The things I'm gonna do...

A couple therapy sessions ago, I was talking about how I used to be passionate about so many things and I used to ENJOY doing so many things.  Then last week (or so) a memory popped up on Facebook that said I had just finished a 10 mile bike ride with no breaks.  It brought up the therapy session again.

My therapist suggested that I should try something that I used to like doing and force myself to do it five times before I give up.  The sad part is that these are things I used to do because I loved doing them!  But she's right, and here are the three things that are most prevalent on this list:

1) Read books.  Growing up and all through my K-12 life, I loved to read and read thousands of books.  I'd read different genres, both fiction and non-fiction.  I continued to read off and on as I started college, but as the years progressed, I found that having so much to read for school made reading for fun seem a bit off-putting.  I got through the first four Harry Potter books, made it through all the Twilight books, started the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, read a James Patterson novel here and there, got about 14 books deep on the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels... then crickets.  I told myself that as soon as I finished my Masters that I would read a book for fun.  So, I picked up a suspense novel from the shelf at Goodwill and I read it.  I liked it.  I fell in love with Gone Girl, so I read a couple Gillian Flynn books.  I liked them.  But then I stopped again.

2) Ride my bike.  In the summer of 2010, I started riding my bike at least four days a week.  It was peaceful.  I would leave the kids at home with their dad, put my headphones in and just enjoy the ride.  I got to the point where I was regularly riding 6 miles at a time.  It felt good and definitely did NOT feel like a chore.  After moving in January 2011, I stopped riding and have never been able to get back into the stride.  And boy is my waistline angry!

3) Create.  I am simply saying "create" because there are several creative outlets I used to have, whether it was crafting, drawing, writing, blogging, etc.  I just need to let my mind kick back and do something to work on my focus and inspiration.

Of course, just like a list of NYE Resolutions, I'm not getting my hopes up.  When it comes to the bike riding, I don't like humidity, so that is slightly weather-permitting right now.  I perused the clearance bookshelves at a local thrift store yesterday and found about 3 books that I liked that didn't seem like they would be part of a series- I can't commit to that right now.

So wish me some silent luck in any way that you can.  I have no idea what my motivation would be, but I do know that joy is something that is severely lacking in my life and has been for years.  I figure that if I can get to the point where I ENJOY something, that counts as joy, and I will take what I can get!

What is something that you have lost your passion or drive for?  Let me know in a comment or as always, hit me up on Facebook or Twitter!