Very interesting first post, Derek.
I agree with what you are saying. I was on again, off again, for many years. I'm a hobbyist, so there was no compulsion to practice, and I did get bored croaking along to the same couple of dozen tunes all the time.
It's been about 2 and a half years since I stumbled across the AGF and was first exposed to a host of different genres, techniques, tunings, etc. As one of our members likes to say "it changed my life"
I love this instrument, and the possibilities seem endless. Such a beautiful sound. It now pains me greatly to miss a day of playing the guitar, and most of what I do is a lot closer to practice than performance.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and welcome to the AGF!