What’s your Hobby?

I was recently doing an Employee Newsletter for my company and we decided to do a hobby feature for that particular edition. We thought of asking our colleagues what their hobby was. This is the time when I realized that it is not an easy question to answer.

The first question that comes into the mind when somebody asks you, "What's your Hobby?" is what the hell is Hobby?

The Wikipedia definition says “A hobby is an activity, interest, enthusiasm, or amateur pastime that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation, typically done during one's leisure time”.

I thought of digging the earth deeper. There are so many things that we like but we seldom spend time on it. I think, Things that you think about often but haven’t put into action are ‘Interests’. These ‘Interests’ backed by action becomes ‘Hobby’.

Mathematically speaking, Interests + Action = Hobby.

When Prof. Sahasrabudhe in 3 Idiots says ‘Life is a race’, we all nod in agreement. It has indeed become a race. We all are so busy running this race that we don’t spend time with ourself. Hobbies are something that would help you do this.

I had a discussion with one of colleague on this and asked what his hobby was. He said he would get back to me on this. I found him busy the entire day. In the evening, before leaving office, he told me that he was happy that this question was asked. He was actually thinking about this the entire day and hence forth he would identify his hobby and spend some time daily on it.

This is exactly what should not be done. Hobbies are something that helps you cope up with the stress and break the monotony of the day’s work. If you decide and dedicate a fixed time daily, it would become monotonous and you would no longer enjoy it. It would defeat the entire purpose of having a hobby.

I asked myself what was my hobby. I found it keeps changing. That has always been my problem. I need varied pursuits all the time.I agree variety is the spice of life but monotony gives you the groceries. I feel, to enjoy your groceries, you need to spice it up a bit.

When I was a kid, (and I doubt if I have really passed that phase), I was fond of collecting stickers and paper cut-outs. I had made a small book for that. One of my uncles used to collect stamps. I also had my own stamp book. Hobby, then, was only for fun as the concept of stress was an unknown entity back then.

When I entered college, a friend of mine introduced me to reading. I was not that much into reading books during my school days. This friend, use to take me along to scrap paper dealer’s shop (the raddiwalas) and we use to buy books from them. We use to literally dig books from the heap of books covered with dust and dirt. It was real fun. I have bought some good books at throw away prices. This developed into a hobby in no time. (No, not digging from the heap of dust and dirt, but reading). I became an ardent reader. This hobby has stuck with me even to date.

Photography, Drawing, Swimming, Movies, Music, Palmistry; all followed after this.

Trekking is my latest affair. I like to go on treks. I go on regular treks since last 5 years and regret why I haven’t started trekking much earlier. It is an entirely different feeling when you are on the top of a mountain and the cold breeze touches you. The adrenaline rush is unbeatable. I think this is what they call as ‘feeling of oneness’. Treks help me get rid of my stress. I feel you learn a lot of things when you do treks. It makes you a team player, makes you more adaptable, handle situations well and much more. It is an amazing feeling to be out there in the wild.

The point is, I always kept throwing some or the other pursuit in front of me. It all depends on the frame of mind you are into. Hobbies can help you satisfy that creative urge in you that your job may not provide.

In today’s competitive world,we say that life has become too stressful, that when we have free time, lying on the couch is all we can manage. The truth is spending your time in nurturing your hobby is a more satisfying pursuit.

Spending your leisure time on your hobby helps you press that ‘refresh’ button on your system and do your work more effectively and efficiently.

Hobbies can be Reading, Painting, Chess, Knitting, Blogging, Music, Movies, Bird watching (no not the one you are thinking right now), Trekking and so on. But the most important question is having a hobby and pursuing and nurturing it. If you don’t have one, start finding and develop a hobby.

The answer lies within only waiting for you to ask the question.