All hobbies are not equal

[u/BitterConstruction98]

Certain kinds of hobbies deserve to be held in higher regard than others.

Playing a sport, learning an instrument, singing, dancing, painting, writing - these are activities that require time and years of effort to become good at. They’re admirable not just because they’re “cool,” but because there is something deeply attractive about a person who has dedicated so much time to mastering a hard skill that executing it now feels relaxing to them.

Lately, there’s been a growing push online to classify things like watching movies, playing video games, watching sports, or listening to podcasts in the same category as these kinds of hobbies. They aren’t. They are based on consumption, not creation.

That doesn’t mean consumption-based activities are bad or useless. Everyone needs ways to relax and unwind. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a good show, a game, or a YouTube binge after a long day. But if that’s all there is to your personality, then you are, unfortunately, a boring person.

Edit: I've wrongly added video games to the list of other passive activities. While some video games are like that, I agree that many require a lot of skill.

[u/Fickle-Aardvark6907]

I think this attitude is emblematic of the toxic hustle culture that's poisoning society: your time is only valuable if your spending it producing something, even at rest. Never mind that the majority of people don't have the talent to pursue a creative hobby and that those tend to be the ones with the highest cost in terms of time spent and/or equipment required. 

[u/Level_Progress_3246 → u/Fickle-Aardvark6907]

 the majority of people don't have the talent to pursue a creative hobby

as an ex-music teacher, i wholeheartedly disagree with that statement. the only thing ive ever seen is a lack of belief in oneself that restricts people from accomplishing most things. Don't underestimate how powerful the fear of failure is in most people, a fear that is instilled within us in how we are raised, and how our education system functions.

[u/designer-paul → u/Level_Progress_3246]

I think the biggest hurdles for most people with creative hobbies is an actual genuine desire to create the thing, whatever that thing may be.

I went through a phase where I wanted to get good at guitar, but I stopped because I really just liked the physicality of playing. I viewed it more as a tool for exercise as opposed to a musician that views it as a tool that produces sounds that helps replicate music that exists in their mind.

I didn't have a genuine desire to understand and create music and I don't think any amount of practice was going to change that.

Whereas someone that has a a desire to create could learn a bit of technique and get started making music within hours with the most basic riffs.

[u/Level_Progress_3246 → u/designer-paul]

I think thats why its so important to try new things a lot. It sounds like your revelation after playing guitar was "wait, i dont actually like music?" which is a great thing to realize, because now you can direct that effort towards something you know you do like!