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I don't know about anyone else here, but I don't have hobbies so that I can be seen as interesting to others. I have hobbies because I am interested in those things. I could not care less if they are interesting to others.
Further, I don't choose my "passions" in order to be interesting or entertaining to others. If people do pick their hobbies and passions for that reason, they must really be empty individuals.
[sarcasm mode] What?! How dare you partake in pursuits that please you and not other people!!! Don't you know that the only reason you should have hobbies is to seem interesting to other people, who cares if they make you miserable?![/sarcasm mode]
P.S. I tried to give you another rep but I must pass it around.
I'm about as busy as a person can be with three children, a wife, a house, social activities, and a jam-packed professional life. If I have hobbies and interests, then anybody can have hobbies and interests.
To me, people who claim to have no time are really people who have no initiative. They would rather camp out in front of the television at night. How freaking boring is that?
Yea come tell me that to my face and spend a day in my shoes . I have a wife, two small children, house, social activities, jam packed professional life, finishing up B-school at UF, studying for industry certifications. I cant remember the last time I touched my Xbox, PS3 or Wii. I have this copy of the new Sim City still sitting here shrinkwrapped a week later as I study for an exam next week. My golf clubs are sitting unused for at least a year and I have a gift card to an expensive golf course my wife gave me for Christmas, just waiting to be used. I have a dirt bike that is just sitting collecting dust. I have a nice Traxxas Slash r/c truck that hasn't been used in months. Oh oh and I have a thousand dollar Specialized road bike my wife got me last year that has maybe 15 miles on it and was used a couple of times. I have a nice new basketball I bought a month ago that I've yet to be able to get to the courts to use. I've got a bookshelf filled with non school or industry related books that I'd love to be able to read. And I can keep going and going listing my hobbies and interests that I don't get to do.
The fact is that having a wife and especially kids, and a job makes it EXTREMELY difficult to get to participate in ones hobbies and interests. But that's ok. I put my family first. Kids grow up so fast and I want to enjoy every minute of it. I knew when we had kids that's how it would be. But one of my interests and hobbies is to travel and sight see and just get out of the house to do things. And we do that. I am hoping that finishing up my bachelors in May will take a lot of stress off of me and open up my schedule to do things that I want to do without taking away from my family much. I actually have been thinking about getting a day planner that has the hourly slots and filing out time logs so I can see where any ineffective uses of time are occurring and maybe use that for hobbies, even if that is only a half hour here and there.
My hobbies are Computers and gaming. It may not be as grand as playing the violin or working on car engines of vintage cars but I get enjoyment out of it. I'm not trying to learn a new skill when I partake in my hobby. It just has entertainment value and that's all a hobby really is for. It seems that for some, a hobby isn't really a hobby if it isn't as labor intensive as a normal job.
I've stopped expecting other people to be interested in my hobbies unless we share said hobby. I don't tell them more than they probe out of me - seems to just wig some people out. I had one boss who told me my glass art hobby was "gay", another who thought my gardening made me into an uneducated hayseed (I was the SEO manager for HIS company).
Do what you want, don't stress when you feel like stopping, stress if you have trouble stopping. And never tell people you grow mushrooms, they always assume
My hobbies are Computers and gaming. It may not be as grand as playing the violin or working on car engines of vintage cars but I get enjoyment out of it. I'm not trying to learn a new skill when I partake in my hobby. It just has entertainment value and that's all a hobby really is for. It seems that for some, a hobby isn't really a hobby if it isn't as labor intensive as a normal job.
I agree that for many, self included, some hobbies feel more real if they are a hassle and force us to keep learning things. Part of the enjoyment IS struggling. Some of this may just be brain chemistry - I KNOW I have undiagnosed ADHD issues, difficult hobbies keep me sane and busy. Some of it is PRIDE(this can be quite anti-social) - people with a hobby are often showing off a little. I know I am. And nothing worse than TWO pro-grade hobbyists butting heads.
Social scientists say record numbers of people are quitting hobbies because there is too much pressure due to "pics or it didn't happen" on the Internet. Other people's results crush their initially interest.
Just going for straight entertainment is good too - wish I would do that more.
Yea come tell me that to my face and spend a day in my shoes . I have a wife, two small children, house, social activities, jam packed professional life, finishing up B-school at UF, studying for industry certifications. I cant remember the last time I touched my Xbox, PS3 or Wii. I have this copy of the new Sim City still sitting here shrinkwrapped a week later as I study for an exam next week. My golf clubs are sitting unused for at least a year and I have a gift card to an expensive golf course my wife gave me for Christmas, just waiting to be used. I have a dirt bike that is just sitting collecting dust. I have a nice Traxxas Slash r/c truck that hasn't been used in months. Oh oh and I have a thousand dollar Specialized road bike my wife got me last year that has maybe 15 miles on it and was used a couple of times. I have a nice new basketball I bought a month ago that I've yet to be able to get to the courts to use. I've got a bookshelf filled with non school or industry related books that I'd love to be able to read. And I can keep going and going listing my hobbies and interests that I don't get to do.
The fact is that having a wife and especially kids, and a job makes it EXTREMELY difficult to get to participate in ones hobbies and interests. But that's ok. I put my family first. Kids grow up so fast and I want to enjoy every minute of it. I knew when we had kids that's how it would be. But one of my interests and hobbies is to travel and sight see and just get out of the house to do things. And we do that. I am hoping that finishing up my bachelors in May will take a lot of stress off of me and open up my schedule to do things that I want to do without taking away from my family much. I actually have been thinking about getting a day planner that has the hourly slots and filing out time logs so I can see where any ineffective uses of time are occurring and maybe use that for hobbies, even if that is only a half hour here and there.
You have the right attitude - you might get to these other life "entertainments" later, but you're preparing. I raised 4 kids, twice as a single parent - lots of hobbies put on hold. Then the kids got older and I carved out small bits of time for me. Only advice i could give is par down some of the old hobbies. Some were cool for that time, the time has passed. The old hobbies haunt you and heck, everybody has a right to say "enough". e.g. get rid of the dirt bike, keep the pedal/exercise bike.
Good luck.
Some people seem to have any real hobbies or interests, aside from the usual activities like socialising with people, perhaps listening to some generic pop music. Or otherwise their entire attention/life seems consumed by their family, job.etc. I realise many people do not have time to collect model trains or something, but I've found that people who lack something they are really passionate about, whether related to their job or not, just aren't very interesting to get to know or talk to a lot of the time. It may sound snobbish but that's my observation.
Some people (such as my grandmother) were/are just very focused on people so being around people is their hobby. My grandmother would spend a ton of time having people over, cooking for people, visiting people, looking after people, etc.
Everyone needs something that provides down time and intellectual stimulation (all in one). For my grandmother and other ultra-extroverts, socializing with people is that, and is thus their hobby.
The problem with threads like these is that people often have a very narrow view of what a hobby is. Some people think that if you're not tinkering around in the garage with something then it's not a legitimate hobby.
I've read on this forum that reading books, scrapbooking or playing videogames are not legitimate hobbies but following and watching sports is.
I agree with you. Sometimes people have really narrow ideas about what constitutes a hobby or interest...and at the end of the day, does it even really matter? Like...I'm not into collecting trains, but OP, what do you know about Zydeco? Cause I can talk your ear off about it, if you want.
I agree that for many, self included, some hobbies feel more real if they are a hassle and force us to keep learning things. Part of the enjoyment IS struggling. Some of this may just be brain chemistry - I KNOW I have undiagnosed ADHD issues, difficult hobbies keep me sane and busy. Some of it is PRIDE(this can be quite anti-social) - people with a hobby are often showing off a little. I know I am. And nothing worse than TWO pro-grade hobbyists butting heads.
Social scientists say record numbers of people are quitting hobbies because there is too much pressure due to "pics or it didn't happen" on the Internet. Other people's results crush their initially interest.
Just going for straight entertainment is good too - wish I would do that more.
Freakin hobbies are killing me . . .Good topic.
Sure-- some people think if you're not great at a hobby, it's pointless. You might tell them you play guitar, and they say "Oh, are you good?" and you say "Not really, but I enjoy it." They're done listening. If you're not writing songs or playing in a band or performing or something, they don't see why you bother / don't know why you don't "just quit" if you're not any good / don't find it interesting unless you're good at it. (I mean, I get it, to an extent... I suppose nobody wants to hear someone talking about their hobby when what they're saying is "I played guitar this weekend but man, I still can't get those barre chords" or "I'd like to play in a band but I'm not sure I'm good enough." But still.)
Other people think a hobby is pointless if you don't monetize it-- "Oh, you knit, do you sell your stuff? ....No? Why not? What's the point of it, then?" Or they think it's pointless if it doesn't lead to advancements in your job (I had a "discussion" about that once with someone. I told him I had bought a book. He looked at it, asked was it related to my job. When I said no, he wasn't sure of the point of it. Apparently having an interest I wanted to learn about that wasn't job-related seemed foreign to him. Well, he was a workaholic...)
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. I have a wife, two small children, house, social activities, jam packed professional life, finishing up B-school at UF, studying for industry certifications. I cant remember the last time I touched my Xbox, PS3 or Wii. I have this copy of the new Sim City still sitting here shrinkwrapped a week later as I study for an exam next week. My golf clubs are sitting unused for at least a year and I have a gift card to an expensive golf course my wife gave me for Christmas, just waiting to be used. I have a dirt bike that is just sitting collecting dust. I have a nice Traxxas Slash r/c truck that hasn't been used in months. Oh oh and I have a thousand dollar Specialized road bike my wife got me last year that has maybe 15 miles on it and was used a couple of times. I have a nice new basketball I bought a month ago that I've yet to be able to get to the courts to use. I've got a bookshelf filled with non school or industry related books that I'd love to be able to read. And I can keep going and going listing my hobbies and interests that I don't get to do.
