When was the last time you engaged in a hobby? When was the last time you let yourself get truly excited and caught up in the sheer joy of just doing something because you think it’s fun or interesting? Lots of us develop a hobby in our childhood, as socially, children have more freedom to express their interests and desires. However, as we grow up and more responsibility is placed on us, it can be very easy to lose sight of our hobbies and interests, even to the point where we forget what brings us joy.
Some adults triumphantly rise above this expectation, recognising that age is not a barrier to interest and expression (or rather should not be). Therefore, today, we want to break the stigma against adults with hobbies and answer the question, “How old is ‘too old’ to find a new hobby?”
The Stigma Against Fun
Anyone working freelance writing jobs in Australia will know that there is a certain social demand for productivity. Working as a freelance writer or artist is often met with derisive comments, with some people claiming it’s not a “real job.”
This points to a desperate problem within our society. People tend to think of creativity and creative jobs as a hobby, rather than a job that deserves time, attention, and payment. This is even though artists are relied upon for creativity, making the books, shows, movies, and music that bring us joy and make us happy, not to mention the professional work in the arts such as graphic design, illustration, tutorial videos, and the news. After all, journalists and writers aren’t the same thing, yet they rely on the same creative medium and processes.
So why does one receive respect while the other receives derision?
The sociality of a capitalist world is insidious, pervasive, and yet entirely and irrevocably everywhere. The dynamic of assigning a value based on wealth discourages action without output and kills the part of us that, as children, loved to experiment and gained joy from the chaos of unplanned results. It forces us to think of our lives and our activities in terms of being “worth it” because if it’s not worth it (i.e. making us money), why do it?
As a result, the mentality emerges. People who work profitable jobs are mature, have their act together, and know what they want. People who create for fun or indulge in a hobby just for happiness’ sake are immature and need to focus.
Should We Find Hobbies?
It’s natural to have some trepidation around the prospect of finding a new hobby. After all, we live in a world where our monetary worth determines the value of our actions, so you might think to yourself, “I want to take up painting” or “I think I’d like to collect stamps,” and you will have another area of your brain assassinating that initial curiosity. “Painting costs money, and it’s very difficult to sell art,” or “No one collects stamps anymore. Why would you?” There is one simple, all-encompassing answer to all of these doubts: It makes you happy.
We often overlook the importance of happiness in our lives. Happiness is a complex ecosystem within our brains and bodies, and living a life of strict production and profitable output is detrimental to happy experiences.
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Something that people forget in a profit-obsessed world is that your purpose in life is not the acquisition or accruing of wealth. You’re a human being with needs and desires. Your job fulfills your monetary requirements, and that’s fine, and if you’re lucky enough to love your job that’s amazing. But you owe it to yourself to satisfy your curiosity. If you find yourself fascinated by a coin, or loving the aesthetics of anime, or the hypnotic process of drawing spirals - why should you let a lack of profit kill that joy?
The World is Weird and Wonderful
Curiosity is a person’s way of staying in love with life. When our minds are so actively engaged by something, it gives us a little corner of magic that we can use to regulate our emotional and mental states, indulge in a little escapism from time to time, and give us an outlet for our thoughts and experiences.
How old is too old for a new hobby?
There isn’t a “too old.” Life is inherently interesting. There are more than 8 billion people in the world and even more animals. There are billions of years of history to research, get engrossed in, and scrapbook about. There are arts to explore, books to read, celebrities to see yourself in, obscure histories to turn into passions, and cultural oddities to learn about.
It is often not the most learned, but the most passionate that changes the world. Those who do and seek the magic of life not because it earns them profit but because it comes from a place of genuine love. There’s never a time or age where that should end.
