When the topic of hobbies and interests is brought up, the most common thing that would come to mind is one word.
Passion. Without it, one wouldn’t be splurging luxurious time on something one would title a hobby.
When you invest something, it’s regularly logical that you would looking for beneficial returns out of it. Generally, the most elementary level should be deriving a sense of joy, enjoyment and satisfaction out of the hobby you have spent hours and dollars on. Of course, it might not always be this case with some exceptions.
I am a greedy person by nature, just like any other normal human being. While this emotional benefit gained is highly sought for, it’s is not the only one which I desire. There are other benefits I would like to gain from a hobby. Skills and personal growth are a few to name.
In my view, life is short. Even with all the statistics of how the life expectancy has increased, I still remain convinced that I’ll live to a maximum of 60, assuming no freak-of-nature event befalls me. Based on 60 years, I’ve almost exhausted a third of my life’s candle. With this limit in mind, I often find myself wanting to gain as much in as little time possible. It would be ideal if a single stone can kill 2 or even 3 birds.
I’m the kind of person who often spends tons of resources, be it time and/or money, on my hobbies and interests, and with the greed mentioned above, I often find myself not being satisfied with simply the emotional factor. I’m not implying that I like I want a hobby that I can gain a whole lot out of, even if it means not holding a passion for it. In fact, I rank love for the activity above the other benefits.
If I was a Homunculus, I’d probably be Greed
I’ll use my hobby of the anime and manga as an example. The emotional aspect is present when I consume anime or manga that I like. That was all I had when I began, but just that alone wasn’t enough for me. The hobby still felt lacking. That was when I stumbled upon the world of people with similar interests via the form of anime blogs. Merely enjoying anime all on my own wasn’t enough to satisfy. I wanted to be exposed to a social circle in which I could meet like-minded souls. That’s when I began on this site.
After more than 2 years of blogging on stuff both related and unrelated to the theme of anime and manga, I would consider what I desired back then to have been fulfilled. Not only have I met people locally, I even managed to expand this circle slightly overseas.
The social circle and enjoyment are probably all that I would be gaining from this hobby. I’m not going to be gaining anything from knowledge in art or animation techniques since I can’t draw. It’s not that such knowledge and skills would be earned just by watching anime anyway. Also, I understand that it’s impossible for me to turn this hobby into a livelihood, simply because I lack the skills to do so, and it’s not the industry that I would like to be working in.
People like Danny Choo and 0ne have managed to find work in their hobby. Some may condemn those who make an income out of their hobby as impure hobbyists, but I recognise most of these people actually being hobbyists who possess great passion for it.
Being greedy and wanting more out of this hobby, I look to expand gains in other ways such as picking up new interests via the medium of anime. Japanese was the most obvious interest I gained. An additional language of one’s choice would always prove to be useful, and at this point, I would say that Japanese is the most useful language that I didn’t grow up with. Also, picking up the language soon led to a new social circle through meeting new faces. I guess a portion of me enjoys meeting people.
It might be unspoken common sense that a hobby should just revolve around obtaining a sense of gratification from something which you have a passion for, and there might be the misconception of greed in the hobby equates to lusting for monetary benefits. However, I believe that greed can be positive. With greed, one wouldn’t remain comfortable laid back, always striving forward to fulfill more desires.
What are your views regarding greed when it comes to pursuing a hobby? Also, do you possess the greed for a hobby as described in the post?
60 is pretty early…
I share the same feel as you! ^.^
There’re so much things I want to do. So much fun! ^.^ Just hadn’t have enough money and time to pursuit it~!
Greed is such an ugly word…
I associate that word with collectors, or rather hoarders who deprive others of enjoyment. (e.g buying multiple copies of certain item, followed by reselling at absurd prices)
Passion on the other hand is more appropriate in this context. My passion for anime is merely non-participatory. Sure, it inspired some minor vector tracing, learning the odd Japanese vocabulary here and there, buying merchandise, etc.
Photography on the other hand… I do yearn for better equipment/skills and all that. But when I nail THE shot, the desire settles down (for a while). Creating something is much more rewarding then merely watching.
Making a livelihood through your hobby takes passion to the highest level. Dismissing detractors and setbacks while living your dream is a very admirable trait, and I respect such people. Us mere mortals can either wait and daydream or take that first step into realizing our dream.
I feel pretty much like you, if something brings you joy you should enjoy it at the max, although that logic can be faulty if we are talking about something like drugs.
Still if you like something go for it even if doesn’t give any more benefit besides your happiness.
Greed may sound ugly, but I think it’s a decent word. It’s just a matter of perspective. You just need to know what angle to look at from.
Among the homunculus, Greed died first
In my opinion greed is more into consume things while passion is more about the spirit. With passion you can’t only consume but also create. Both greed and passion can blind your eyes but greed is more destructive.
Nah he’s still alive in that Chinese prince. Lust was the one who really died first.
how the heck did you come up with 60?
It’s a nice round figure. I figured that the 70s are pretty much impossible for me.