Tag: Hobby

Pass the time

Today I heard something sad, while eating at the restaurant I heard someone say “it passes the time” to someone else.

It seems like an harmless comment but it made me think a little. Because “making the time pass”, means that you’re looking for ways of “wasting” it. Like if you were saying “I have too much of it so I need to find ways of making it disappear”. Let’s take another example so you know where I’m going with this: some people just make too much money, so they are trying to fill a void by buying a bigger house, a better car, a bigger boat, new clothes, etc. In short, they are wasting their money because they have so much of it that they don’t care anymore.

So when someone feels that he/she has too much time, he/she has the same kind of behaviour. Finding meaningless ways of using the excess. And while it’s not much of a problem with money because it’s just about material things, wasting your time has a lot more consequences in my opinion.

And why is it worse to waste time? When you’ll get near the end of your money, you’ll be aware of it, and you’ll be able to take measures to avoid hitting the bottom of the tank. So you’ll either stop wasting it, make better investments or sell some stuff. But it’s not possible to earn more time nor can you get some of it back either, what is gone is gone forever. And this is the reason why “passing the time” is sad.

Personally, I can’t even understand how someone can have too much time, because I’m always doing something, so I’m rarely bored. I always keep my mind filled with ideas and projects, and I spend my time working on them. So I don’t consider my time wasted because what I do with it is fulfilling me in some way or another. And I also feel like every day is too short. But when you can genuinely say that you “pass the time”, it means that you’re not fulfilling yourself with activities, hobbies or any other tasks. And this is where it gets sad, because it means that you’re just waiting to die. You’re not investing that time in something or someone, you’re just letting it disappear before you eyes. You’re not making the world better or worst, you’re just being an observer.

I’ve been an observer in our world for many years, I’ve wasted a lot of time and today I regret it. And I don’t see why anyone else wouldn’t regret it either, I don’t think anybody likes to waste things, so why would we do it with one of our most precious resource, time itself?

Don’t take this article the wrong way by thinking that all your time must be filled with work. I’m not saying that we should all stop playing video games, watching TV and browsing social media, but the thing is to not go overboard with it and use your free time in a way that you won’t regret once you’re old.

If you already know what you passions are, devote more time to them. If you don’t know yet what is meaningful to you, open your mind, try new things and get out of your confort zone, so you have the chance of finding what you love.

What would you do if you had no job?

Your answer would probably be “Search for a job”. That’s not exactly what I’m talking about. Imagine yourself in a parallel universe where your basic needs were fulfilled. You would have food on the table, a roof above your head and some clothes to wear without the need of having a job to pay for it nor would you need to hunt and build everything yourself. What would you do with all this free time?

Take some time, think about it a few minutes or maybe give yourself a full week to come with an answer. There is no “one size fits all” answer to this question, it’s up to you to think about it and find what you think would be worth doing with your time. Maybe you like running, or drawing, or playing guitar, just think about what you like to do and what you would like to do.

When you’ll finally get a satisfying answer to the question (don’t restrict yourself to only one thing), it’s time to get back to reality and know that you still have engagements and responsabilities. You won’t be able to do the activity/ies full time (at least in the beginning) but why not start by cutting down on TV and beer and try it out? If it’s something that matters (or has the potential to matter) to you, give yourself time to practice it.

The way you set up the needed equipment can also greatly help you to start doing something. If you like drawing for example, just keep a paper and pen at hand and scribble when you get the chance. The easier it is to start doing it, the greater the chances that you’ll actually do it. So keep things at hand. If you’d like to ride your bicycle more often, don’t store it in a shed where it takes 10 minutes just to get it out of there, you just won’t do it. I keep my bicycle in my apartment so it’s easy to go for a ride. Long story short: make it easy for yourself!

Why is it so important?
It may not be clear for you yet, but it will positively impact your life. Doing what you like will make you a happier person, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to be happier and I don’t see any downside to it. Being happier also means that you’ll radiate positive energy so you’ll obviously get positive feedback in some way.

We just have one life, so why should we spend it all on things we hate? Think of it that way: You heard songs and words, you saw pieces of art, you also saw people do amazing things, and maybe some of them touched you profoundly in some ways, inspired you or maybe even encouraged you to be a better person. But what we often forget it that we all have the hability to generate that effect on other people if we give ourselves the chance. Go ahead and be a creator, do what you’re meant to do and invest yourself in it. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you had the chance to make the world a better place and put a smile on someone’s face?