Your Hobby Doesn’t Have to Pay and That’s Okay
Where did we go wrong with life to the point where we stopped doing the things we loved and focused instead on how much it makes us. Someone loves baking? They begin to sell cakes. What about photography? They start charging for shoots. Writing? You’ll be asked to launch a newsletter. The list is freaking endless. It feels like every hobby now comes with the expectation that it should generate income. If it isn’t making money, people start wondering whether it’s worth doing at all.
Don’t get me wrong though because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with turning your passion into a business. Many successful businesses began as hobbies, and that’s something to celebrate. But I also think we’ve unintentionally robbed ourselves of the joy of doing things simply because we love them.
In my opinion, not everything has to be productive. I’m a believer in the idea that not every talent has to be profitable and not every free hour has to become another stream of income. It’s really okay to paint terrible paintings that no one will ever buy. To read books with no intention of reviewing them. I have read several books that I haven’t reviewed. The amount of reviews I’ve done of books aren’t close to the amount of books I’ve actually read. It’s completely normal to bake cookies just because your house smells amazing afterward and to journal what will never escape your notebook.
Having a hobby isn’t wasting your time just because it isn’t making you money. I see it more like protecting your peace, exercising your creativity, and just reminding yourself that your worth isn’t tied to your productivity. One thing I also think of is that the moment you wish to sell out on your hobby and it doesn’t actually sell out, you lose the enthusiasm for it.
The economy is so bad we’ve become so obsessed with monetizing everything that we’ve forgotten what it feels like to enjoy something with no audience, pressure or expectations.
When was the last time you did something purely because it made you happy, not because it could make you money?
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There's a name for a hobby that makes you an income. It's a job.
I've found that whenever I make the mistake of making a hobby earn money, it sucks the joy out of it. I'm not averse to finding one-off ways to cover costs (e.g. if I sew a re-enactment uniform for someone, I expect them to cover the cost of materials), but if you start thinking of it as some kind of side-hustle, the fun part is domed.
This is so true. The moment you start attaching financial expectations to something you genuinely enjoy, it starts feeling like an obligation instead of an escape. A hobby is worth keeping as a hobby simply because it makes us happy.
Thanks for stopping by :)
Omoor, na Nigeria cause am tbh😂😭
Seki leave here now 😂
😂😂😂😭
My hobby gats pay ooo
Oh my God😭😂😂😂😂😂
What’s your hobby though? Asides watching anime?😂
Hmmm, anime isn't really a hobby...
A paying past time maybe😂😂..
I could list them but isn't hive comment section too public for a talking stage?😂😂