According to the Oxford dictionary hobby is “an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure”. So running this blog is my hobby as a) I do it regularly b) in my leisure time and c) for pleasure. Photography is my hobby as well, but I really have questions about that. What is a division line between hobby and job/work, if there is one at all? Looking for the answer to my question, I applied to the Oxford dictionary again, which says work is an “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result”. With all due respect, my photography activities fit in this definition as well. What about job? Oxford says job is “a paid position of regular employment”. I am regularly employed (by myself) doing photography and I get paid time to time. So, photography turns out to be my job too. It is getting confusing right? So in this blog post I will try to suggest my own definition of hobby, however disrespectful it sounds to Oxford. So, what is a hobby?
hobby – An activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure (Oxford Dictionary)
An Ideal Job
Some introduction here. I think we all dream to make leaving out of what we love to do. That would be the case when we would not worry about Mondays any more and would wake up before the alarm goes on. Let’s add just one condition – we are not paid very well doing that ideal job. But hey, it is still something you love so much to do and you should put all of your time, effort and other resources into it. Do you have to find some other job where you get paid well to finance the ideal job? SO WHAT? As long as you have time to dedicate to your dream job and you are also paid time to time, that is all ok. Maybe not really the best case, but still ok.
Where is the Line?
Let’s say it is practically impossible to earn by doing job that you love. Moreover, you have to sacrifice your leisure time to do it. The time that you are left with after some other paid job. And you have to find that other job, earn money there to finance the dream job that never pays back. Objectively, this is quite an irrational thing to do. And that exactly is the line that distinguishes hobby and job. Every time we make rational decisions how to allocate our resources to do something, that is the case of job. Otherwise, when you make decisions based on irrational thinking and you are doing it on purpose, that is undoubtedly the case for hobby. Payback, salary or wage is not really a variable to me. Paying activity is not necessarily a job and also something that you do for pleasure is not necessarily a hobby.
Thus, this is MY definition of hobby: a regular activity involving irrational spending of time and financial resources done in ones leisure time for pleasure
Final Thoughts
How would I justify spending sleepless night outdoors after a tiring work day and going back to work in the next morning otherwise? Or what else would explain me taking financial liabilities to buy additional equipment for Rugby photography while I know it won’t pay me back ever? No good reason other than that activity being my hobby.
Lastly, this blog post is not a try to find objective truth (if there is one such). Just kike any other blog, this is my personal thinking out loud, which will (and should) have as many opposition as readers. I do believe hobby, and work, both are of paramount importance for anyone and despite the fact that there are lines between them, those are so fade that sometimes distinguishing hobby from job is a hard task.
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