Finally Giving Up

[Harvey]

I read today that Alex Kaufman of "Wintry Mix Podcast" fame has decided to quit after 101 episodes. I haven't really seen his reasons, but heard it was about coaching soccer and skiing low angle trees. (?)

It got me thinking, again, about what makes you quit something that clearly is or was a passion. (I doubt Alex was getting rich off his pod.)

I know more than a few people who, like me, have some kind of "media hobby" that they try to do consistently and at a high level. @jamesdeluxe and @Stu and @SkiRay are a few that come to mind.

It's not like I can't understand WHY you'd quit. If you are doing something for fun, and it's no longer fun, maybe you quit. What I do wonder about is how you make the decision at that moment. And how do you feel when you let it go.

Did you ever have a passion project that you pursued relentlessly because you love it and thought it just had to be done? Did you give it up? Why? How did you feel when it happened?

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I was in a rock band (a couple of paid gigs a week) while in college and pictured myself as a professional musician as an adult. Even though I stopped playing shortly after graduating, I kept my bass guitar all these years (35) -- couldn't bear to get rid of it. I finally sold it last summer to a musician friend of my brother's in Boulder. Instead of feeling sad, I was happy that it's being played regularly in the same town I did.

 

[tirolski]

I was a skier, stopped for about a dozen years and fished the finger lakes in the winter from shore and in a boat. Skiing started again for about a 1/2 dozen years.
Also kinda stopped golfing much about the same time and fished the finger lakes and the Big O instead. Back to golfing now about the same time as skiing started back up. So though not really a quitter but a finder of enjoyment in the rotation of the passions.
The drive past a great trout stream on the way to the golf course makes me think of wetting a line the next time it rains...

 

[Face4Me]

It got me thinking, again, about what makes you quit something that clearly is or was a passion. (I doubt Alex was getting rich off his pod.)

It's not like I can't understand WHY you'd quit. If you are doing something for fun, and it's no longer fun, maybe you quit. What I do wonder about is how you make the decision at that moment. And how do you feel when you let it go.

Did you ever have a passion project that you pursued relentlessly because you love it and thought it just had to be done? Did you give it up? Why? How did you feel when it happened?

I think what it really comes down to is what was your TRUE motivation for doing it in the first place?

In some cases, I think we convince ourselves that something we're doing, or involved with, is fun, but in reality, we're doing it not because it's truly fun, but for some other reason. Maybe we're seeking attention, or trying to achieve a specific goal, or maybe because it provides us with an opportunity for social interaction.

Once the REAL motivation is gone, we begin to realize that we're not REALLY having that much fun doing it.

 

[tirolski]

Skiing, fishing and golfing are all fun. Some days just better than others.

 

[Kingslug]

I stopped riding motorcycles after 10 years because everyone else I knew stopped..it got very dangerouse..3 minor crashes, 1 funeral (bike related). Then I just started it up again but only on a track. I can afford it now..its way more expensive than street riding.

 

[Campgottagopee]

I was in a rock band (a couple of paid gigs a week) while in college and pictured myself as a professional musician as an adult. Even though I stopped playing shortly after graduating, I kept my bass guitar all these years (35) -- couldn't bear to get rid of it. I finally sold it last summer to a musician friend of my brother's in Boulder. Instead of feeling sad, I was happy that it's being played regularly in the same town I did.

Rock star!!!

What was the name of your band?

 

[Peter Minde]

A couple of things I've given up.

The pandemic put an end to my personal training practice. As much as I liked that work, I never pulled enough clients to make a good living.

However, at the beginning of the lockdown, I reacquainted myself with my guitars after a 20+ year layoff. I never played a lot of gigs, but I have been played on the radio....

 

[Harvey]

Rock star!!!

Pics please.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Rock star!!! What was the name of your band?

Our band was called Free Drinks, no joke, which worked well because we mainly played the then-lucrative fraternity circuit in Boulder, mixed with occasional gigs at clubs and private parties. It was the early/mid 80s so our material was 2/3 danceable new wave covers (Talking Heads, The Police, Elvis Costello, X, Joe Jackson, Stray Cats, Plimsouls, etc.) and 1/3 mediocre original tunes.

Here's what my beloved G&L L-1000 looked like/bought at Onondaga Music in Armory Square Syracuse in 1981. Some claim that it's the best bass Leo Fender ever made. I brought it along to all the places I've lived: Denver, Albuquerque, Chicago, Montreal, Brooklyn, and New Jersey -- thus making it the longest relationship in my life.