Someone cursed me.
There must be some way to break this invocation..
... Until then I'm resigned to be...
The Professional Unfinisher
It's true. I infamously NEVER finish anything I start. Particularly video games. (I think that for the purposes of this article we can take my approach to video games as an analogy for how I handle pretty much any new hobby, task or project that interests me...)
I love video games. I was never a hardcore player, but I have sunk countless hours, including many sleepless nights, playing games when I was growing up.
But something happened along the lines. I took a break, went to school, traveled, adulted.. and became a dad. Recently, I decided that it would be nice (nostalgic) to get a Nintendo Switch.
I've always been a Nintendo fanboy especially when it comes to The Legend of Zelda series. The last console I spent a majority of time playing on was the N64 and.. while, I have many fond memories of The Ocarina of Time,.. The newest installment with Breath of the Wild looked to be taking the franchise to a whole new level.
I convinced myself that owning it would have many benefits.. It would be a great bonding experience with my sons.. I could use it as a reward motivator for myself.. video games are good for your mental acuity.. I told myself these things and more, until a few days later the delivery truck arrived and I was as giddy as a kid on Christmas.
I dumped a few hundred HOURS into Breath of the Wild! It is an amazing game.. I completed MAYBE 75% of it.. but family and work responsibilities were nagging.. so I begrudingly took some time off.
I thought it would be a temporary break, but it lasted..
Eventually, I got on top of all my tasks and started thinking about the game console... The enthusiasm for Zelda was gone.. I found myself getting excited about the new Mario Odyssey which was somewhat of a love letter to all the Mario games of a bygone era.
I bought it and played it religiously for a few weeks. I knew every trick. I stayed up late. I searched the internet forums when I got stuck. I got about.. MAYBE 75% through it and then.. I put it down.. I had work.. other stuff to take care of.. you know..life..
The Switch system collected dust until a few months down the line...
I had caught wind of a new Pokemon game that was coming out at the end of the year. I started reading all the articles and news bits that I could find about it. I knew every nook and cranny of the game before it was even released. The game was preordered and arrive on launch. I didn't see the light of day.. for a month or so... until I was MAYBE 75% through the game...
You see the trend..
This behavior doesn't only apply to video games. As mentioned earlier, with any new hobby or project of interest, I spend hours, days, weeks obsessing and mastering it..
..to a certain point..
and then I run out of steam, or lose interest, or am called away.. and the flavor of the month for @striderpunk remains abandoned.. collecting dust.. never to be returned to.
I truly AM The Professional Unfinisher!
What about you? Do you always see things through to completion or do you dabble until something better comes along? Looking forward to hearing about it in the comments.