There were about thirty people in the
room. I asked, ‘Tell me one thing about yourself
that many people do not know.’ The
answers started coming: ‘I used to collect
coins’, ‘I was a debater in school’, ‘I represented
my district in badminton’, and so
on. One by one, they shared pieces of their
past—hobbies, talents, and achievements
they had quietly left behind.
Then I asked a follow-up question: ‘Why
are you not continuing this?’ There was
complete silence. Then slowly, the answers
came: ‘I became very busy’, ‘No time’, ‘The
rat race, you know’.
WHY HOBBIES MATTER
As human beings, we are designed to feel accomplished.
We need to feel we have achieved something.
That is basic human design. But here’s the problem:
when people cannot feel a sense of accomplishment in
healthy ways, they sometimes seek attention through
negative behaviour.
That’s the difficult truth. But here’s the encouraging
part: hobbies give you a positive sense of
accomplishment. When you set a personal goal—
learn a song on the guitar, run a 5,000-metre race, or
solve a Rubik’s Cube in under two minutes—and you
achieve it, you feel fulfilled. Because you chose it,
and you cracked it.
HOBBIES DO
45, I decided to learn tennis. When I
showed up, everyone else was in their teens.
I was the only adult. That itself was an experience.
But when I was on that court, I didn’t
think about work problems. I didn’t worry
about deadlines, emails, or difficult conversations.
Those thoughts disappeared.
That’s what hobbies do. They pull you
completely into the present. I’ve seen this
with friends, too. Some of them started by
joining a running club a few years ago. Today,
they’re running marathons. It has become
part of who they are.
Life will throw challenges at you all the time. Problems
don’t stop coming just because you’re busy or tired. But
when you have a hobby, you have a cushion—something
that grounds you and reminds you that there’s more to life
than the problem in front of you right now.
THE PROFESSIONAL TRAP
Many people think accomplishment should come
from their profession. Sometimes it does. But for many,
professional work can become mundane. You’re doing
it for the monthly pay. So, there’s a possibility that you
won’t feel a sense of engagement or accomplishment.
But in the case of a personal hobby, you decide what
you want to do. Interest comes automatically. Control
comes naturally. And accomplishment becomes real.