Guilty Pleasures
Do you have a friend that has some type of weird fascination and obsession with a tv show, or musical performer, or activity? Do they watch survivor like it's their last link to life and humanity? Do they go running religiously at 6am in the middle of a monsoon without a second thought? Are they the first in line at every M. Night Shyamalan movie, typically buying 600 tickets just so they can stretch out in the theater?
I hope you do. And I hope your friend says the same thing about you.
There are five major priorities in this world. Actually, there are six thousand billion trillion (to steal a numerical figure from my neice) priorities in this world. That's a lot. How can one juggle all of them? How does one make sense of all of them? Make them smaller...group them together. Over the rest of the summer I will start writing articles based upon these five priorities. The end philosophy will be known as The Priority Wheel. As you will see each of these five different priorities connect easily with the others. Thus, they are equally important to maintain at all times.
Now I've chosen to write about them in no particular order (ie one is not most necessary to mention) but I will start with one that may not seem like a priority.
Hobbies.
For purpose of laying a foundation: hobbies are any voluntary activities (passive or active) not done for purposes of stability or career enhancement, which you engage in with minimal resource exerting yet in return, refill other resources to get you back to to focus. There are obviously physical hobbies: walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking, playing a team sport, being in a league of some type, etc. There are mental hobbies: crosswords, cards, scrapbooking, knitting, cooking, reading, etc. And others as well: watching TV, attending sporting events, listening to music, writing, etc. Point is, a hobby is something you can readily and frequently do by yourself (sometimes with others but we'll discuss that later). This something makes you feel good about life and brings scope to everything else that you do.
My friend Eric loves listening and watching the Brewers. He's known practically most of the Brewers former players and rosters since he's been a kid. My friend Ryan loves golf: watching, playing, teaching. My friend Amy likes to knit. My brother likes to cook and draw. I like to write. Many may say of a hobby "if I could get paid to do this life would be great" except that's not how a hobby works.
A hobby is supposed to allow you for a brief escape from everthing else. It's supposed to round out your life in many ways, adding to the already complex nature of it, but somehow allowing your body and brain to take a mini-vacation for a little while. It gives you a break between other mandatory activities that are going on in your life at the same time.
Some important rules about hobbies:
1. Do not expect that others will see your hobbies the same you do. We watched the entire first season of lost the other night. Great show. I took notes. I like solving puzzles. Taking notes for a tv show where there's tons of possible philosophial theories is groovy to me. I know I have friends who would think that's the weirdest thing on the planet. But that's cool, since the hobby is mine.
2. Balance out the more intricate hobbies with simple ones. Mountain climbing, definitely a hobby. But I imagine a lot goes into it. What do you when you're stressed from a bad day at work? Can you instantly go leave to climb? No. But hiking may be easier. Or going for a quick hour long walk.
3. Be ok with doing some hobbies by yourself. I walk a lot, something inherited from my grandmother. Only once in a while do I have someone come with me. Otherwise I make sure that that time is for myself. When you involve others now you're involving two, or more, schedules into the fold. Remember the goal with hobbies is to decrease anxiety.
4. Make time for your hobbies. I have one hobby I do every week if at all possible (watch pro wrestling---it's one of the few childhood things I enjoy), something I do every day with flexible times (go walk for an hour), and something I try to do at least three times a week randomly (creative write). As you will start to see with the other priorities, it's easy to make time for those things because you HAVE to do them. But the trick is to get yourself to at least want to do them, so that you are in control of your time. Thus, sacrificing a hobby once in a great while, ok for an emergency just like anything else. Doing that regularly won't help.
Hobbies are important to the overall well-being of who we are. They are identifiers. They create an air of empowerment for us. And they make the other priorities more relaxed and less stressful for us.
pb
I hope you do. And I hope your friend says the same thing about you.
There are five major priorities in this world. Actually, there are six thousand billion trillion (to steal a numerical figure from my neice) priorities in this world. That's a lot. How can one juggle all of them? How does one make sense of all of them? Make them smaller...group them together. Over the rest of the summer I will start writing articles based upon these five priorities. The end philosophy will be known as The Priority Wheel. As you will see each of these five different priorities connect easily with the others. Thus, they are equally important to maintain at all times.
Now I've chosen to write about them in no particular order (ie one is not most necessary to mention) but I will start with one that may not seem like a priority.
Hobbies.
For purpose of laying a foundation: hobbies are any voluntary activities (passive or active) not done for purposes of stability or career enhancement, which you engage in with minimal resource exerting yet in return, refill other resources to get you back to to focus. There are obviously physical hobbies: walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking, playing a team sport, being in a league of some type, etc. There are mental hobbies: crosswords, cards, scrapbooking, knitting, cooking, reading, etc. And others as well: watching TV, attending sporting events, listening to music, writing, etc. Point is, a hobby is something you can readily and frequently do by yourself (sometimes with others but we'll discuss that later). This something makes you feel good about life and brings scope to everything else that you do.
My friend Eric loves listening and watching the Brewers. He's known practically most of the Brewers former players and rosters since he's been a kid. My friend Ryan loves golf: watching, playing, teaching. My friend Amy likes to knit. My brother likes to cook and draw. I like to write. Many may say of a hobby "if I could get paid to do this life would be great" except that's not how a hobby works.
A hobby is supposed to allow you for a brief escape from everthing else. It's supposed to round out your life in many ways, adding to the already complex nature of it, but somehow allowing your body and brain to take a mini-vacation for a little while. It gives you a break between other mandatory activities that are going on in your life at the same time.
Some important rules about hobbies:
1. Do not expect that others will see your hobbies the same you do. We watched the entire first season of lost the other night. Great show. I took notes. I like solving puzzles. Taking notes for a tv show where there's tons of possible philosophial theories is groovy to me. I know I have friends who would think that's the weirdest thing on the planet. But that's cool, since the hobby is mine.
2. Balance out the more intricate hobbies with simple ones. Mountain climbing, definitely a hobby. But I imagine a lot goes into it. What do you when you're stressed from a bad day at work? Can you instantly go leave to climb? No. But hiking may be easier. Or going for a quick hour long walk.
3. Be ok with doing some hobbies by yourself. I walk a lot, something inherited from my grandmother. Only once in a while do I have someone come with me. Otherwise I make sure that that time is for myself. When you involve others now you're involving two, or more, schedules into the fold. Remember the goal with hobbies is to decrease anxiety.
4. Make time for your hobbies. I have one hobby I do every week if at all possible (watch pro wrestling---it's one of the few childhood things I enjoy), something I do every day with flexible times (go walk for an hour), and something I try to do at least three times a week randomly (creative write). As you will start to see with the other priorities, it's easy to make time for those things because you HAVE to do them. But the trick is to get yourself to at least want to do them, so that you are in control of your time. Thus, sacrificing a hobby once in a great while, ok for an emergency just like anything else. Doing that regularly won't help.
Hobbies are important to the overall well-being of who we are. They are identifiers. They create an air of empowerment for us. And they make the other priorities more relaxed and less stressful for us.
pb
posted by Peter Brooks at 6:55 PM
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