Hobbies

Some food for thought: it’s a good idea to have [several] hobbies, interests and passions. This notion, most people can agree to. What follows is a bit curious: we are often intensely repulsed by each other’s hobbies, interests and passions. This isn’t a good thing or a bad thing – it’s just a thing. Of course, we are not obligated to take a similar interest in the hobbies, interests and passions of our colleagues. The speed at which we segment our peers based on their interests is astounding though.

Common to every hobby, interest, and passion are the reactions we get from our peers. Regardless of the specific subject domain, I think the overwhelming majority of interest-holders interact with (on a personal level) with more individuals that don’t share their passion. A sampling of some of the reactions:

• Why do you need so many?
• Why does it have to cost so much?
• Why does it have to be so big, sharp, fast, flat, bright, strong, pointy, soft etc.?
• I can get the same thing at <general store> for <less>!
• What are you? (model? racer? chef? spy? etc.)

What this boils down to, amusingly enough is: why on earth do you care about this subject so much?

What I’ve said so far isn’t particularly eye-opening in any way but I close with two things to consider:

1. Would we think even less of our colleagues if they had no hobby at all? Oftentimes the popular sentiment is “better that than nothing at all” (implying the individual would then be “boring”).
2. Isn’t it a zillion times better than they are interested in knives, tools, cars, makeup, etc. instead of collecting toes? (“it put’s the lotion on it’s skin…”)

So maybe deep down all we want is to convince ourselves that our colleagues have something to do other than the reason we interact with them – friends and individuals we interact with on a personal level oftentimes share some common interests already.