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Did you ever suddenly notice that you've stopped doing something that you used to enjoy ? Something that made you happy if even for a short time and wonder how long it's been since you did it ?

I used to sing ..a lot ! Not professionally, my voice is kinda bad , but I sang all the time at work , in the car, in the grocery store . It was something that made me feel good and smile . Even after personal tragedy I sang but today I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I did it . I then realized that I haven't really enjoyed much on a real level for quite some time probably about the time I stopped doing little things like singing and walking in the woods . Reinvention of who I am is screaming at me from inside but just can't find the spark to start. . What if the direction I head in takes me away from everything in my life that has been ? I realize very few people really change like that at mid stream in life but it really feels that is what would ignite ....something .

I use to spend hours after hours building those model cars at the hobby shop. Especially when I was deployed

I really have no clue why I stopped.

Without getting into it, my answer to this question is "yes."

You have a family? I used to play guitar a lot. Just don't have time for it anymore.

well i did it at home too, after the kids were in bed and my wife and her friends were yapping on twice a week about whatever was on Germanys next top model.

but....i dunno i just stopped. just lost the urge to do it. i mean i got new hobbies but....i dunno bro.

How's things going with that drone?

I mostly pick up hobbies, then after awhile outgrow them.

I have revived a hobby from my childhood in aquariums.
I am hoping this hobby sticks around for a while. :-)

Not so well, it's waaaayyy more difficult to pilot it than I thought.

I'm trying my best to keep it steady while in the air. The tutorials are great, but I had to swap to my iPad because the iPhone screen is way too small to effectively pilot it.

So the drone has basically an auto pilot setting, where it hovers in place in mid air. The problem is once I start moving, and I need it to move, it gets difficult to keep steady, especially certain angles.

It's water proof, though. I found that out the hard way because the iPhone died on me and the drone dropped into this pond at the park.

Also, it has this little Gps tracker magnet that you can place on the car or something, driving around 20 mph and it's fast enough to follow you.

Also Ted.

I had to register it with the FAA. That was interesting. It's really easy process.

Believe me I know how skittish they are! I only got a little $70.00 one and it's unbelievable how tough it is jus to get it to stay in one spot!

I used to draw and paint, but haven't done so in many years.

I have done design work ..... as far as designing stuff when I sold cars, designing my own business cards, items used to stay in touch with my customers, (postcards and other promotional items) and small stuff for my church, but I haven't picked up a pencil, or fired up the airbrush in a long, long time.

I did just buy some new watercolor paints, some new watercolor board, and a new sketch pad, so maybe I will find inspiration. We'll see.

I too have experienced this. I used to go fishing three or four days a week in the summer. I've never had a lot of money wrapped up in it. But I sure liked just sitting on the bank enjoying the day. The best days were when I caught something big or a large number of fish. The worst days were pretty dang good. Having the opportunity to fish from a boat was exhilarating. I haven't fished for 15 years. On the best summer days for fishing I think about it, but don't go.

At one time I played guitar every day. I'm certainly not on the Clemmy level but I am reasonably good and have taken great joy in working on it. In my whole life there has been nothing as enjoyable as sitting for hours with my instrument working out scales and patterns by rote until I get it in my muscle memory. If you don't play an instrument you might not get that. Maybe it's a lot like practicing a sport or anything else. My plan upon retiring was to get some recording gear and get full on serious about it. I have the money for the gear but as yet haven't made a move. I have guitars around the house but find I rarely pick one up. Like fishing, even when I think about it I end up doing nothing. I've done nothing for so long now it's going to be a long road just to get my finger dexterity back, if I even try.

In my twenties I partied. I jumped at the chance to stay up all night, drink myself silly and maybe indulge in some extraterrestrial substances. As I got older it became harder to get to work in the morning. At one point it became nearly impossible. That's when I cut back on partying. As I got older I cut back even more until today, at 63, I would't even think of an all-nighter nor of getting nearly as messed up as I did back then. I still enjoy a little but not so much nor for so long. A couple of hours and I've had my fill.

I can understand the process of changing those kinds of habits. Get older, can't hang, don't even want to. It makes sense. But to slow down on the simple, good things one has enjoyed for an entire lifetime until they fall by the wayside, well, that's altogether different. It's unexplainable.

For me, I've decided it boils down to two things: One being the loss of the passion of my youth, the other being the possibility of depression.

Depression sneaks up on an individual. I have no idea how it begins, but I'm certain that it's not noticed until the changes are dramatic enough to be readily noticed. By then it's deeply ingrained and hard to diagnose and then remove. Depression does't always show up as sitting around with one's head in hands in dispair, the complete and utter absence of hope. What I've read is that one symptom of mild depression is it causes one to not pursue things that used to be enjoyable. Maybe not visit friends as much as usual. Maybe not go fishing or play guitar. Overall just not having interest in things from which one used to take great enjoyment.

Passion is defined as "strong and barely controllable emotion". In my youth I had a passion for social injustice, for music, for the arts, for the ladies, for rock 'n' roll. One can't play rock without a passion for it. Rock is all about attitude. Lack of passion dampens that attitude. Lack of passion makes one lose that burning need to accomplish something.

Does a lack of passion come with come free of charge as part of the process of aging? As we grow older has depression increased to the degree that it gets in the way of enjoyment of even the simple things? I have no idea.

As you may tell, I've been soul searching this for awhile now because I have been experiencing the very thing you bring up here. What I've posted is what I've come up with so far. For me age may factor into it. I don't know. If I knew I'd solve your problem and thereby solve my own.

Good luck. Look into mild depression. See a shrink. I understand there are mild meds that can simply make it go away. I haven't pursued that yet myself, but am getting close because I feel I need a solution.

Also ponder the passion issue. That's been harder for me because it doesn't seem to be a medical issue as depression is. It's more a sign of a lack of desire to accomplish something, to make a difference. That's not like me. At one time in my life I was going to change the world. Maybe the world beat me down and I've lost my courage. I don't know.

Maybe as one grows older, having lived with all life's experiences, it becomes evident, whether true or not, that there's little use in trying. I'm not talking about suicide here, more like a kind of giving up, a surrender to the probability, true or not, that one is not likely to make a difference.

Well there you have my professional opinion. I know nothing on the subject. But since I've been experiencing this thing you bring up for awhile I've also been thinking about it for awhile. What I've said here is my thoughts on the matter.

I imagine your fish hope so too.

I've been with my wife for over 20 years, so there is this one thing I used to enjoy a lot that I don't do nearly as much as I used to....

Have an opinion?

I used to go hiking on the AT when I was younger. It was the best opportunity to get away from all things that go 'bing'. It's a serious unplugging from the world. I also used to pick daylight savings changes weekends to go, and a few trips in the winter. I picked daylight saving, so I could set my clocks, and go to where there are no clocks. I'd never miss the hour either way. I liked winter, as I could always find ways to get warm, but it's harder to find ways to stay cool. I mostly quit due to lack of time, and my wife thinks camping is a 2 star hotel. I doubt I'll get back into it, as now I have 'old man' syndrome, and I don't think the mountains would be very kind to my back and knees anymore.

I do miss my rock that always seem to crop up under the same spot of my back where ever I camped, though. It followed me everywhere I went, and always wound up under my right kidney, no matter how soft the ground was when I set up my tent.

For me it was Muay Thai, I truly miss being punched in the face and imposing my will on people. I enjoyed the competition, my favorite times were when I got to spar real professional MMA or Muay Thai Fighters. Fun stuff!!

Before I was married my wife thought it was cool, now she thinks its dangerous and its not worth the argument to fight. /sigh

Now that you mention it, I also miss my Tae Kwon Do classes. They taught traditional Korean fighting, not the US competition style. I was typically used as the bad guy attacker for the women because of my size, and we did live sparing with pulled punches. You still got hit, just not full force. They also allowed us to experiment a little, as fighting is never all 'forms and moves'.

Nah, you lose your opinion walking back down the aisle.

I'm in Erik's boat.

Backcountry camping used to be my escape. Hiking to a spot that few people on Earth have ever seen made me feel at once special AND insignificant. Does that make sense? To feel my inner clock reset to Nature's rhythms was a truly special experience. I'm fortunate enough to have a wife who was all-in for that same experience.

We haven't been 'out there' in over 10 years. Until recently, her parents have sorta taken over vacations, scooping the whole family together and footing all the bills. It's nice..... but it's still "vacation with the family," if you know what I mean.

Along with the camping, outdoor photography has receded. The two were hand-in-hand. Perhaps now we can resurrect the old hobbies for a few years before our bodies prevent us from enjoying the work of getting from campsite A to campsite B.

Eugue-Ryu Karate. Don't miss it as much as I miss the others, but I miss the physique it provided me. I miss the reflexes it instilled, as well. I was fast, and my technique was clean. I guess my training on cello fast-tracked me for training large muscle groups. Too old to get back into it now... but some great memories.

12" vinyl. I have a pretty killer stereo system that I almost never use anymore. No time.... or I spend too much of it at this place.

I'm sure there are others, but these are the big ones.

For some reason I just spent an hour reading this thread.

Very contemplative post IRE. And interesting (readable) replies.

I used to play in bands, guitar & bass guitar. (None of my bands were ever signed to a record label.) I haven't played hardly at all (and by myself) in the last 20 years.

I'm in the process of cleaning up & repairing all my instruments. I've actually been playing some guitar again the last few days, and I hate to say it but the thrill is gone. Been there, done that. I don't know if I'll ever get it back again.

Be right?

I'm allowed to have an opinion, as soon as she tells me what it is.

I played guitar too. Used to love it. When I moved out to Chicago I just didn't get to play as much. I'm on the ice probably 3 times as much as when I lived in Cleveland.

Plus the guitar I have has one of those stupid Floyd-Rose things on it that is such a pain in the rear. I'd like to get rid of it and get a guitar with a standard string through setup because I'm not that much of an advanced player to be using the floyd rose tremolo...

There's so much more cool stuff out now for guitar players. Cool computer software to learn and record. Hopefully I can find time in the future.

Man, that's me all over the place.

Enjoy life

And I can't even remember what it was. Sucks getting old...

But it beats the alternative

Very true, but if I can't take it with me, I ain't going...

If I can't take it with me, I just figure I won't need it where I am going

Like the man says: "Don't leave home without it"! Whatever "it" may be...

Amen Bro