Lack of Drive

[Yodon]

Hi all, well the title says it all, so random bit of history, as i have read apparently most INTPs and peeps with similar Ptypes have this lack of drive , i have always been told since school that i could do great things that im pottentially and a* student or a prodigy but and heres the irony Im bone idol ,

i would really like to embrace getting some drive and doing fun interesting stuff, so far when i read the INTP profile i found that i embodied almost everything about it.

i have over the past few moths got very lucky and found an awesome girlfriend who seems to inspire me to be better , i tested her and shes ENFJ which apparently a very complimentary type to mine if i was going to follow all of it ruthlessly ,

anyway have any of you guys been able to overcome this lack of ambition and if so do you have any tips for me , i have been studying an mcsa for years and i find it easy to understand i just can be arsed it seems to knuckdown pass the tests and get qualified .

anyway thats just one issue , your advice would be appreciated

Thanks

James

 

[Anthile]

Moved from Suggestions (which is for technical issues regarding the forum itself) to INTP. Have a nice day, citizen #2158.

 

[Yodon]

sorry bout that

 

[Ogion]

Ooh, Lack of Drive, yes. You are so not alone with that.

Congratulations though on finding a girlfriend

Also welcome to the forum. May you find intenresting and enlightening discussions.

Ogion

 

[Beat Mango]

There does seem to be a correlation between INTs and neutrality/lack of drive...

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

I don't feel like answering.....

 

[Negative Space]

This is something has bothered me for the longest time. I believe it is not so much apathy (as some have called it) as lack of continuation and/or direction. In my case at least, everything I can think to start or continue just gets sidelined by all the other things I consider going after or putting effort into. In the end you have a very good feel/idea for whatever it is you have devoted your time to in the past, but not neccesarily any results due to so called lack of drive (to finish it all the way through).

It is my theory (and I have been called negative for it) that since I see the flaws, and alternative outcomes of any situation/idea/concept/insertwhatyouwantodohere that in the end I just switch to something that I consider to be a more productive use of my time.

Imo (again) I think this fits nicely with the INTP personality type in general -- lots of thinking. I analyze whatever I do to such a degree that I begin to second guess what is the best and/or most efficient use of my time. This leads to a constant switching of priorities and a perception by many that I have a lack of drive and/or lazyness because I do not finish certain things all the way through (at least to the degree that some would consider acceptable).

But thats just me.

Oh, and hello everyone!

 

[Polaris]

Welcome Yodon, I'm also new here (and supposedly INTJ.....)

What are you really passionate about? You may find your drive there. Then again, you may have tried that already. I wasn't truly happy until I pulled the proverbial finger and re-entered uni. It was/is tough, but I'm a nicer person to be around now.

 

[Yodon]

i unfortunatly never got the chance to go to uni due to family , and now im 25 have a job some debt and need to get rid of it all so i dont htink ill be going tere unfortunatly even though it coulda been fun, anyway i started my mcsa studying at home but i have been told by loadas a peeps that i dont seem passionate about anything lol so that couls be why i seem to drift in and out of stuff

 

[Ogion]

University ain't that great all the time. I think it very much depends on wether you find a subject/study that you really like or not. (At least for people like us who have lots of interests but none that steadily ranks the top place of that list.)(Or if you are one of those diligent people that just study what people tell them to.

Ogion

 

[INTPINFP]

Yes us INTPs are very smart. But, we have a unique condition. When we engage in repetitive mental excersizes too long our mind wanders, we become insane and get headaches, arthiritis, and unpleasant thoughts, like insanity, memories of our worst experiences, etc.

 

[Yodon]

sounds interesting, i should tell this to my land lady who is always calling me lazy and saying i dont notice anything, i try explaining some of this stuff to her and she just says its excuses lol

 

[Ombat]

I feel you, man.

I can't ever find a reason to do any of the things I'm obligated to do, and I hate doing unnecessary things.

I will become passionate about something occasionally, but it soon gets abandoned.

 

[grEEEn]

because everything is perfect the way it is when you think it's finished. Other people and their opinions. Pfft.

I dropped out of high school for a while (severe personal issues needed to be sorted out before I could concentrate on my work again) but I went back and finished because I felt that if I completely dropped out, the time that I did bother showing up and getting assignments finished would have been a waste of time.

I only have 1 year of college (of a potentially 2 year program) at a fashion design school. Isn't that a funny idea? INTP fashion designer? Yeah. I liked to make crazy over the top stuff with contrasting shapes and fabrics and prints and no way in or out. I'm thinking of going back some day. Just using my knowledge for the sake of having learned something. And to have a desirable skill in a team should the zombie apocalypse ever occur.

 

[Trebuchet]

This hasn't been as much of a problem for me as it apparently has for some others here. Sure, it can be hard to get myself started, but I usually manage it. When I don't, it is because of fear. I can put things off for years if I am afraid.

Maybe fear is due to a phobia (I have a few) or it is fear of measuring up, or of failure, but whatever it is, fear can stop me cold. I end up wanting to avoid any situation that even reminds me of it.

The avoidance is the problem for me. Avoiding anything that even reminds me of something leads to an ever-widening circle of things I'm avoiding, until I can't do anything.

On the other hand, if I say I will do something, I will follow through. I have also decided that if the only reason I am not doing something is fear, that is not a good enough reason, and I make myself go do it.

Not getting hung up on the details of planning can also be an advantage. My INTJ husband can plan holidays until they are weeks past. I don't get around to planning holidays until the last minute. This works great, because he makes plans until I get tired of hearing about them, and then I go carry them out however I want to so the planning will stop.

While I am certainly tempted to sit idly, practice and endless encouragement from my husband have let me get past probably three-fourths of my idleness.

 

[Tunesimah]

I have similar issues... sort of. While getting my undergard degree, I was really interesting in Math... and sort of interested in computers. I just assumed that with these interests I would be able to find work out of college. It wasn't a drive so much as a, I'll improvise something when I get there...

Well I'm there now, and it sucks... because I have no goals or direction... debt, and a crappy economy... and now I hate computers or at least the type of work that is done on computers.

I think there is a bit of delusion or ignorance that goes into the ardent pursuit of a goal. You have to ignore all other alternatives... or convince yourself that all other alternatives suck.

 

[RubberDucky451]

My problem is concerning starting something not following through. When it comes to homework It's hard to start but once i've begun i feel guilty unless i get a huge portion of work done.