View Full Version : The bottom fell out...
Ultralight
5-30-17, 5:05pm
I have kind of felt this coming for about 18 months or two years.
I just don't feel the love for fishing I once did. And yesterday I went fishing and the thrill was just gone.
Gone.
For the past 18-24 months I felt a slow decline in my interest in fishing and in my joy derived from it. But I would still have great days out there and think I was reinvigorated.
But incrementally I lost the joy and interest.
I think part of this is due to accomplishing fishing goals. I have fished in a variety of lakes, had many great times fishing in rain or in storms, I have eaten delicious fishes, I have shared memories of fishing with my BIL and even with my dad. I have caught numerous "Fish Ohio" in Catfish, Carp, Bluegill, Crappie, and Rock Bass.
But now I just feel like the era has ended.
And I am now rudderless without a central hobby to gain meaning and identity from.
Thoughts? Anyone else experience this?
ApatheticNoMore
5-30-17, 5:19pm
I've given up hobbies like singing after many years (probably in my case because I never feel I got to the level I wanted to be in it and it became demoralizing and even though I had practiced a ton before then I just couldn't bring myself to AT ALL anymore, no matter what, and at that point I was just wasting money on lessons).
If you want to be outdoors, perhaps hiking .. or birding (many to identify and never know what you will see) ... or studying wild plants. Really depends on what one likes though and may not be any of these.
freshstart
5-30-17, 5:20pm
I'm sorry you lost your passion for your hobby
So, should we expect a name change request? Maybe UltraProudAtheist?
Wow, and you were really hooked on fishing, too. Well, maybe something else will lure you in.
Ultralight
5-30-17, 6:27pm
So, should we expect a name change request? Maybe UltraProudAtheist? Yes, please.
Ultralight
5-30-17, 6:28pm
Wow, and you were really hooked on fishing, too. Well, maybe something else will lure you in. :cool:
BikingLady
5-30-17, 7:03pm
I understand. I have never understood how one can have a lifetime of the same hobby and still feel the thrill with out a break from it at one time or another.
Well at least you are accepting it and not chasing new, expensive fishing highs like traveling to the coast for deep sea fishing of ocean species.
My sister in law is what I call a serial hobbyist. Every few years she'll ditch the old one, start a new one, and rarely look back. Over the years we have received gifts of quilts, pottery, and soap to confirm this. If we lived closer to them we'd also have had copious quantities of freshly grown vegetables too at one point. Apparently she has decided that we are not interested in knitted items for some reason. That's her current hobby but we have not been the beneficiaries of her efforts on this one. At least not yet.
So if I were you I wouldn't worry. Just go after what looks interesting and do it as long as it's fun. Once it stops being fun there's always a new hobby around the corner.
And for what it's worth, our cats still use the pottery every day. Although they don't seem to care if it's the one with their initial or their brother's initial...
http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s363/jpatter492/IMG_0344_zpsemrzrzyz.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/jpatter492/media/IMG_0344_zpsemrzrzyz.jpg.html)
ToomuchStuff
5-31-17, 12:01am
For me, hobbies have normally turned into a warm mythical location. Things I have enjoyed and done both as a fun and learning thing, have mostly turned into work and things I hate. I have kept the tooling, because power tools have helped me fix house and other stuff, car tools for vehicle repair (some are on long term loan to an extended family garage, gives me lift use)
I am getting back into a hobby that I was interested in when I bought my house. Back then it was the hobby or buy the house, now I am into it because it has come so far down in price and it is another skill set. I can see two options that those that get into it do, buy stuff like crazy, or keep what you like best and have some things you try and trade for other stuff.
So maybe currently UltraliteAimless?
Ultralight
5-31-17, 6:26am
So maybe currently UltraliteAimless? !Splat!
Williamsmith
5-31-17, 6:52am
Keep your fishing stuff. The passion may come back. This might become hard....as a minimalist you will be naturally prone to letting it go.
It may take many years before interest returns. I started playing guitar seriously in 1980. My passion for playing varied depending on my stress level. It was most enjoyed during low stress times but was used as a stress reliever during other times.
However, in post traumatic stress disorder it is common to lose your passion completely for a time until healing has occurred. That is was happened to me. I did not touch my guitar for long periods and when I did it was without joy.
Now I am very actively playing, learning new things and accepting that my skill level is well below where I'd like to be.
As a lifelong hunter, my passion for it was never greater than when I was a teen and just beginning. I was a loner. Later it turned into a social activity. As we age, are brains are altered chemically. Some things that used to trigger pleasure no longer do. Time is the only way to really determine this.
Ultralight
5-31-17, 7:08am
Keep your fishing stuff. The passion may come back. This might become hard....as a minimalist you will be naturally prone to letting it go.
It may take many years before interest returns. I started playing guitar seriously in 1980. My passion for playing varied depending on my stress level. It was most enjoyed during low stress times but was used as a stress reliever during other times.
However, in post traumatic stress disorder it is common to lose your passion completely for a time until healing has occurred. That is was happened to me. I did not touch my guitar for long periods and when I did it was without joy.
Now I am very actively playing, learning new things and accepting that my skill level is well below where I'd like to be.
As a lifelong hunter, my passion for it was never greater than when I was a teen and just beginning. I was a loner. Later it turned into a social activity. As we age, are brains are altered chemically. Some things that used to trigger pleasure no longer do. Time is the only way to really determine this.
Well, I will still likely go fishing here or there, like if my BIL asks fervently or if my dad wants to catch trout here in the early spring.
So I will hold onto the stuff for at least another year. But the amount of gear I have is very, very minimal. One rod & reel, a "tackle box" that fits in my back pocket, and a net -- little more, really.
Williamsmith has wise words about PTSD!
Depression can also take away one's pleasure in activities one has enjoyed in the past.
Go back to when you were age 10 and think about what you loved to do then. Find a form of that activity/ies to refresh yourself. I once heard an excellent talk about the importance of remembering the joys and interests of a 10 year old. It seems that it is critical time in one's life. It certainly was true for my life.
ApatheticNoMore
5-31-17, 11:11am
yea occurred to me it could be stress, I mean if I was doing school and work I'd be too stressed to have much joy for anything else I have to say (already hard to). But since there is no great harm from walking a way from a hobby either way, no need to stay with it - but could be stress.
I have a few hobbies that I've considered life-long, including fishing, but have sometimes taken long periods away from them. A couple others have been dropped totally due to loss of interest. My only advice would be to go with your heart and not force things one way or the other.
I started fishing with my dad when I was a kid. We sat on folding chairs by lakes and fishing with salmon eggs out of the jar for stocker trout. Great memories, but I don't fish that way anymore and it would seem boring. Fishing has a lot of variations to explore. I don't like to fish from a boat anymore, but given more time and more outdoor gear clutter I could fish from a belly boat or kayak. I love stream fishing. In younger years I saved up the pennies and went to Mexico a few times for deep sea fishing. Great memories. I know guys who fish for carp with flies and fly rod. Again, not for me, but I could see the pleasure in it.
Would you enjoy teaching others about fishing? Maybe Scouts, urban kids, vets, etc.? Might bring back some of the joy sharing it with others.
UA, have you ever tried flyfishing? many just love it. Especially women. Might be a good way to meet someone! ;)
Ultralight
5-31-17, 5:53pm
Go back to when you were age 10 and think about what you loved to do then. Find a form of that activity/ies to refresh yourself. I once heard an excellent talk about the importance of remembering the joys and interests of a 10 year old. It seems that it is critical time in one's life. It certainly was true for my life. I don't really remember what I liked as a ten year old.
I say don't force it. You're home from a mind-expanding vacay. Just chill and let the Universe speak to you.
Ultralight
5-31-17, 5:56pm
My plan is to hold onto my fishing gear for a year. If the joy returns, then I will simply start fishing again.
If not, then I will donate my gear or give it to my BIL.
But what I intend to do is take a few weeks or so to contemplate this, and other things. Then I will see how I feel or see what I want to do with my time in a more focused way.
Ultralight
5-31-17, 5:57pm
I say don't force it. You're home from a mind-expanding vacay. Just chill and let the Universe speak to you. The universe speaks to me often. But it only says two things:
1. You are stardust; we are one.
2. I am hostile to you.
The universe speaks to me often. But it only says two things:
1. You are stardust; we are one.
2. I am hostile to you.
Go with the "we are one" thing--especially since no one else really cares if you like fishing or not. I think it's between you and... you.
ToomuchStuff
6-1-17, 1:39am
With as little stuff as you have and you seem to like certain fish, liking it, and doing it (for food purposes), you may consider it part of your exit kit.
And I thought for a minute, your new avatar, was of you in an ultralight.http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1752&stc=1
It's a personal philosophy of mine that a person should become an expert in at least one thing besides life's normal routines, such as work or parenting. Maybe it's building things, or an area of knowledge, master gardening, gourmet cooking, art, music, maybe fishing. That's at least one benefit of hobbies and it enhances our life and makes us better people in one aspect or another. It's a place to go when we're stressed out and should be something that comes from the heart rather than what others want us to be.
So, if not fishing, then...?
My plan is to hold onto my fishing gear for a year. If the joy returns, then I will simply start fishing again.
If not, then I will donate my gear or give it to my BIL.
But what I intend to do is take a few weeks or so to contemplate this, and other things. Then I will see how I feel or see what I want to do with my time in a more focused way.
How does time devoted to school fit in here? Things may seem different when you make it to the other side of that.
Loss of interest in an old hobby or passion is a common sign of personal growth. Whether you call it midlife crisis or something else, it's a universal passage. When we're 10, we are warned of the coming changes of puberty. After that, we're on our own. No one warns us about the big shocks to come. Carolyn Myss calls this process self-discovery. Among her "signs that self-discovery has begun":
Growing discomfort with your familiar environment.
Unexplained depression or exhaustion.
Loneliness or anxiety.
Feeling that you could never return to a former lifestyle.
New skills you didn't know you had.
Shift in your relationship to time.
Sensitivities to foods, fabrics, toxins, medicines.
Sense of a new identity. Desire to make major life changes.
New sense of liberation.
Dissatisfaction with religion in your search for spirituality.
Call to a new path in life.
Loss of interest in things you used to like.
Illness that does not respond to medical treatment.
ToomuchStuff
6-1-17, 12:36pm
When we're 10, we are warned of the coming changes of puberty. After that, we're on our own. No one warns us about the big shocks to come.
:laff::laff:
No one warns us is a lie. Being warned and listening are not the same things......
Take care of your feet/back, etc.
Better save for a rainy day.
You will be sorry, etc.
:doh:
Loss of interest in an old hobby or passion is a common sign of personal growth. Whether you call it midlife crisis or something else, it's a universal passage. When we're 10, we are warned of the coming changes of puberty. After that, we're on our own. No one warns us about the big shocks to come. Carolyn Myss calls this process self-discovery. Among her "signs that self-discovery has begun":
Growing discomfort with your familiar environment.
Unexplained depression or exhaustion.
Loneliness or anxiety.
Feeling that you could never return to a former lifestyle.
New skills you didn't know you had.
Shift in your relationship to time.
Sensitivities to foods, fabrics, toxins, medicines.
Sense of a new identity. Desire to make major life changes.
New sense of liberation.
Dissatisfaction with religion in your search for spirituality.
Call to a new path in life.
Loss of interest in things you used to like.
Illness that does not respond to medical treatment.
Wow. Self-discovery sounds a lot like a meth habit.
Wow. Self-discovery sounds a lot like a meth habit.
Or a fatal illness...
I'm beginning to be glad I'm oblivious. :doh:
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