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Well I turned one of my major hobbies into a job so I’m pretty good at it. But now that I do it for work I don’t do it for fun anymore.
I used to do my hobby as a full time job, I realized I didn’t enjoy it as much when it was my job so I switched careers so I could still enjoy it.
Hobbies are about enjoyment, not skill. You should never measure your accomplishments with hobbies based on how good you are at them.
That said… when I was younger, I only indulged in hobbies that I had any skill in. If I sucked at something, I typically gave it up quickly and looked for something else to do.
Video games were an exception. I enjoyed the gameplay so much, it didn’t matter that I was awful at them. I’d grind the same levels over and over, hoping to finally beat it this time.
Interestingly enough, I’m actually really good at video games now. Not professionally so, but I have a lot more skill than most of my friends. I’m usually appointed team leader in any co-op games I play with my friends because I’m really good at tracking the mission objective and keeping everyone together. And now that I’m retired young, I spend a lot of time gaming throughout the days, which only makes me better.
I don’t play games for the challenge or skill, though. I mostly play to enjoy an interactive story. So I usually turn the difficulty down to the easiest option so I don’t get stuck from progression at any point. I can handle really difficult games, but I just don’t want to. Unless my friends want a challenge, then I’ll crank it up and then be constantly bailing them out from the nightmare they chose to play.
On a scale of total novice to master, 1 to 10, I’d say I average about a 3. Handily capable compared to the layperson, but unremarkable compared to other hobbyists. I do have a lot of hobbies though
I played Clash Royale and was top 5 in Chile for some seasons, I play Risk Global Domination and ranked Grandmaster, I play chess in Lichess with ratings just under 2000(I once luckily defeated a National Master at a simul), I do Windsurf and I’m terrible at it, I have played Football all my life and I’m average, I like painting and I’m worst than terrible at it. That’s about it.
Unless it’s programming or sysadmin, I’m mediocre at all my hobbies, but I enjoy them a lot. It’s great not feeling pressured to do them professionally like a paid job.
Decent at some and a beginner at others. Tbh, I have more hobbies than time to practice and really get good at all of them. So progress is slow, but I enjoy each one of them and don’t want to give up any just yet. Guess I’m taking the scenic route to mastery, maybe by the time I retire I’ll be really cooking. And if not, I still would consider it time well spent.
Type 2 fun and overthinking. I am good at enjoying both.
Bouldering: I enjoy it, even though I’m not great at it. My short wingspan doesn’t help, and neither does my fear of heights. Every climb is a mix of determination and second-guessing my life choices and I’m excellent at the latest.
Gardening: It sounds relaxing, but in reality, it’s a cycle of overthinking. First, I stress about planting. Then I wait. And once/if it grows, there’s a whole lineup of threats: slugs, cats, deer, boars, hail… basically, everything conspiring against success. Not sure what I enjoy about it but I’d say I am moderately successful and can eat a self planted potato every year
My hobby has a leaderboard, so for better or for worse, I know exactly how good I am at it. Currently sitting around the top 0.01% of Power Shift players in The Finals, down from top 0.001% last season. Part of me hates knowing this, because I tend to obsess over it. But another part of me loves it because I never get to gloat about anything in life, so it’s fun to brag once in a while.
What is Power Shift?
It’s a kind of “side” mode in The Finals, which is an FPS game. In Power Shift, 2 teams of 5 try to push a floating platform from the center of the arena into their opponent’s base, in a sort of reverse tug-of-war battle. As the platform traverses the arena, it effortlessly demolishes all structures in its path, so the destruction and chaos are cranked to 11.
It’s sort of similar to “payload” type objectives in some other FPS games like Overwatch or TF2, but instead of teams taking turns, they’re both pushing against each other with the same payload. It’s a ton of fun!
Thanks for the explanation! I am not much of an fps player, so i had no idea, but it sounds fun for sure :)
Best part of having hobbies is that you don’t need to be good!
This!!
I suck at most of my hobbies, but half the fun is learning and improving
I’ve recently started to blindly learn instruments without any tutorials just basic overview and it’s so much more fun! It’s like playing video games without wikis and guides - great if youre not in a rush anywhere
I think it is a trap to think about it this way. My hobbies are meant to bring me joy and challenge, no matter what level i am on
Why do you have to bring up my shortcomings like that?
Fucking terrible, I took up hockey last year as an adult.
I’m the best I’ve ever been, but I’m skating with guys my same age that have three decades more practice.
I’m terrible at them Baked a flat pancake that was supposed to be bread. Fumbling on the guitar. Haven’t drawn anything in the past 3 years. Electrical projects on hold.
I think I have to focus a little bit more 😅
I found a long term goal and give myself 30min a week with drawing. I find this keeps the drawing supplies more ready and apparent. So i end up spending a few hours a week because it’s right there on my desk. Knowing I’ve made even a little recent progress is more motivating than none.
Long term goal is getting through Riven Pheonix’ structure of man.
I barely start them and then I jump to something else. I have a big problem
