Choosing a Hobby
Welcome to another Blog post and the first write up and expansion on ‘The Hobbyist Series’ first video which was based around choosing a Hobby, easing ourselves into the waters but giving people brief experience on what hopefully will become a very useful source of information, idea and inspiration for those who have or want Hobbies (I hope…).
So let’s have a look at some of the concepts covered in the video, matters discussed and expand upon it as sometimes there’s only so much we can say in a short video but yet with the written word we can go so much further down the rabbit hole and continue the journey onwards.
Hopefully I can stay on topic, I’m not the greatest writer and wordsmith but alas I’m hoping these blogs help others and maybe you will find something useful here.
Defining a Hobby
I’ve collected and engaged with Hobbies all my life but if somebody asked me to define what a Hobby is I would simply either tell them a type of Hobby I engage it or simply say something it’s what I do outside of work for the purpose of this content I did delve a little deeper but to see what from a dictionary definition and the perspective of my fellow Hobbyist what it was defined as for them.
“An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure”
“An activity that you do for pleasure when you are not working”
“A small horse or pony.”
1
Larp-ing, Live Action Role Play
Experiencing something within life that I’m not able to do inside my 9-5 that brings me joy and happiness completing and fulfilling my life.
2
Caving
A means to explore things I would never thought to imagine, go on a journey of self discovery and continue onwards with it.
3
Language Learning, Visiting countries and learning the native languages.
I have such a stressful job but it pays the bills but my Hobby makes it all worth it; I get to explore worlds that I never knew existed, embrace and learn their cultures; it makes all other hardships seem insignificant.
The consensus when comes to discussing the definition with fellow Hobbyists, it’s more of an emotional response to their deep connection and sense of pride they get from engaging with their Hobby instead of a very logical and distinct one that you would hear in a dictionary this is because for the most part those who find joy and passion within their Hobby describe it as such.
Tips on choosing a Hobby.
There can be many factors for choosing a Hobby ranging from seeing somebody else doing it to having an interest in trying the Hobby but what I find is if you reflect on why you like certain things it allows you to become more familiar where your interest in it comes from.
Watching a video where somebody does a trick with pain to blend and flow the colours might be oddly satisfying and you may want to try it out but are you interested in the result / process rather than how it’s done if the former is true then you’re not going to get fulfilment out of doing it yourself and the watching of the video is likely to get all you want out of it.
On the other hand, if your interest is how they did it and you feel you want to replicate it and try other patterns, colours and materials then you’ve got an interest on the Hobby itself and it’s something you should explore.
Passion, interest and Fantasy
Is there something you think about doing all the time? Have you seen a discussion regarding an activity that sparks your intrigue, or do you simply have a fantasy of doing something outside of what you would normally do?
These are great foundations for a Hobby because it’s already got your attention, you’ve an interest in it and you want to explore it further.
Pleasure, Fun and Fulfillment
Is there an activity you feel rewarded and or fulfilled by when doing it? Then why not pursue this even further by making it your Hobby and exploring it even further. Recognising what activities you enjoy, what types and how you go about things can give you better idea of what Hobby you would enjoy.
Feasibility, Financial and Time
Now if you’re anything like me, anytime even the thought of a new Hobby comes into my head I whip out my spreadsheets, calendar and check my finances because I like to analyse and organise before I start a new Hobby; even if you’re not as eccentric as me in this department maybe just check you have the money and time for this Hobby and if it’s in fact feasible but don’t be discouraged if it seems to be out of reach in this community we will find ways to support you as you start a hobby and it doesn’t have to cost you an arm, a leg or your bank account.
Type of Person (spontaneous, goal orientated or unknown)
Maybe you’ve already got a Hobby in mind but you’re little unsure if it will be the right fit, sometimes when I’m in this situation I ask myself could I implement things that I enjoy into the hobby – is there room for Goals / Organising / Routine or simply be spontaneous give it a try and develop it as you go.
Types of Hobbies
This can be a more bloated subject matter than you think, for most a Hobby is a Hobby there’s no need to go any further than that but identifying the types of Hobbies can allow us to relate it to our wants and needs to identify the type or something that we can get involved in because it suits our needs.
There’s also the fact that one person Hobby of cycling could be different from another, one person could cycle in a group every other weekend doing a new route while the other could cycle alone and change their route based on their physical needs as a matter of losing weight gaining endurance strength.
It’s the same Hobby but each person has developed it so suit their needs and wants, so before judging any Hobby by the front cover look at it from the glasses of your own needs and wants you might just find organising and managing LARPs is more fun than taking part in the LARP itself but LARPing is still your Hobby.
Below is a generalised list and examples of types of Hobbies but keep the in mind just because these types might feel like a label you can make any Hobby into what you want but this is a good place to start to see if it’s something for you.
Physical
Physical based hobbies are those that require you to up and moving that generally have a physical movement or requirement to participate (as previously discussed you can approach any Hobby in any way you see fit not just what it seen from the outside).
Football (Soccer)
- This can be playing games that are vs other opponents
- This can be the organising of matches and events
- Design and creating uniforms, merchandise and products
- Can be educational teaching people to play the sport
- Can be fitness based, football is a good source of cardio; majority of matches are two half of 45 minutes as such it’s not something allows for short periods of cardio but multitude of bursts over a long period of time.
Competitive
Competitive hobbies are activities in which the person who engages in the activity pushes themselves to either achieve feats of ability and skill, defeat opponents trying to aim for the same or a means to push one’s abilities and skills to continue to improve oneself.
Gaming
- This can be playing games that are vs other opponents.
- Games can be played alone, the competitive side of it can be completing difficulty levels, time challenges or achievement systems.
- Gamers and their teams have uniforms, branding and design this can appeal to know who have an artistic background.
- Gaming nutrition is very important due to the muscle groups being used, responsiveness and training regimes.
Collector
Collecting Hobbies are described by the specific selection of certain items distinct to the collector themselves, collecting can be seen as a very individual focused Hobby as the collector is in full control of what they want to collect and why. For example, you may collect socks but you just want to collect socks that are blue this might vary from another collector who collects socks of certain material there’s a lot of uniqueness and personal attributes to collecting but there’s such as a sense of pride in it but this doesn’t mean it can’t be shared by others and appreciated too as many collectors like to express and compare their collections.
Funkos
- You can collect all funkos in their entirety
- You can collect funkos that are part of a series e.g. Marvel.
- Rarity collecting, those who want to collect those with limited release runs
- Financial collecting, collecting those that will provide financial profit over time.
Educational
These Hobbies can be misconstrued as if you call promoting Education of self and others as something that shouldn’t only be a Hobby, but we don’t ever know the circumstances in which a person takes up an educational Hobby, it could be for self-growth, spending spare time to help others or testing the water for a career change.
I love educating people, I love learning new skills but some things I learn or teach others I couldn’t do as a job but more than happy to educate others and self when able or I feel would benefit us.
Languages
- Enabling one self to communicate with others who don’t use the same language as you.
- Developing your learning methodologies
- Learning a language isn’t always one way street, while one person or party learns a language they can teach their language to others.
- Educational of others in need of language skills to assist in areas of their lives.
Overthink it or go with the flow.
Now if you know me or not I think it becomes rather obvious by the entire concept of the Hobbyist Community I’m building I overthink, overanalyse and structure everything but what appeals to one not to everybody. I’ve a habit of arguing for the other side that appeals to me, this is because knowing how others approach their hobbies can help me learn their way of thinking, how it can help me with my own and how we can support each other.
So when thinking about your Hobbies no matter the quantity, how you go about it or if you’re even going about it alone just remember for every way you think there will be a person does it differently it doesn’t make it wrong just different be inspired by others, self-reflect on subject matter but being part of a community is the accepting we’re all different and unique so let me know how you go about your Hobby I like to hear about you and your Hobby.
How can a community of Hobbyist help you?
This isn’t trying to sell you on our community, I’ve no expectations nor wants from anybody engaging with my content but if anything I do can help another even if it’s get them to think about their Hobby a little more then I’m happy with that.
For me community means the sharing, understanding and collaboration of ideas, opinions and emotions… doesn’t mean we all agree but we all accept the views of others. I’m constantly learning from my community, developing myself and my content with new approaches and ways; developing myself not for the needs of others but for myself and the community as one. As my Hobbies grow and develop so must I because I’m always wanting to grow and learn new things. What do you get out of your communities and what do you think or know this community could offer you?
Want to be a part of this community?
If you’ve read all of the above and made it to here you’re a member of this community even if you choose to never read one of my poorly written blog posts ever again for me you’re an individual who took the time to read it, doesn’t matter if you agreed with anything or learnt anything from it but you took the time to be a part of it as such I thank you.
If you got anything out of this I would like to hear from you, if there’s something you want us to cover or discuss more let us know and I thank you for your constructive words.
The Dreaded Signing Off
The early days of our content and blog will be focused on around general subject matters, something we can all relate to, such as time, money and organising / routines then branching out to more diverse and sometimes wacky subject matters all to get you thinking about your Hobby in different ways but also for you to pay it forward and teach us about your Hobbies.
I thank you for making it to the end, there are and should be other blogs for you to read; if you like diversity in your content you can watch our video-based content on YouTube, our reels and photos on Instagram or you can swing by our live streaming on Twitch to engage with us in real time, no matter your content of choice I can’t wait to hear from you.
*Please note any funding or donations towards the Hobbyist Community goes into helping fund the creation of the content here and I thank everyone for their time in visiting our website and other media.
Have a lovely day and happy Hobbying.
