In a Rut, Bored, Need a "Spark"

[DigiSLR]

Ok, I'm bored. I'm in a rut. Not talking specifically about photography. Photography is just a hobby that I haven't made time for recently. I just don't feel motivated.

I'm thankful to have a full time job that eats up 40+ hours of my week, but lately it seems all I do is:

Wake up, go to work, come home from work, make dinner, double check sons homework, go to bed, wash rinse and repeat.

Weekends it's clean the house, do the laundry, play with my son, do some yard work.


I don't want to sound like I am complaining, just looking for some motivation or ideas that might spark a change in my routine.

Anyone have any ideas, comments, suggestions, or just feedback?

[pelican]

My personal cure has always been to make myself "Get up, Get out, Take a walk" ... nature is my Paxil. Guess the main suggestion is make some kind of change, even if it's a small one.

[Some Idiot]

Get up Saturday morning, fill up the car, drive and drive till you find a cool old little town, take your camera stuff, but make an agreement with yourself that you dont HAVE to shoot.

Find a locally owned Restaurant and help them out by buying lunch for you and your son in their establishment, ask about the town, someone will tell you something cool to do, or something that you have to go see

[toverman]

Got vacation time? Now's a great season to think about using some of it. Could be a simple road trip (see above) or a complicated road trip, or jetting the family off somewhere inspiring. We like the beach, even an ugly beach.

[sbug_adam]

save up money for a year, quit your job, sell your house, take your son and go to europe for 3 months

[birdwatcher48]

I never get bored. what's wrong with me?? Of course, I live right on the canal so I go fishin when I get bored. That's what I love to do. Never catch a dad gum thing, but it relaxes me and theres always that chance that this time a fish may get stuck on my line by accident!! poor feller.
I also think a road trip would be good for you and family. Spring weather is finally here, go somewhere cool and take pictures if you want to. Got a feeling that gas is fixing to really skyrocket again, too much work available now at the refineries here, always means gas is fixin to go up in price, Now might be the best time for roading..just a suggestion.

[DigiSLR]

Originally Posted by sbug_adam

save up money for a year, quit your job, sell your house, take your son and go to europe for 3 months

That's actually an AWESOME idea. (Taken in moderation...)

Since I just BOUGHT the house and have a very good job with benefits, I think I'll just take 3 weeks (not months) of vacation this summer and take my boy to Germany.

I haven't been there since I was 18.

[birdwatcher48]

wow that sounds really nice. Did you grow up there?

[DigiSLR]

Originally Posted by birdwatcher48

wow that sounds really nice. Did you grow up there?

Nope. I went there for a summer with the High School foreign exchange program.

The family I stayed with all spoke fluent English (and Wanted to speak it to me as they were coming to the US for a visit soon)

The father was a very high ranking member of Interpol, and the son had his own high end Mercedes. The house was VERY nice and I think I remember that they had a live in maid too.

I'll never forget the excitement I had when Patrick (the boy I was staying with) decided he was going to sneak away for a day and we were going to visit the nude beach! Well, when I got there I was very disappointed... I couldn't tell the flat chested women from the men. (German women didn't shave back in the late 80's, don't know if they do now or not.)

I really did fall in love with German beer when I was only 18 though.

[toverman]

Originally Posted by birdwatcher48

I never get bored. what's wrong with me?? Of course, I live right on the canal so I go fishin when I get bored. That's what I love to do. Never catch a dad gum thing, but it relaxes me and theres always that chance that this time a fish may get stuck on my line by accident!! poor feller.
I also think a road trip would be good for you and family. Spring weather is finally here, go somewhere cool and take pictures if you want to. Got a feeling that gas is fixing to really skyrocket again, too much work available now at the refineries here, always means gas is fixin to go up in price, Now might be the best time for roading..just a suggestion.

Well, if you ever DO get bored, hosting a TPF meetup/fishin' party at your house would be appreciated for the rest of us.

[sbug_adam]

I expect a beer stein in return.. You're welcome ! :)

[Cajungaltx]

Here's an astonishing thing that 'most' people don't realize.

If your having issues in your life... especially things as you describe... say you take off for a month, and you go take photos in Timbuktu.... the ONLY thing you changed was your location and what you were doing.

In a month, you'll go back to doing the exact same thing, dealing with the exact same annoying issues that you were dealing with a month ago...

My sister in law left an executive admin job to go train/become a border patrol agent....because she just wasn't 'enjoying life' - it was the 'same thing, etc etc'... and surprise, surprise... she came home a week ago or so on her days off and tells me.... She's thinking about quitting, because she's not enjoying life.

Change your clothes, change where you live, change what you do....

All 'external' crap.

You have to change YOU! If you don't, you change nothing.

I think stuff like this happens when you aren't challenging yourself to grow/learn/be 'more' than you are right now.

You have no reason to do anything more than the 'required' stuff to get through your day....so you do nothing more.

Sign up for a marathon and train.
Sign up for a triathlon & train.
Sign up to volunteer to mentor.
Start going by the local old folks home and commit to going 1 hour a week, for 6 months... and TALK to them...
Volunteer at a local homeless shelter.
Volunteer at a thrift store...
Volunteer with NILMDTS.
Teach photography to a group of 10 year olds at the YMCA.
Start a garden, with the intent to bring the food to the local women's shelter for abused women.
Take on a project that you don't quite have all the skills for... but you are willing to learn.
Sign up for a sign language class so that you 'see' things differently
Find out if there is group that helps single parents in your neck of the woods with projects they can't do/don't have time to do.
Randomly perform acts of kindness for people you know...

Do something that takes 'you' out of your comfortable 40 hour job, 2.5 kids, all bills paid, go to bed at night get up in the morning wash/rinse/repeat mentality and STRETCH who you are.

Who you've been. Because if you don't, you will always be who you are, right now.

Someone else came up with this....but I've adopted it as my own: I am not wanting to get to heaven in a perfectly preserved body, hair perfectly in place saying 'I've arrived!'...but sliding in at the last second, wildly out of breath, body bearing the scars of a well lived life, smiling with my entire face.... screaming: Wow! That was one HELL of a ride!!!

[mike78628]

Great perspective. I need to get out of my comfort zone more often.

[DigiSLR]

Donna, you Rock! Thanks for the change in perception.

[David Whatley]

Commit to doing one nice thing for someone everyday for 30 days. Sounds easy dosent it. Try it and see :)