The Subtle Art of Always Quitting Your Hobbies
So, it's been a while. Where do I start?
Let’s start at the beginning.
I’ve been writing for most of my life. As a kid, I wrote stories, though they never went beyond a few pages. I even started a neighborhood newspaper, but that didn’t last long. I wrote about football matches during big tournaments like the World Cup, but once the tournament ended, so did my writing. Not that I felt really sad about that, by the way. Most of the time I was glad it was over, because I could finally stop the forced writing.
I also wrote for a fairly big gaming website for a couple of years, but I always dreaded writing long reviews. Enjoyment was far away.
Then, in June of this year, I rediscovered my love for writing — this time, on my personal blog. I found a community of fellow writers on Mastodon and really enjoyed the interaction. That inspired me to start a weekly newsletter called Heptathlon, where I shared seven hints, tips, tricks, or whatever stood out to me during the week. But after a few editions, that project also faded, and I stopped writing again.
Until now. Right?
Here I am, a few months later, thinking about all the times I’ve started writing, and just as many times, I’ve quit. I’m still not entirely sure why I always stop, but I think I have an idea.
I try to do too much.
Every time I begin to enjoy the little things in a hobby — whether it’s writing, playing guitar, or making a good cup of coffee — I feel the urge to dive deep. When I start enjoying writing short notes on my blog, I feel like I need to turn it into a weekly newsletter or write long-form posts. When I enjoy playing guitar, I suddenly feel like I need to study major scales or pentatonics, far beyond simply playing songs I love.
And then, I stop. The passion fades away.
It’s a shame, really.
So, I thought. And thought. Like I always do. Even when I think, I go too deep.
Maybe the answer is simpler than I think. Maybe I should just keep things simple. If I like my coffee the way it tastes, that should be enough. If I enjoy playing the guitar songs I love, there’s no need to dig into the theory behind them. And when I write on my blog daily or a few times a week, that’s enough too. There’s no need to turn a hobby into something bigger. It’s fine as it is — an enjoyable way to spend time. Trying to grow it into something more only leads to destruction.
And destruction is already too common in the world anyway.