It has become common to lose interest in hobbies these days.
We all know ever since the pandemic hit; the world went into a definite lockdown. By then, most of us had already thought of connecting with our hobbies, which were our solace from the daily hectic and stressful life but eventually stopped enjoying, leading us to lose interest in hobbies.
As it seems, I was the same too! I was thrilled when the lockdown was announced since I had all the time to rekindle my love for books and reading. I fixated on the idea of a reading marathon so much that I joined book communities so that I could keep a tab on what others are up to and join them for what you call a “buddy read.”
The first fifteen days, I was in another world because I was doing what I loved! But then, as days went by, I felt that I wasn’t enjoying my hobby as much as I did before but was doing it out of compulsion.
Usually, when we speak of hobbies and interests, we define it as something that gives us joy and comfort. We involve our mind and soul because it lets us unload all the stress from the works and chores in our everyday lives.
While it is true that hobbies and interests are for leisurely pleasures, one can’t turn a blind eye to the fact that it also shapes us as a person and stimulates our overall well-being for the better.
There is a slew of reasons why people need to take some time out of their lives and dedicate it to their hobby activities.
- It relieves us from any stress caused due to a hectic work schedule.
- It teaches one how to be patient and focus on building their skills.
- It helps to form a strong and cordial bond with other people having the same hobbies, and share stories and experiences with them.
- Hobbies help develop a person’s personality when a person enjoys an activity that enables them to boost their self-confidence.
- It doesn’t let a person waste their time, which can again contribute to low self-esteem for being unproductive.
So why did I not find my hobby of reading a fun activity any longer?
I pondered upon it for a long time until I realized the root cause behind it. And when I did, no wonder it made so much sense!
Hobbies as a Toxic Competitive Sport
These days we unknowingly turn our hobbies into a competitive sport.
When one turns a hobby into a competitive sport, it doesn’t only ruin the whole process of deriving joy from those activities but also makes one mentally frazzled, so much that they might get burnt out and never come out of it. It happens because the primary focus shifts to the end goal- to win and to compare ourselves with others who share the same interests as us.
And when hobbies lead a person to the point where they can no longer feel any emotion for it, the feeling is most certainly the same as death.
We already have enough competitiveness in all spheres of our daily life. And the last thing anybody would want is to make their hobby a tediously monotonous activity.
I have realized I enjoyed the whole process of reading so long when I read books without giving a care about the other readers. But now I’m just a burnt-out ball who can’t even get through a page from any books!
We are Constantly Striving for Perfectionism
As I write this, one more realization dawned on me why people losing interest in hobbies are more prevalent these days because we are exposed to social media in every nook and corner of our life.
See for yourself! We get inspired by any art put up by an artist on a social forum and immediately jump onto trying it. But when and if the result of our art doesn’t align with what we’d imagined it to be at the first attempt, we stop trying it anymore. This attitude restricts us from being committed to things to be possibly hooked to in the future.
If we dig deeper, it happens because we humans are slaves of perfectionism. We start deprecating our worth because we think we are bad at things if they don’t turn out to be how we’d expected.
We Just Don’t Want to Try New Things Because We are Easily Bored
If you think you lose interest in your hobbies just because you find them boring, then you might want to step back and look out for and explore new activities. You’re eventually bound to collide with something new, which you might end up calling your hobby and get hooked to it.
Remember! Just because you like something doesn’t mean you have to be perfect at it. And just because it isn’t perfect, it doesn’t signify you’ve to stop trying new things you can adopt as your hobbies later on. You can do it for fun as well, as long as you are happy and satisfied.
But how would you know that if you don’t take the first step and try?
Take One Step at a Time
Hobbies should bring you joy, and in this digital era, there are so many options out there today devoted to hobbies and interests for free. So why don’t we start there?
Take a paintbrush to splash some colors on a blank canvas, divulge into the hidden meaning of world’s top brand logo designs and try to read creative designers mind, hum to your favorite songs without caring about the keynotes, or do whatever you have always been wanting to do but never did out of fear of not being good enough. Hobbies as a competitive sport are healthy only when you are competing with yourself.
Hobbies for many open up a portal to another world to escape the stresses from their life. And as sad as it will sound, a person not having any hobby or interest of their own is no less than an automaton.
And if you have a hobby but does not feel the same way about it anymore, it is ok. You can take it one step at a time whenever you are ready, or maybe try out new things before you get back to your comfort activity?
I’m going back now to reading, not the whole book at once, but start from a few pages to fuel my love for my hobby of reading again. And I hope you do the same with the activities you love, too.