Hobbies are my happy place

I escape my responsibilities on two wheels

I am addicted to hobbies, I thrive in the extra-curricular, I find joy in obsessions. Athletic and artistic, I engage enthusiastically. For building a life that society expects of me, my loci ought to be occupation oriented, and family focused. And I commit to my work and my family (I’m not a good friend, I admit), but my inner being craves whatever hobby I’m currently twitterpated with.

It’s worthwhile to examine this, at the least to stop myself from repeatedly asking the same questions - is this selfish, am I normal, will I lead a fulfilling life, leave a lasting impact, improve the world? Or should I hold my hobbies as dalliances, distracting me from more purposeful endeavors? Let’s make a list.

Categorizing my hobbies

Longest obsessions

Books, bikes, video games. All began in earliest childhood, and continue unabated into middle age, with no sign of slowing.

Reading may be seen as a healthy hobby, broadening one’s perspectives, absorbing stories and information, going on deep dives into a favorite author’s series. But my bookshelves are full of the unread (I blame my library for having so many interesting books I have to read before they’re due).

Bikes are unbeatable in the variability of experiences they enable. During the pandemic years I rode in my garage, my bike spinning a Bluetooth enabled dynamo, motoring my avatar across a realistic landscape. It was social, I rode with a team connected by Discord, competing together online. It was a perfect combination of bikes and cooperative video games. And the acquired fitness lead to more enjoyment when riding outside.

By video games I mostly mean one video game. I’ve been addicted to Fifa (now FC24) games since the 90’s. Unbelievable, right? I know it’s unspeakable hours of time that could have been applied to more useful endeavors. And I sneak in playtime when I should be doing other things. So, it’s a guilty pleasure. But I’ve accepted my enslavement, and dial down the guilt to dive into building a manager career, developing youth players with growth potential, and taking down higher level teams. None of the outcomes of these whiled away hours have a positive impact on my skills, my personal development, my work, or my family. In fact, my kids are equally addicted to video games. But a key difference is their social focus for much of their screen time. They connect on video calls and play online with their cousins (many hundreds of miles away). And they enjoy the camaraderie with friends and classmates who equally obsess. I’ll try to keep this addiction in moderation, but accept that it’s always going to be a part of my life.

Time for hobbies

I’ll save the other categories for the next post. Most creative and most expensive coming soon. I can sink an unreasonable amount of money on all the gear and goodies. At least I don’t ski or do triathlons - how do those people afford those hobbies?

What hobbies sustain and invigorate you? Are they guilty pleasures or, shudder, side-hustles that make up a necessary part of your income? Maybe I’m judgemental, assuming a side-hustle is an ugly consequence of capitalism, but maybe you don’t see or feel it that way? This being the internet, I’m sure someone will let me know how wrong I am. I’m sure it’s a measure of my privileged life that I can see my hobbies as just for fun. But fun is what makes life worth living.