Hobby Hunger
Do you truly understand the difference between a hobby and a profession or calling – of course we do (or should)? But that doesn’t mean to say we approach our performance everyday as an elite performer – sometimes it’s more like a hobby, a little lackadaisical or possibly even amateur?
The definition of a hobby is an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure, it’s not necessarily focused on making money, making a difference for others it’s just something you enjoy doing in, more often than not, in your spare time.
You enjoy an activity or event but it’s just something you do now and again, if you make a wooden stool every year in your shed that will be more than enough, to help the process you might even buy a couple of books or watch some YouTube clips. It’s never going to be a profession or something really important to you, just a part time hobby for you personally, that mental reboot or reconnection with your internal creativity or Zen place.
Can a hobby become a business – A business as a whole, is commercial with an aim to make a profit – it’s that simple. That doesnt mean to say all business achieve this as many don’t survive because they don’t achieve a profit – but that is the aim. Before you say anything non for profit doesn’t mean don’t make any money, the profits that are made are reinvested etc etc profit still must be made.
When exploring the definitions of a hobby business, the general consensus was the following –
Hobby businesses are typically run from home and are based on recreational activities close to your residence. Examples can include breeding animals, making garden ornaments or refinishing antiques. A hobby business is a side business that you do for pleasure – not income. Therefore, there should be a primary source of income such as a full-time job, another business or a working spouse.
Whether you are talking to a teenager to get them to do something not on their radar, taking up a new skill or learning a language it’s all about enrichment of the mind and soul. the key word here is ENRICHMENT – I personally do not believe gaming, drinking or boxsets enriches the mind and soul. However, a hobby can – it can be learning something, building something or just simply fixing things.
The mind needs to be given time to switch off and find a singular focus without stress, pressure or timescales. Much is written about mindfulness and the ability to allow the mind to reboot doing an activity that might on the surface appear inane or even a chore. Cutting the lawn or ironing are chores, but for many they are cathartic and therapeutic for the mind and soul – maybe not the truest sense of the word hobby but many of the same benefits.
A hobby more often than not gets caught up in the world of arts and crafts, from knitting to origami to painting or photography, they all appear to be vaguely arty – if you are not of an arty mindset then you won’t do it. Find a hobby that doesn’t match these criteria then from fitness to gardening or reading to writing poetry, something that connects or engages with you and commit the time to doing it. Daily, weekly, monthly whatever works for you in a framework that you can stick to.
I have described having a professional approach before as striving to be the best version of you while endeavouring to develop, learn and perform at your best consistently most of the time. When we fail to do this, we are potentially treating our performance as though it were a hobby. Results will not be great, successes will be rare and performances below par, many people wish their hobby was something that made them money, do something you love and it will never feel like work.