after committing to my new passion. The pattern has become pretty clear, and I’m running out of passions to explore. I still consider each of these activities my hobbies- but in reality, I’ve all but quit each and every one.

Okay, shame voice, hold up. I haven't quit. I return to each of these hobbies from time to time, and all of them make up little puzzle pieces of my identity, but why is it hard to stick to them consistently? It turns out, this is a pattern familiar to many ADHDers. We begin a hobby, master the initial stages, and then fizzle out on care for the activity with time. I've heard it said that collecting hobbies is the ultimate ADHD hobby. So why do ADHDers feel so much shame about this tendency? Doesn't hobby jumping allow us a richness of experience that others may never attain? We get to explore so many different things!

I spent some time thinking about this, and came upon a distinction that makes my dilemma clear. There are two types of people in the world: Jacks of all trades, and One Trick Ponies. Where Jacks do it all well, Ponies hone a specific craft and strive for perfection. This is sometimes referred to as the hedgehog concept. The Hedgehog Concept is based on the ancient Greek parable “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” This parable argues that foxes have broad focus, and can do many things well, however never achieve as much, whereas the hedgehogs focus on a single vision and reach their specific goals. Many ADHDers have varied interests that compete for attention, and experience this pattern sometimes dubbed "hobby jumping".

I took it to an Instagram poll to see what my community had to say about the matter. I asked two simple questions:

1. Are you a Jack of all trades, or a one trick pony

and

2. Which do you respect more?

The results were surprising, and led me to an entirely new set of questions. The results were as follows:

Are you a jack of all trades, or a one trick pony

Jacks: 66%

Ponies: 34%

Which do you respect more?

Jacks: 52%

Ponies: 48%

More interesting than the actual percentages, were the way the votes fell between questions. Almost all of the people who identified themselves as “Jacks” said they respect the one trick ponies more. The same was true for the “ponies”- they noted that they respect those who can do it all more.

It got me reflecting even more deeply on my conundrum. Am I just being my own harshest critic when I label myself a quitter- or worse, a failure- at all of these activities? The fact that I can always go back to any or all of these hobbies looms over my head like a dark cloud full of possibility unseen. What does it mean about who I am? What does it mean about my potential for success? What does it mean about how society will see and label me?

The one question that, to me, encapsulates all of the above questions, is what do we value in society anyway? When we look to our TVs and magazines, the one trick ponies reign supreme without any doubt. Olympians, famed actors, and top tier comics monopolize our airwaves. But when we look closer to home, to our friends and family and coworkers we admire, those who seem to have it all, and have found balance, are the ones we place on pedestals…

I came to the conclusion that in reality, the foxes nor the hedgehogs can ever have everything. Perhaps that is the ultimate dilemma- we can never have it all — so we choose to either have all of something, or a little bit of everything. As for me, I’m trying not to fight my fox-like urges. How rich is a life full of so much adventure? I will never be an Olympian, or a movie star, or even a famous comic, but I can enjoy a richness of life filled with varied experiences and simple joys, and a few failures (ok probably many) along the way. To just begin - to try, risk failure, risk quitting, and do it anyway, is a beautiful skill and gift. One that merits no shame.