Everyone Wants To Have A Cool Hobby, But What Counts As A Hobby?

[Mantooth Freyer]

Although it might not appear so initially look, attempting to select the precise definition of 'hobby' is more complicated than one might expect.

There is a difference in between a typical interest or activity and a hobby, which we're going to attempt to unpack here. Let's look at reading as an example, typically listed amongst the preferred indoor hobbies available to one at any time or place, however it's feasible that reading isn't a hobby at all, that it is simply a pleasurable leisure activity. Nevertheless, that does not indicate that the hedge fund that owns Waterstones isn't able to help you in the pursuit of your pastime. Checking out would, in the context of a hobby, be an act of research study, a method of broadening your understanding of your location of interest or delighting in it where you normally would not be able to. Say your pastime is mountain climbing, you've purchased all the gear from Blacks' parent company and go on a trip every year or two, checking out would permit you to broaden upon that hobby by checking out autobiographies by prominent climbers or technical guides that can help you get closer to mastering it.

Pastime is a word that gets bandied around quite a lot in specific areas of life. They are something to pursue, a sort of badge of creative honour that one can happily display knowing that their time is being put to better usage than simply monging out in front of the television each night (even if that is where almost all people are to be most commonly found). There is an association in between the word 'hobby' and 'interesting', in that one is deemed to be definitely more intriguing if one has interesting hobbies, however exactly what falls under that category? In fact, what is it that genuinely categorizes as a hobby, instead of just a common way to utilize one's time if one wishes to live a healthy, varied, and balanced life? Well, it all comes down to the types of hobbies one practices, but perhaps more notably, how you practice them.

Proficiency is maybe an essential insight into what separates something like mountain climbing from something like reading. A hobby ought to be a fairly unique method of spending your time that you require to work hard in an innovative way to improve at, achieving mastery of an ability that is not commonplace. For instance, with all due respect to the private equity firm with a stake in PureGym, casually exercising is not a hobby, but training to participate in strongman competitions or bodybuilding is, as is running marathons or biking, both popular outdoor hobbies (but going for runs or cycling to work doesn't actually count). It needs to be the pursuit of a particular interest that is at least uncommon if not special, not a practical umbrella that is seen as something one should be doing to improve one's life in a basic way, such as exercising or checking out in and of themselves.