How do guitar players get their kicks? Do they need kicks? I remember reading about a guy learning karate who claimed most time spent learning one seemed to be on a plateau -- that the noticeable jumps in ability happened, but were few and far between. I think you've either got to take pleasure in routine playing, rather than expecting to get kicks. If you need kicks, you might try constantly learning new instruments, but most people never get as good at several instruments as they would be if they were emotionally able to specialize in playing a single instrument.

I learned guitar mostly to help me understand how to sing better while guitars were playing in the background. Being able to play an instrument really does help your singing. And as Bert suggests, it's MUCH easier to lead a song in a group when you play the rhythm yourself. And to everyone who tries to sing a capella but finds instrumentalists joining him, be strong: tell them that you're not singing in 440 and they're ALL off key :-) Odd thing is, it's usually TRUE.