The importance of having a hobby

Hello friends!

Here on our site we have talked a lot about professional choice, tips for a successful career, best colleges and postgraduate courses. In this text, linked to all these themes, I would like to share some ideas about the importance of having one or more hobbies.

What is a hobby?

Hobby in the singular and hobbies in the plural mean one or more activities that are practiced for pleasure, for fun, in our free time and that may – or may not – become a source of income, a source of financial gain.

I grew up in my half dad’s library and it had a Hobbies Collection: woodworking, painting, sculpture, electrical. I remember finding this word funny and it was only later that I came to understand its meaning. Not only because it is a foreign word, but because for a child, what sense is there in the distinction between work and hobby? In a way, childhood is the time when we have time for “activities that are practiced for pleasure”, isn’t it?

The importance of having a hobby

I would say that, in addition to the above definition, a hobby is an activity that is practiced consistently and with dedication. An activity that instigates us, that gives us contentment, but for which we also have to make an effort. It’s not just pleasure for pleasure’s sake. For this reason, due to dedication and constancy, many hobbies end up becoming a profession, that is, they take the place of the previously main function, whether a job or business, insofar as they can also bring money.

But the importance of having a hobby is not just because it can take the place of the previous career or because it can help with the monthly income, the importance of having a hobby consists in the fact that in a hobby we can exercise activities, skills and talents that do not fit in our main function.

As an example, we can imagine a surgeon who paints pictures or plays the oboe, or an engineer who gives mathematics lessons to children at the weekend, or a journalist with a black belt in karate. Finally, it is possible to imagine and observe close to us infinite combinations of a profession and a hobby.

It is curious to observe that the arts and degrees are normally thought of as hobbies given the social devaluation. If the son says he wants to be a musician, he will be discouraged by his parents (most likely). Therefore, it is normal to see professionals who have music as a hobby, that is, a telecommunications engineer who plays the guitar and it is less common to see the opposite, a guitarist who has engineering as a hobby. The issue is not so much what can be gained in each area, after all a musician can earn more than an engineer, it is social appreciation or devaluation.

So having and keeping a hobby – parallel to our main career – allows us to develop skills, keep active an area of ​​functioning of our personality that perhaps simply does not fit into the chosen profession.

I don’t know if everyone agrees with this thought, but I say that when I found out that I could continue to have activities parallel to psychology, I was sure when I chose psychology. It may seem paradoxical to put it this way, but having functions available beyond the profession makes them not feel that we are abandoning something we love.

As I have mentioned in other articles, I always liked Letters: literature, foreign languages, Portuguese, writing. Close to the idea of ​​enjoying writing was journalism. Thinking about abandoning these two major areas of interest was a problem until my Vocational Guidance psychologist said that I wouldn’t have to abandon either one. The only question was which would be, let’s say, “the main one”.

That is, he could have chosen letters and had psychology and journalism as hobbies. Or I could be a journalist today and have literature and psychology as a hobby. Obviously, I chose psychology and today I am a psychologist, with a master’s degree in Literature and a website with more than 500 texts written by me. And it’s curious how in journalism I wanted exactly what I have here at – a space, a column, an editorial to write about whatever I wanted. Of course, the main topic is still psychology, but I can talk about related subjects.

How many hobbies can we have?

Well, there is no right answer to this question. I would say it could be one or ten, four or nine and I wouldn’t be saying or adding anything. The amount of hobbies depends on your interests. Although we can find people who seem to have no interest or pleasure in any extra activity, it is likely that each one has at least one more area that they enjoy. It could be a sport like football or an art like cinema or a talent like cooking.

The ideal is to recognize as soon as possible what we like and not let time pass, that is, cultivate with affection and spend time with the intention of being excellent at what we like, although it can remain a hobby, a parallel activity, and even may give some financial return.

Besides Letters and Journalism (writing) I’ve always liked technology. If I were ten years younger, I would have one more career to doubt, the area of ​​computer science. Well, what did I manage to do with this new hobby? Well, I have a few websites on various topics!

Conclusion

Well, in this text I just wanted to show how we can find creative ways to use our hobbies and connect them. Of course, hobbies don’t necessarily have to be linked. Sometimes it’s even better for them to be separated into watertight compartments.

I recently participated in an interview on TV São Judas Tadeu in São Paulo and we were talking about the question – Earn Money or Do what you like? It’s an excellent question, but as we learned in discourse analysis, the way the question is constructed is tricky. First, by excluding the possibility of earning money doing what one likes and, second, by implying that we cannot do both, that is, if it is not possible to combine the two possibilities, the question suggests that we have to choose between one or the other. another alternative. Now, why can’t we have a career and a hobby, or several? Why not earn money doing what you like and continue enjoying what you do outside of work, in other activities?

I stop here. Criticisms, suggestions, comments, compliments are welcome in the comments!

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