Are Hobbies A Waste of Time?

[Jon_Bundesen]

I recently got into creating music as a hobby because I really like writing lyrics but I get so demotivated when I look at the big music stars and how much time they have spent to get good.

My life purpose is also geared towards engineering and creating inventions so I don't know if it's a waste of time doing a hobby that's not too related?

[Dlavjr]

Creativity is a muscle that you need to build as much as possible. Techniques that you use to create music will suddenly give you a new sense of dimension when it comes to engineering, and vice versa. Learning and playing with many different hobbies and ideas and concepts is how you become a more well-rounded and intelligent being and come to conclusions that somebody who studies strictly engineering likely would not have come to. 

Write one song every day for a year, without spending too much time judging it. Create a SoundCloud profile and dump every song you make, no matter how bad it is. Just make sure you complete it in a day, and whatever is done at the end of the day is uploaded and out in the world. The results will speak for themselves. 

[mojsterr]

49 minutes ago, Jon_Bundesen said:

I recently got into creating music as a hobby because I really like writing lyrics but I get so demotivated when I look at the big music stars and how much time they have spent to get good.

My life purpose is also geared towards engineering and creating inventions so I don't know if it's a waste of time doing a hobby that's not too related?

Not a SINGLE thing is a waste of time in life.

You are God who came here to understand itself. And the only way to know itself is to go through every single thing there is and try it all.

 

Even doing nothing is a learning experience.

 

Does your heart light up when you make music? Then do it.

Does it interfere with your main passion (engineering?), then you have to decide what you want more and plan accordingly.

Edited March 19, 2022 by mojsterr

[Spence94]

I've been thinking about learning how to play the saxophone again for years now but I rationalize it as 'a waste of time'.

Deep down I think it would make me a happier, more interesting, well rounded, more passionate, more inspired and inpspiring human being, so maybe I should just buy a saxophone.

[mojsterr]

16 minutes ago, Spence94 said:

I've been thinking about learning how to play the saxophone again for years now but I rationalize it as 'a waste of time'.

Nothing you enjoy is a waste of time! Treat all experiences as enormously valuable. Because they are. Anything for that tingling sensation in your heart. The highest feeling of all. The King of feelings!

That is God having the most fun. Exactly what you came to Earth to do. Why take it away from him.

 

Edit: everytime you get that sensation trying something that sparks you, is God cheering you on. But often times our ego says "yeah or maybe I shouldn't, I don't know". The killer of dreams and our potential.

Edited March 19, 2022 by mojsterr

[Yarco]

Focus on the fact that you're doing it because you like it and the creative self-expression aspect of it. Don't compare yourself to anybody else.

Once you start comparing yourself to world-class music stars, thinking about how maybe you can get famous from this or make a lot of money, you bring toxic values into it and start to ruin the experience for yourself.

Most musicians don't write their own lyrics, by the way. There's like one guy who has written basically every pop song you've ever heard.

Quote

If at any point in the last 20 years you've heard a song from The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, N'Sync, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Ace of Base, Katy Perry, Celine Dion, Bon Jovi, Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Pink, Justin Bieber… then you've unwittingly been subjected to the creations of a Swedish born musical genius who goes by the name of Max Martin.

If you do decide that you want to become a world-class music creator, that's perfectly okay too. But then realize that it's an entirely different game and it takes an insane amount of time and effort. Also most people who go that path will hit what Seth Godin calls "the dip" where it stops being fun. You have to be really committed to something to keep going when it starts to be a chore. Most will give up, only a few will make it out the other side of the dip and be super successful.

So for most people it's better to keep things as a hobby and only do them as much as they bring you happiness.

[mojsterr]

1 hour ago, Yarco said:

Most musicians don't write their own lyrics, by the way. There's like one guy who has written basically every pop song you've ever heard

I read somewhere this is not true, the figure is much much lower and 80% is exxagerated as hell.

[ZenSwift]

5 hours ago, Jon_Bundesen said:

I recently got into creating music as a hobby

Creating something is a very good hobby. 

Way better than doing something like putting together puzzles. Now THAT'S a waste of time ?. 

 

My life purpose is teaching and speaking, yet I paint all the time as a hobby. I want to learn how to create music too! Remember to enjoy life while you're here! One of the greatest joys in life is creating something beautiful. 

[Jon_Bundesen]

Thank you all for the replies.

I really think the problem is that I see if I can gain something from making music like approval, fame, money, etc. which truly ruins the fun of it because I keep thinking of all the other activities that would bring more value to the table and it just gets me frustrated and anxious.

[Danioover9000]

@Jon_Bundesen

On 3/19/2022 at 1:09 PM, Jon_Bundesen said:

I recently got into creating music as a hobby because I really like writing lyrics but I get so demotivated when I look at the big music stars and how much time they have spent to get good.

My life purpose is also geared towards engineering and creating inventions so I don't know if it's a waste of time doing a hobby that's not too related?

   It depends on What stage of values a person  has both personal and cultural, the cognitive and moral development, personality type, state of being and emotional states, as well as general and specific life experiences and lines of development contextual to the hobby/hobbies/interests you have, plus the ego developmental stage you are at. A person who has more stage blue/red values, who's cognition is mainly visual and kinesthetic, who has lower circle of concern/lower levels of morality and lower levels of empathy, whose states of being and roles one becomes and identifies with, a more extroverted personality, an ego structure that is like the opportunist or the impulsive, life experiences are such, that that person will like and love to do martial arts and boxing as a hobby or even might pursue as a career, compared and contrasted to somebody whose of a different stage, cognition, morality, state of consciousness, personality and differing life experiences, boxing relatively will not appeal to such a person. The same person might love to do paintings or drawings, but the former person who loves boxing might not appreciate paintings or drawings, both people having different views of the hobbies mentioned.

   Focus on what value you want to provide, the kind of impact and contribution, ideally as a creator, first. This should be top priority and eclipse putting masters on a pedestal thing you are doing, and explore other ways of generating motivation in you and doing subconscious training.

[Yeah Yeah]

@Jon_Bundesen No, and your hobbies may evolve into engineering and inventing new musical rhythms later down the track, have fun and see where you can take all of this. Forget money, and learn from the bigger stars,

On 20/03/2022 at 0:09 AM, Jon_Bundesen said:

 

 

[Danioover9000]

@Jon_Bundesen

On 3/19/2022 at 1:09 PM, Jon_Bundesen said:

I recently got into creating music as a hobby because I really like writing lyrics but I get so demotivated when I look at the big music stars and how much time they have spent to get good.

My life purpose is also geared towards engineering and creating inventions so I don't know if it's a waste of time doing a hobby that's not too related?

    Most of the time, hobbies are not a waste of time, but maybe if such hobbies you treat like a full time or part time work, and spend too much time and energy that it effects some other parts of your life, then it's arguable it's wasting a bit of time and energy, so schedule times accordingly.

[Ninja_pig]

No.

IMO

[Waken]

Just follow your bliss man
I once came across a comment of Abraham Hicks I liked, it went something like this 'look at you no longer trying to control things, because you understand the universe has an infinite number of ways to bring you what you want. Wisdom looks good on you'

[flowboy]

@Jon_Bundesen  We all need to unwind and take a break from the most important thing. It nourishes the soul and sparks creativity.

If you know your direction and purpose, great. Put your best energy towards that.

But there will be a chunk of your daily or weekly time, that you can not productively put towards that one thing.

That time is better used recharging by doing something totally unrelated.

[Gesundheit2]

Nothing ever is a waste of time. At the very least you'll get to earn an interesting story to share with others, which helps your social status. So do whatever you like, there's no wasted time except on suffering.

[Optimized Life]

On 27/04/2022 at 6:17 PM, Gesundheit2 said:

Nothing ever is a waste of time. At the very least you'll get to earn an interesting story to share with others, which helps your social status. So do whatever you like, there's no wasted time except on suffering.

Only YOU can decide what's a waste of time ... Not Leo, Mr guru, Tony Robins, Obama, Trump ... your mum, best friend. 

Real self help is just ... obtaining what YOU want right? Can it really be anything else? 

We all want different things, we're all different.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Optimized Life

[thisintegrated]

Life is a waste of time too.  Luckily we have infinite life to waste?

[Danioover9000]

   Probably useful to list some examples of what a hobby is. I'll start:

Gaming, which includes categories like video games and game boards like chess.

Drawing, with any medium, in any genre, and also sketching and doing coloring books.

Golf.

Bird watching.

watch making.

 

   Ultimately, a hobby is meaningful and rejuvenating to do, besides developing skills.

 

[kag101]

On 19/03/2022 at 10:09 AM, Jon_Bundesen said:

I recently got into creating music as a hobby because I really like writing lyrics but I get so demotivated when I look at the big music stars and how much time they have spent to get good.

hobbies are great as long as you're actually enjoying the process. for instance, i play chess. at some point, i got so neurotic about increasing my rating that i stopped enjoying it. so i took break and then restarted with a softer approach to it.

 

On 19/03/2022 at 10:09 AM, Jon_Bundesen said:

My life purpose is also geared towards engineering and creating inventions so I don't know if it's a waste of time doing a hobby that's not too related?

as it was shown on the netflix documentary: The Creative Brain, creative people usually have hobbies in many different areas. if all your intellectual effort is focused on just one area, it will become very limited.