Breaking out of the rut and ironically, hitting the rutted foot trails

Like Frodo I know if I don't just get up and go now it will just get progressively harder to get out of my rut and conversely I would have increasing distress from missing the forest ambience and the trail life. So as my Dad used to say I'm "taking the bull by the horns" and just bullishly and brazenly planning, over the resistance of my irritable side "Clumso", a 4-day backpack on the Appalachian Trail.
. I continue to do lots of day hikes at Acadia National Park and elsewhere. But in addition I had done some kind of multiday backpacking every year since 1993. Regrettably I seem to have skipped the last two years. This is not a good pattern, both for maintaining my good health and for keeping a positive state in my soul.
. On Monday, in an inspired moment, whammo... I grabbed the Appalachian Trail Guide to Maine, chose an agreeable section known from past hikes and immediately sent out an email blast to likely companions. I hoped that by doing this spontaneously and suddenly I caught Clumso off-guard, tricked myself sufficiently to go through with this, and thus break the backpacking inertia cycle that's pestered me since 2006. One of my email correspondents immediately accepted and we began to plan. All this within less than 12 hours !
. It does help to travel with somebody not only for companionship, but to help keep my motivation level high and to make it harder for Clumso to badger me to cop out. As I age family members also seem to thoroughly approve of and encourage having the support of an accompanying friend.
. Certainly good things will flow from a successful completion. In the future, I hope, going for other trips this year will come more naturally and feel easier to go through with. Right now though, I am experiencing a bit of "stage fright." This always goes away as soon as my feet first hit the trail, and is noticeably less on the next trip if it is near enough in time to still feel familiar.
. I'm telling you all this not only as a means of honest sharing, but also to indicate there is a psychic factor in making these plans that depends very much on motivation and keeping a positive, confident state of mind.
. Planning the next one will take exactly that: riding on the force of will of somebody (could be me, could be another person) who would break the ice and start the preparation. Long live the Trail!