Your hobbies ain't a side-hustle.
A hobby is a lifeline.
Not a “self-improvement” hack.
Not a side hustle in disguise.
Not something you turn into a content pillar or write off as “personal brand building.”
I mean a real hobby.
A useless, joyful, unnecessary, unoptimized activity you do just because it makes you feel like a person again.
When did we stop doing things just to feel good?
Not impressive. Not productive. Not shareable. Just...alive?
I have to say it plainly:
So many brilliant, creative people I work with — people like you — are over-indexed on output and undernourished on input.
They’ve monetized every talent.
Curated every moment.
Filtered every joy.
And now they wonder why they feel dry, brittle, like they’re always teetering on the edge of burnout.
Here’s the thing:
Your nervous system needs play.
Not as a reward for being good.
Not as a break from work.
But as a biological requirement.
Unstructured play (like hobbies) helps regulate your mood, increase dopamine, restore motivation, and make your brain more resilient to stress.
It is not indulgent. It is intelligent.
So I’m asking you:
What would it look like to do something that you’re not trying to be good at?
- Paint like a 7-year-old on a sugar high
- Roller skate in your driveway
- Grow tomatoes that never fruit
- Sew costumes for an imaginary play
- Learn bird calls
- Build worlds in The Sims for nobody but you
Do it. And don’t tell Instagram.
The more tender your life feels, the more you need a private joy.
The kind you don’t perform.
The kind you don’t optimize.
That quiet thing that reminds you: “I am still a person, I am not a machine.”
That’s the magic.
That’s the medicine.
🧠 TL;DR:
- Hobbies are not frivolous — they are fuel.
- You deserve something that isn’t content.
- Your joy doesn’t need an audience to be real.
💌 LEMME HEAR IT:
Reply and tell me:
What’s your hobby no one claps for?
If you don’t have one, what do you want it to be?
I’ll go first: mine is patronizing the hell outta my local library.
(Like mother like daughter; my mom read at least 100 books a year.)
Responses