DIY , loosing the enthusiasm
#41
11-07-2017, 04:24 PM
It sounds like a great day!
I've always asked myself the question; Why do we do it?
I have been working on my cars since I was 13 years old. I have about 18 more years until I catch up to you, and hope I do not feel the same way. I do admit that the frustration factor comes into play more as we get older and cars are more difficult to work on. My main pet peeve is not being able to find the correct part or available parts on a trip to the parts store. I do not like the running around. I do enjoy doing the work and the added savings is a plus. Typically my weekend leaves Saturday for work on the house (mostly landscaping and maintenance) and Sunday for work on the cars. An early retiring friend said it best when contemplating what he would be doing. He said I have a passion and he was worried because he did not. If you are here on the forum, you probably have a passion. My passion is learning about and working on cars, it is one of the reasons I bought a Jag. I knew nothing about fixing and maintaining them. I studied the company history, read every manual I could find (even the 4000 page technical manual) and do what ever I can on the car. Probably more of an obsession than passion.
My advice, which I may be under qualified to give a person with your experience and life knowledge, study every inch of your car, read everything about it, attend car shows and talk about your experiences in fixing it to others. Start some posts here on some subject matter. You may find that helping others to expose and build their passion will rekindle yours. Are there any younger family members you could include with your work on the cars? I try to get my college son involved and he learns a lot. It is also time well spent with friends, family, etc. We certainly will want to learn from your experiences as we will all be there at some point and fear the same loss of passion.
Also, take a nice long ride in one if the vehicles you just worked on. I do a test/victory lap after every job. The sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and tranquility of just you and a machine driving down the road will get you thinking about what you will want to do next and how enjoyable it will be.
I've always asked myself the question; Why do we do it?
I have been working on my cars since I was 13 years old. I have about 18 more years until I catch up to you, and hope I do not feel the same way. I do admit that the frustration factor comes into play more as we get older and cars are more difficult to work on. My main pet peeve is not being able to find the correct part or available parts on a trip to the parts store. I do not like the running around. I do enjoy doing the work and the added savings is a plus. Typically my weekend leaves Saturday for work on the house (mostly landscaping and maintenance) and Sunday for work on the cars. An early retiring friend said it best when contemplating what he would be doing. He said I have a passion and he was worried because he did not. If you are here on the forum, you probably have a passion. My passion is learning about and working on cars, it is one of the reasons I bought a Jag. I knew nothing about fixing and maintaining them. I studied the company history, read every manual I could find (even the 4000 page technical manual) and do what ever I can on the car. Probably more of an obsession than passion.
My advice, which I may be under qualified to give a person with your experience and life knowledge, study every inch of your car, read everything about it, attend car shows and talk about your experiences in fixing it to others. Start some posts here on some subject matter. You may find that helping others to expose and build their passion will rekindle yours. Are there any younger family members you could include with your work on the cars? I try to get my college son involved and he learns a lot. It is also time well spent with friends, family, etc. We certainly will want to learn from your experiences as we will all be there at some point and fear the same loss of passion.
Also, take a nice long ride in one if the vehicles you just worked on. I do a test/victory lap after every job. The sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and tranquility of just you and a machine driving down the road will get you thinking about what you will want to do next and how enjoyable it will be.
The following 2 users liked this post by J5hort:
ralphwg (11-08-2017),
winstonsalemncxk (11-07-2017)