Originally Posted by: DavesGuitarJourney

On my absolutely worst practice time, I might pause for a few minutes and close my eyes and just enjoy how the guitar feels in my hands. I like the smell of the wood. I like the way it feels to slide my hand along the fret board and hear the raspy noise the wound strings make. I know I'm sounding a little weird and creepy here, but I challenge anyone here to say that they don't feel the same.

If you can't find any pleasure in your practice, then it really is time to do something else - and that can be throw away your practice routine and just goof off and see what kind of weird sounds you can make to annoy everyone around you, or put away the guitar and play a game of yahtzee and pick up the guitar tomorrow. Don't let it be a drag, because that's not why you are here.

A final thought - by all accounts from people who have gone through this, you are going through the hardest part of the guitar learning journey right now. This is the part where probably well over half of beginners walk away. Those who push through this become guitar players. It will take some of us longer than others, but if we stick with it, we will become guitar players. And I ask you, what's cooler than that?

Hang in there Jeroen, you are not alone with this.

Dave...

Could not have been said better, Dave! And this applies not just to guitar, but everything in life. It can be too easy to beat yourself up or make it a competition, trying to live up to an imaginary standard. Everyone's on their own path, and if you can preserve your core enjoyment, everything else (the ups and downs) is extra credit.

-Carl.