Today’s WordPress blogging prompt asks about losing interest in activities or hobbies over time.

I think this is one of the more confusing aspects of growing older. You can be so passionate about a hobby that you build your identity around it for years, and then … one day … you recognise that it’s not for you anymore.

When this happens, it makes you question how you spent your time. Was all that energy and enthusiasm wasted? Abandoning a hobby can be a very disappointing experience.

But there’s a bright side to it. You can’t pick something up again if you never put it down.

One of the nice things about growing older is rediscovering old hobbies. I’ve found that my experience and skills are still there, with the added bonus of the long hiatus giving me a fresh approach.

Some of my current hobbies began when I was still at primary school. Even though I put them down for many years at a time, it boggles my mind how persistent they’ve been in my life.

One childhood hobby hasn’t stuck. I wonder sometimes whether it’s overdue for a revival or whether I’ll abandon it completely.

I used to love creative writing. I’m currently on my second long hiatus. The last time I put a lot of energy into it, I listened to far too many creative writing experts. I learnt everything that I could about writing craft and ended up hobbling myself with perfectionism.

The other day, I saw an Instagram post by a novelist who wrote her first book with no planning whatsoever. She then struggled with her second book because she read a lot of writing advice and allowed it to shape her storytelling.

Since reading that post, I’ve been wondering about forgetting everything I learnt. Could I write stories like the child I used to be? I don’t know, but it sounds like it would be fun.