What is a hobby? Any activity you do during your free time is defined as to pursue your hobbies. Activities like, outdoor activities, sports, playing music, performing arts, painting, collecting antiques/stamps/stone, reading books, writing, cooking, gardening, etc. Predominantly, any activity that helps you evolve as a human being and adds value to your character, challenges you, develops your skill, and enables you to master your interest area can be your hobby.
‘Life is not outside of you, you are Life’. These words by Sadhguru are truly appropriate here.
Pursue your hobbies for personality development
Pursuing a hobby improves your self-esteem and makes you an engaging personality; you gain innovative skills and become more creative. You will often meet and interact with unknown people and expand your social circle. Unanticipated it may sound, but many new business ventures and partnerships started during such friendly interactions at the golf course, in the gym, while playing the guitar and in the badminton court.
Life is short, but there is still time
Ever heard or said, ‘I like music, but I am not able to learn because I do not have time to join the class and practice’. We all lead busy lives, and this excuse is very common, whether for music or something else. Have you wondered if pursuing hobbies has so many benefits, then why people whine about lack of time and find excuses not to follow their passion? That is because people are not clear of their ability to commit time and energy to their hobby. It is all in mind, and all you need is a humble start. A bit of time management by adjusting the daily schedule will allow you to squeeze in time for something dear to your heart. A little effort to change your circumstances will help you start, and once you begin, your hobby will become an addiction and have an extremely positive impact on your mind. You will soon realize the ‘real’ value of this activity and often repent why you did not pick it up earlier in life.
Despite benefits, the question of how much money to spend on hobby remains unanswered, and there is no ‘correct’ answer. It depends. Some hobbies are expensive to pursue while some may not; some may require a handsome initial investment while others may not require such investment. The good part is that the level of expenditure is not related to the enjoyment you achieve. You should begin gradually and spend as much time and money as it is not disadvantageous to your current and future financial situation.
Pursue your hobbies for career
All said and done; money spent on hobby does not generate any direct income. At least, that is how it starts. Surprisingly, few people eventually accept their pursuit as a full-time occupation and primary income source.
Facebook started as a small social media project, just as a hobby, and we all have witnessed its progress journey. Two friends wanted to revolutionalize the bike market, and they started Harley-Davidson. Bill Gates spent his free time in a computer lab and eventually followed his passion by forming Microsoft. Interest in drawing ended up creating the iconic character of Mickey Mouse (plus many more), and ultimately a multi-media empire for Walt Disney. And this list goes on.
Ultimately, as hobbies turn into businesses, earning becomes fun and learning becomes unlimited. It is lovely to make enough (and more) money from an activity that gives you joy and purpose.
Until it is your profession, it is just your hobby
Managing your lifestyle, investments, assets and liabilities, and a stable financial profile is your priority. Under any circumstance, you should not jeopardize your financial affairs in pursuit of your hobbies. Keeping that in mind, I still believe following your hobby brings in many intangible benefits –
- Keeps you happy at heart
- Makes you more productive
- Positively drives mental satisfaction
- Relieves you from stress
- Improves workplace engagement
- Boosts your confidence
The pursuit of your hobby is an integral part of self-development, and you must be sure of not losing interest in a couple of weeks once you commit to something so important. Therefore, never go overboard. You must have the enthusiasm to pledge yourself to something beyond work, family and friends. Once you have the gusto, you will find out time.
Life is about being happy, and it is worthwhile to chase something that brings you enjoyment without thinking about returns. If you make a career out of your hobbies, it’s an outstanding achievement, but if you do not, even then you will undoubtedly gain immense joy in the learning process. You cannot measure contentment, and hence I started with saying; hobbies offer infinite returns.
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The author is a senior finance professional with over fifteen years of work experience in corporate finance and has an affinity for personal finance and investment management. Please leave your comment or share thoughts on this article via email at decodefinance.in@gmail.com. For more articles, please visit the website www.decodefinance.in.
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Truly said. Must pursue hobby.Interesting and good article.