Embracing leisure without the side hustle agenda
The idea that whatever you do needs to benefit culture or your wallet is super, super soul-destroying because your measurement of worth is tied to external performance that you don't have control over, for internal self-validation. I have had a lot of hobbies in my life; I've tried many things. And the only hobbies that have lasted are the ones I never tried to turn into a side hustle. Let me explain.
Sharing stories or chasing opportunities?
Do you post on social media because you want to share an idea or a moment in your life, or do you post on social media in hopes of something? Maybe you don't post at all, only in private message groups with family and friends. But the majority of people who posting in the public domain are doing it for a leg up on something, be it money, a job, or getting known in a specific field.
Rediscovering hobbies for self-enrichment
When was the last time you picked up a hobby just to have fun, not to get good at it? And not the "you're good at this; you should open a shop, sell these, etc." validation. I can't remember the last time I did something just for me, that fuelled my soul. Can you? Something that was productive in the sense that you created something, but only for your eyes. Something you never intended to share, and did it just for the satisfaction of making or doing that particular activity.
From pleasure to pressure
This idea that we all need a side hustle is so weird; why is there a need for one in the first place? Instead of blaming ourselves, we need to step back and ask ourselves who else in history did this constant self-promotion, freelance side job economy? Hobbies are for our leisure, for our own pleasure. Not a job. Once you tie money, need, and demand to something, it is no longer leisure; it's a job. And most of us are already struggling with the current job we already have; adding more fuel to the fire is just going to burn us out quicker, and give us anxiety. And why? Why are we doing this to ourselves? To escape the rat race by going around the circuit twice?
The true cost of personal satisfaction
I have two hobbies that make no money whatsoever, and even if I tried, they could never make money. That is archery and reading. These things benefit only me, and these things require your full attention, with the bonus of being very low-cost to entry. My archery gear was all low-end equipment, beginner stuff. And reading, well, a book can cost as little as 5 cents to 40 dollars. And that is a day's or week's worth of entertainment and/or enlightenment. But the part that never gets mentioned is that it requires focus, no distractions while engaging int he activity. I can't talk and go on my phone, while pulling a bow back to full draw. I can't read a book, and take it in while also watching tv. Leisure is an escape, an escape from everything, it's almost like a zen, meditative feeling.
A call to embrace personal fulfillment
What are your hobbies? What do you do that is only for yourself, and your eyes only? And when was the last time you thought, "I could turn this into a business?" Was it this year, last year, last month? And what would be the benefit of turning that into a business? To make you happier, wealthier, or to buy yourself more free time to do the thing you love in the first place. It's a circle, this rat race, and hobbies now its new form of fuel. Instead, enjoy your free time and stop trying to embody internalised capitalism.
