What if?

What if everytime something in the game was not fun or easy I just stopped doing it? Would I still find fun things to do in the game? Would I accomplish anything? Would my alts get leveled? Would I rank up in pvp? Would I get anymore epics? If I didn't, would that be okay?

I'm reminded of when I leveled up characters and the time flew by. I didn't really notice the time it took. I remember working on professions (this happened just recently) where each skill up came fast and cheap. I remember going into raid instances with eagerness.

Those days seem long gone now. I've been trying to level my hunter, at first learning the hunter class, taming pets, it was all very fun. Lately, I haven't tamed any new pets - because unless you get them at the right level you have to spend a bunch of time leveling them up too. I was grinding on things for leather, but I'm at a point where I can't grind on mobs high enough that I need. I can't say I really enjoy playing my hunter. In fact, she was first made in rebellion of my healing priest. A hunter - a class able to survive without any help, not like my weak holy priest who has to attack green creatures lest she scream for help. I also wanted a class who could grind to make money, turns out - I hate grinding. So my hunter sits in her late 40s and I wonder at this point will I ever get her to 60. I have to schedule to play her, I hardly ever jump on her and say "Yay! I'm getting to play my hunter", instead I'm leveling because well, I said I would level her.

I've quit pvping, and as anyone who has done it knows, you lose the ranks you've earned unless you keep at it constantly. Due to rank decay, you can't take off for a while and start right back up where you left. I kept playing long after it wasn't really fun for me. A healing priest in a pug spends lots of time dead. I finally admitted to myself I was waiting for a spirit rez so often I might as well not be there at all. Sometimes I still wish I could have hit the rank I originally set.

And then there is raiding. I've succeeded in cutting back. I don't raid every day anymore. I try hard to leave at the time I set, but when asked I end up staying. On days I say I'm not going to raid, I go when asked also. That is an issue I've yet to overcome, but I wish I would just say no.

So I'm left wondering, what would I do in this game if I didn't bother trying to level my hunter. If I quit thinking about pvping anymore, if I never raided more than 2 or 3 times a week. I really can't think of anything.

Sometimes this game is so much fun - like playing in Beta with a friend - and finally breaking down and spending gold - lots of gold - to get my enchanting up.

What if I only did what I deem to be fun and as soon as I felt something was a grind, irritating, exasperating, expensive, or time-consuming I'd log off?

I know in life, things don't come without work, discipline, effort - but this is a game. This is just a game.