From the moment you're born, everyone lets you know how to live your life.
They tell you to “do what you love” and “make the most of your life.” But simultaneously, they urge you to never settle and to push yourself towards greatness. While they are all great pieces of advice, though, they contradict one another and may leave us feeling confused. The way I see it, though, there's a lot more to life than starting a “good” career that earns you a small fortune. Our hobbies are just as important to our wellbeing.
We may not do our hobbies well enough to build them into a career, but they bring us peace and happiness, that is just as good. After all, sometimes it's nice to savor our favorite activities for leisure, less a way to make money.
For instance, I love to sing, write, and paint as a hobby.
These creative projects help me feel calm, inspired, and present. I also love that I can engage in my favorite hobbies without rules, deadlines, or expectations. If any of these hobbies were my career, I'd feel pressure to succeed, which would make them far less fun.
With having said that, it's completely fine to build your career off of your passions – if you are sure that you won't lose your spark. If you value animals, feel free to become a veterinarian. If you like running the show, start your own business. And if you love cooking for big groups, go get that culinary degree and rock running your personal restaurant. But if you have any inkling at all that one of your favorite things to do, like cooking for instance, would no longer be as fun if you add deadlines towards the equation, don't be afraid to keep it as a hobby.
Society has trained us to become money-hungry at times, but that really should not be the only purpose of your favorite activities. Your interests aren't meant to be a routine schedule (unless, obviously, it brings you peace to schedule here we are at your hobbies). Please don't result in the mistake of wearing yourself so thin trying to turn your hobby into a career that your favorite hobby turns into a chore.
There's a very fine line between our profession and our passion projects.
We need to hold onto those small bits of heaven that we feel whenever we pursue our hobbies for fun, like singing in the shower or mountain climbing with our friends. Let your favorite things, like volunteering once per month or painting your heart on Sunday mornings, be your muse, not your life's work.
Let yourself look for a career that you enjoy, but additionally hold space in your life for that activities that you love, like yoga, sculpting, skating, or perhaps sex. Take pride in the things that you want to do, even if you aren't the very best at them. Keep your favorite activities in your back pocket for when you'll need self-care the most. You'll need your hobbies whenever your career becomes a chore, so don't overwork your self on your hobbies until they feel like chores, too. Remember that your hobbies should be your refuge, not your hustle.
