Hobbies changed my life

Over the last few years, I've pursued many hobbies, interests, and passions that have significantly changed me and my life. 

I made handmade paper for our wedding invitations and even turned that into a side hustle. I've sewn my own clothes, curtains, and other small items, created handmade toys, engaged in gardening, baked my own bread, crafted various decor items, self-renovated a house, and made all sort of handmade gifts for friends and family. The list goes on and on. More recently, I started a blog and a YouTube channel. Overall, I get immense joy from anything handmade — from making a cup of cappuccino to baking, painting walls, crafting gifts, and doing anything generally by hand. 

Having many hobbies has taught me not to be afraid of trying new things, even if I'm unsure whether I'll be good at them or even enjoy them. Trying new things can be scary but also fun and can shape your personality, making you more flexible, creative, solution-oriented, resilient and skilled overall. You also learn a lot about yourself in the process — being patient and enjoying the process rather than just the final result are the main two things I've been practicing and learning about myself. In my opinion, trying new things is one of the most valuable aspects of living a well-rounded life.

However, easily turning interests into hobbies can also result in dividing your free time among multiple activities, making you feel bad that you’re not progressing or dedicating as much time as you would like to any one interest. Having too many hobbies and not being honest with yourself about the actual amount of energy and time you can dedicate to each can make you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or develop negative feelings about your activities.

And I've often asked myself - is there such a thing as too many hobbies? 

It’s different for everyone. The idea of "too many" is nuanced and depends on individual preferences and lifestyles. As long as you learn to accept that your free time will only allow you to do so much sometimes, and you are able to prioritize your interests without frustration, I don’t believe there is such a thing as "too many hobbies." For example, in the last two weeks, I haven’t kept up with my goal to share my weekly blog post and newsletter with my online friends. However, I made that decision consciously, favoring other interests that I considered more important for me at the time.

Some of you might say - OK, but what if I don’t have any hobbies or interests? 

I remember being around 26-27 years old, feeling frustrated and almost upset that I lacked hobbies. I wasn't born with natural talents like singing, or artistic painting skills, and I didn't consider myself creative. However, I learned that hobbies don't just appear; you have to cultivate your interests and passions. Over the last few years, I've opened my mind and taste to anything involving a handmade process, to the point where I recently started wondering if I might have too many hobbies. This led me to self-identify as a multipotentialite — someone with multiple creative pursuits and passions, a curious and creative person with diverse (for me handmade) potentials.

So how did I go from someone who used to cry into their pillow about being boring and hobby-less to becoming a multipotentialite?

First, any activity you enjoy can be considered a hobby. It doesn’t have to be something as noticeable as singing. If you enjoy folding clothes, you can absolutely call it a hobby — there are even contests for people passionate about it! Your interests are your own; no one can tell you: 'No, you don’t like that' or 'No, that isn’t a hobby.' If you're passionate about growing your vegetables from scratch, then call it your hobby.

To find hobbies in adult life, start by considering what you already do and enjoy in your day-by-day life, and perhaps not yet recognizing these activities as hobbies. Find inspiration from your surroundings, your friends too — life often involves mirroring the joys we observe in others. Social media isn’t that bad for that either, take a look around and see what inspires you. Just remind yourself that you might not be seeing the full reality behind the lens.

Give new activities a try without the fear of failure or not being good enough. Focus on enjoying the process rather than the outcome. You might surprise yourself. Once you try a few things, you'll soon discover whether you can develop the skills needed and whether you truly enjoy the hobby enough to continue with it. You'll then soon find your niche of interests.

My niche, for example, revolves around a certain aesthetic and way of living that reminds me of natural, back-to-the-roots living. Around this sphere, I can engage in any activity that involves a handmade process — from growing vegetables to caring for my sourdough, making paper from natural fibers, decorating my home with vintage items I thrift, or setting a lunch table with flowers from my garden. I’ve also started a blog to deepen my understanding of myself through reflections and to share my experiences through the traditional medium of writing. While I don’t claim to live an actual old-fashioned, sustainable life, I've found ways to incorporate small sustainable hobbies that frequently bring joy into my everyday life - simple life really brings me joy, more than anything else modern. 

And once I opened my mind and learned that having a hobby doesn’t require exceptional skill or a specific interest, I began to see opportunities in everything I touched.

So if you’re in a search for a (new) hobby, remember, a hobby is something creative that’s just for you. However, from my handmade paper experience - the moment you try to monetize your hobby or become social media 'famous' for it, you risk losing its essence. Keep the essence of what you’re doing and avoid trading it for something like external or social media validation. A hobby should be something that gives but doesn’t take.

Be curious, explore, and don't be afraid to try new things. You'll learn so much about yourself in the process. However, remember that adding another interest to your list means reducing the time available for other activities. Stay honest with yourself about what you can realistically achieve in your passions, and avoid overcommitting to unrealistic expectations. Enjoy the process, even if it's messy, and if you ever decide to post about your hobby online, my advice is to never compromise your authenticity for the sake of algorithms. 

That’s it for this note, I’ll see you next week,

Luciana