Recently, more and more people have been asking me:
Why do you do so many different hobbies?
It’s weird/ stupid/unhelpful/pricey! (should be emphasized)
I am surprised to hear such questions and am a little tired of answering them one by one. So I will outline my approach to the use of free time.
We are used to living in a society where most people have no hobby. In their opinion, they “just live” – they work all day long, and in the evenings and at weekends they try to relax in accessible ways. Some people are fond of one thing or another. Usually it’s music, a foreign language or sport, which were started in childhood at the insistence of parents – there are no special successes, but it’s a pity to give up.
A person who in adulthood began to do something unrelated to the main activity (such as sports or dancing) is perceived as a hero. Fascinated people are seen by society as a subspecies of harmless madmen. It is not accepted to stand out from the crowd.
The result of this style of life is dullness and puffiness. Millions of people have grown so densely into their comfort zone that the very idea to do something else causes them pain and abundant allocation of arguments “against”. The wings, which in their youth could rip off the perishable body from the incubated places and send it on a journey, atrophy to the size of chicken. A man without a hobby is no longer able to fly and live a full life, he only has to lay eggs for someone else’s breakfast.
And a man without a hobby quickly learns to think. Our consciousness is a machine that recycles impressions, builds mental links between experience and new ideas. If you pour rancid sunflower oil into the tank of a car for thirty years, then do not be surprised that it takes only from home to work and back.
The consciousness of a passionate person is strong, but flexible. He easily perceives new ideas, rebuilds himself to new conditions, absorbs the blows of fate. The process of perception of new and learning is a pleasure, not a discomfort.
A bright sign of a man with a hobby is curiosity. He is interested in everything. He searches for regularities, analyzes, synthesizes and systematizes the experience. It is impossible to do a lot of different things without the ability to ask questions, repeat, learn. Curiosity, brought to the state of habit, becomes the main tool to achieve success in life. It is not for nothing that a job in the dream company requires from a job seeker to be not only a cool specialist in his business, but also a passionate person. A hobby is equal to a portfolio.
In short, if you want to feel life full of breasts, expand your comfort zone and become more successful – you need to support old hobbies and regularly start new ones. Here are mine for the last few months:
During my life I have been doing a lot of things – almost everything that you can do in a provincial city. I took part in a fire show, went horseback riding, danced ballroom dancing, studied the alphabet of the blind and deaf-mute – this is a small part of the list. Each of these hobbies taught me something, made me something better. It is not a problem that most of them have long been over.
I don’t believe in a hobby that stretches for a man all his life. You have been playing chess since childhood, three years running in the park? It’s wonderful, but not good enough. Such hobbies have already grown into a man, became part of his current comfort zone. A hobby like an orange – gives away juice only for the first time, then only the rind remains.
I believe in homo salenis, the man who jumps (we all came from monkeys for a reason). I myself am homo salenis, and here are my principles:
CONSTANT CHANGE OF HOBBY
Hobbies must constantly change. Learned something alone – it’s time to move on to a new one.
Especially for a hobby you can reformulate the Paretto principle:
80% of experience is obtained in 20% of the time,
the remaining 20% of experience – in the remaining 80% of time.
To take a hobby as a lifelong activity is to turn it from joy into a routine. It is necessary to get as much new experience as possible with minimal resources and minimal time.
Most hobbies are quite possible to master to a decent level in a few months, practicing in a comfortable schedule. I am sure that a modern person can have several hobbies at once, without losing in personal and professional terms.
Passive and active learning
New learning consists of two parts: active and passive.
Active learning. You acquire new knowledge and skills by observing and learning. Active learning usually requires the presence of a teacher, textbooks, and a special atmosphere. The active part requires several days to several months.
Passive learning is the regular repetition of skills. You can study passively on your own for as long as you want, at least for the rest of your life.
For example, the active phase of diving training took me two weeks – during this time I learned the basics, gained a lot of new experience and was prepared for passive learning. Now I can dive with scuba diving for the rest of my life, each time getting a piece of new in the passive mode, not forgetting the acquired skills.
Many hobbies do not require any training at all – take it and do it. Some require much more time for the active part. For example, English will have to be actively taught for several years.
The matter of a lifetime
Sometimes you like a hobby so much that you do not want to leave it after a couple of months. Congratulations, you have found the case of a lifetime. I hope you will be happy together for the rest of your life.
The case of a lifetime is a wonderful thing, a personal generator of pleasure. However, it is not a hobby. The matter of a lifetime will fit into your comfort zone, will expand it. However, it is necessary not to stop and look for a new experience. The great cycle of a hobby cannot be stopped.
If a person collects stamps all his life, it does not interfere with parachute jumping. Except that he will not take his collection with him.
I hope I have clearly stated my point of view on hobby
Changing hobbies is easy and right. You will have to make yourself engaged only in the first couple of new hobbies. Then you will sit down to enjoy the new experience and you will not be deterred. It’s been tested.
People around you will only be perplexed and annoyed. “Ha-ha, the orchestra man is the one who plays all the instruments equally badly! “You’ll go up to the tops, you can’t do anything!” This is what people who do nothing in their lives say. You can safely ignore such people. Have you jumped at least one top? Can you tell the difference between accordion and accordion?
Think about what you like in life, what inspires you? Make up your mudboard, take a look at it. Maybe, ballroom dancing? Sailing races, paragliding, horse riding, piano playing, Italian? Make your small list, get your ass off the chair and run for a new experience.