Too many hobbies

My winter hobby.

Do you like to explore and learn new things? Do you see a video online of someone doing something remarkable, think “I can do this too!” and go do it (or wreck yourself trying)? Do you go into phases of intense obsession over a subject, only to abandon it a week later? Is your bedroom like mine, dusted with the skeletal remains of past hobbies? A smattering of guitar picks dusts your desk. Half a finished painting leans gloomily against a doorframe, as if waiting for its number to be called. You abandoned guitar because the strings made permanent callousey pads on your fingertips. And you gave up on art three summers ago after your insurmountable dissatisfaction with the way your lavenders blended into your indigos.

When you discover a new hobby, it’s like you’ve opened up a closet in your room you never knew existed, with all sorts of treasures inside. And opportunities. It’s all about the opportunities and the hope that you’ll try, see, hear, taste, and feel new things and sensations.

Like when you pick up a new musical instrument. The feeling of frustration when you first try making a decent sound. Then, the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction when you actually produce one. Then, the upward climb: mastering the song, then a more challenging one, then another, and another. Building your confidence as you progress.

But often times, this ascent is finite. You reach a point where it’s simply too hard. You don’t think you can do better. This is it. You were never a prodigy cut out for this anyway; it’s just a hobby. So you abandon your hobby, and it lies collecting dust and cobwebs underneath your bed.

Ascending into your hobby. (Dorothy Takacs: CC BY-SA 3.0)

A hobby put on hold for a stack of homework.

Hobbies are like relationships. There’s the initial honeymoon period, when your hobby is the most epic thing in the world. Then, other hobbies walk by and a glance from them gets your juices interested. Pretty soon, you’re cheating on your original hobby to try others. Finally, you’ve abandoned your original hobby altogether.

There are very few hobbies I have pursued solidly and continuously for years. My most frequent excuses are “I have no time”, “I should focus on work/school”, and “I’m not really good at this anyway.” I know a lot of little trivia about many things, but I can’t say I have expert knowledge about anything.

Do you have too many hobbies? How do you find the time to pursue them all? Which hobbies would you choose over others and why?