"as negative outcomes are far more common in most situations than positive - and mandate more attention so that they can be avoided."
That's a huge assumption; what if your deeply-ingrained habit of thinking of negative "what if" scenarios is what causes you to assume that negative outcomes are more common? And what if you choose to think about and do other things instead of fixating on possible negative outcomes after you think of them?
You can learn to observe when you're fixating on negative outcomes so that you can change how you think and thus how you feel. If your brain is a Ferrari, learn how to drive it. I recommend looking up the "Ten Twisted Ways of Thinking"; I've seen those patterns of irrational thinking again and again in the intelligent depressed people I've known (myself included), and learning to recognize them and deal with them makes a huge difference. Just because you're extremely intelligent doesn't mean that all of your thoughts are correct or valid or worth thinking about, but there's also no reason to express internal anger at yourself for having an irrational thought. I had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder several years ago, but after learning to watch my assumptions and when I'm fixating or about to fixate on negative outcomes, I no longer meet any of the criteria for that diagnosis.
That said, I also get no sense of achievement from anything, but I do enjoy continually learning more and doing more because it keeps my mind busy on positive outcomes. Actually finishing things is less relevant to me except when their incompleteness becomes obnoxious.
You can learn to observe when you're fixating on negative outcomes so that you can change how you think and thus how you feel. If your brain is a Ferrari, learn how to drive it. I recommend looking up the "Ten Twisted Ways of Thinking"; I've seen those patterns of irrational thinking again and again in the intelligent depressed people I've known (myself included), and learning to recognize them and deal with them makes a huge difference. Just because you're extremely intelligent doesn't mean that all of your thoughts are correct or valid or worth thinking about, but there's also no reason to express internal anger at yourself for having an irrational thought. I had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder several years ago, but after learning to watch my assumptions and when I'm fixating or about to fixate on negative outcomes, I no longer meet any of the criteria for that diagnosis.
That said, I also get no sense of achievement from anything, but I do enjoy continually learning more and doing more because it keeps my mind busy on positive outcomes. Actually finishing things is less relevant to me except when their incompleteness becomes obnoxious.