This is such an interesting read Sehar. It really got me thinking. 'Because hobbies can fade. Skills can become outdated. But curiosity keeps you evolving'. I love that this is 100 % accurate. Thank you!
Wow! I feel so seen! In my 20’s and 30’s I took so many classes— decorative furniture painting, space planning, movie production, astrology, succulent gardening, photography, pattern making to name a few , but once I learned a little more than the basics I would grow bored. I always saw this as a flaw , but realized after reading this that those hobbies are no different than my other “curiosities”. People do not believe me that I have folders of research on everything from the histories of various religions to dog ailment diagnosis. Something will come across my path that I know nothing about, but strikes my curiosity and I’m down a rabbit hole for weeks just reading stuff about it and compiling information. After reading this article, I realized this is my hobby. I just started a Substack because there are some things that I do want to share with people. I’m sure as my writing progresses people will think I’m schizophrenic with all the different topics I’m curious about, but hopefully I can also show people how so many things in our world are interconnected and very few things there are black/ white, good/evil, victim/oppressor as we would like to believe.
Staying “passionately curious,” keeping joy in whatever you are doing. Once it becomes laborious, the task deflates to the resemblance of a flat balloon; still has its color, but the air which gives it life is no longer there. If your passion starts to fade a little, remember what brought you the passion in the first place; follow that thread to your continuing chapter in the curiosity’s journey.
"Maybe your real talent is the hunger to know more about life, about people, about the world. Maybe you’re the kind of person who learns continuously without even trying"... This sentence describes me perfectly exactly, down to the last word.
It feels bad to take the contrarian view, but... it's also too tempting.
Well, no one can deny that we're social beings, and we want to belong somewhere, try as you want to deny it.
Then, there is the part where you're really curious about what you enjoy best. I am talking after clearing the rubble of vanity, proving oneself, proving oneself to oneself, you just want to have something that anchor you somewhere.
This is something I realized when I partook in a drawing/ painting class. I wasn't that good, but it felt liberating. had a cool group of people around, a great sensei, and the best part... a particular thing I was doing, once a week, at the end of the week, with no pressure, with no expectations or goals, just pure joy, and improvement as an icing. (unfortunately, Corona took that away)
All that to say, yes you shouldn't listen to your idealistic pessimist voice that tells you you're a bum because look how amazing others are, though you should also listen to it to inject some diversity and maybe, just maybe find that one thing you're not necessarily good at, but you enjoy plainly.
That eventually is good to have in there, because some pursuits lead no where, but I believe they still have served their purpose teaching us and with that played a role to guide us to the right groove. Might be eventually though.
I’ve kind of suppressed this because of the pressures of life. As a kid, I was cooking extravagant dishes, learning to knit, doing origami, playing all kinds of sports. Don’t have much time to do any of that anymore but maybe one day I will again.
"Brick people," he said, are born with some gift they feel the need to give the world. But they're so solid that they just slide apart ~ nothing can be built with them. That's where the "mortar people" come in. They flow around and between the brick people, and bring them cohesively together.
"When something gets accomplished," he continued, "it's the brick people whose names are written in history. But they could never have done it without the mortar people." 👌✨
This is such an interesting read Sehar. It really got me thinking. 'Because hobbies can fade. Skills can become outdated. But curiosity keeps you evolving'. I love that this is 100 % accurate. Thank you!
Thankyou so much Ahdi for taking time to read my post.. Your comment means a lot to me.
Wow! I feel so seen! In my 20’s and 30’s I took so many classes— decorative furniture painting, space planning, movie production, astrology, succulent gardening, photography, pattern making to name a few , but once I learned a little more than the basics I would grow bored. I always saw this as a flaw , but realized after reading this that those hobbies are no different than my other “curiosities”. People do not believe me that I have folders of research on everything from the histories of various religions to dog ailment diagnosis. Something will come across my path that I know nothing about, but strikes my curiosity and I’m down a rabbit hole for weeks just reading stuff about it and compiling information. After reading this article, I realized this is my hobby. I just started a Substack because there are some things that I do want to share with people. I’m sure as my writing progresses people will think I’m schizophrenic with all the different topics I’m curious about, but hopefully I can also show people how so many things in our world are interconnected and very few things there are black/ white, good/evil, victim/oppressor as we would like to believe.
I love that you started a Substack. Your different interests won’t make you look “schizophrenic” they’ll make you interesting...
Thankyou so much for reading my post and leave a best comment
Sounds to me, Debrah, as though you have a unique abd valuable place among us ~ able to bring all those perspectives to one another! 👏👏👏
Thankyou so much Ana for reading my post... it means a lot to me
This is so beautiful
Thank you beautiful ❤️
Staying “passionately curious,” keeping joy in whatever you are doing. Once it becomes laborious, the task deflates to the resemblance of a flat balloon; still has its color, but the air which gives it life is no longer there. If your passion starts to fade a little, remember what brought you the passion in the first place; follow that thread to your continuing chapter in the curiosity’s journey.
Thankyou for reading my post.. and always criorsity hit different
This is such an eye opening take, because I feel like curiosity is what makes you grow in your hobbies, not the other way around
Exactly that's my point... Thanks for reading my post
"Maybe your real talent is the hunger to know more about life, about people, about the world. Maybe you’re the kind of person who learns continuously without even trying"... This sentence describes me perfectly exactly, down to the last word.
That’s a rare kind of talent. One that grows quietly but shapes everything you do.
Thanks for reading my post...
It feels bad to take the contrarian view, but... it's also too tempting.
Well, no one can deny that we're social beings, and we want to belong somewhere, try as you want to deny it.
Then, there is the part where you're really curious about what you enjoy best. I am talking after clearing the rubble of vanity, proving oneself, proving oneself to oneself, you just want to have something that anchor you somewhere.
This is something I realized when I partook in a drawing/ painting class. I wasn't that good, but it felt liberating. had a cool group of people around, a great sensei, and the best part... a particular thing I was doing, once a week, at the end of the week, with no pressure, with no expectations or goals, just pure joy, and improvement as an icing. (unfortunately, Corona took that away)
All that to say, yes you shouldn't listen to your idealistic pessimist voice that tells you you're a bum because look how amazing others are, though you should also listen to it to inject some diversity and maybe, just maybe find that one thing you're not necessarily good at, but you enjoy plainly.
Don’t be harsh on yourself, stay open to trying things you enjoy, and let those small joys anchor you.
Your comment means a lot to me, Thanks for taking time to read and drop a valuable comment 🌸
Much Love
Sehar
Was a good read. Cheering you on!
I love this🙌🏻 such an important reframing
Thankyou so much Emily for reading my post and for dropping a comment.
Much Love,
Sehar
Curiosity comes in especially handy for people like me, whose main hobby is procrastination!
Curiosity saves me every time. Thankyou for reading my post
Much Love and support on your way
Ya really i used to feel that I don't have a hobby but I recently learned that being curious is enough to learn, you can learn anytime.
Now you also told how curiosity is also a type of hobby that leads to continuous learning.
Curiosity saves me every time. Thankyou for reading my post
Much Love and support on your way
ChatGPT just told me to go deep with what I have instead of never finding a groove.
This is soothing.
What do you think the point of curiosity is? Pleasure? Purpose? They will to unfold true potential?
Thankyou so much for this comment
Much love and support
I think curiosity is all of it. Pleasure, purpose, and a way to unfold your true potential.
It’s like a compass. It doesn’t always show the full map, but it nudges you toward what feels alive.
When you follow it consistently, even in small ways, you eventually land in a groove that actually feels like yours.
And that’s the soothing part.
That eventually is good to have in there, because some pursuits lead no where, but I believe they still have served their purpose teaching us and with that played a role to guide us to the right groove. Might be eventually though.
Well said, Sehar
Curiosity is definitely a massively underutilized mindset.
Of course I need to research how tectonic plates work, it's fascinating.
And yes, I do also need to learn how to 3d print things with resin.
Ooh do you happen to know anything about the history of farming in Australia?
Curiosity fills your life with such colour, depth and possibilities. How are you meant to find what you enjoy without it?
Exactly, curiosity is what makes life feel bigger.
For me, I never really had a hobby growing up.
I just love discovering things. Sometimes I dive deep into politics, sometimes into something completely random.
It’s all curiosity and because of that, my mindset keeps evolving with the passage of time.
I’ve kind of suppressed this because of the pressures of life. As a kid, I was cooking extravagant dishes, learning to knit, doing origami, playing all kinds of sports. Don’t have much time to do any of that anymore but maybe one day I will again.
Curiosity doesn’t disappear, it just gets buried under life’s pressure.
nuance realization !!
Thank you for reading🤝
Your one-liner brought me here, "Because hobbies can fade. Skills can become outdated. But curiosity keeps you evolving."
This is really great writing + use of imagery and insightful also! Feels like its an article that easily would catch my interest!!
This comment honestly made my day. I love that it caught your eye and brought you here. Thank you so much
A good friend once told me about "mortar people."
"Brick people," he said, are born with some gift they feel the need to give the world. But they're so solid that they just slide apart ~ nothing can be built with them. That's where the "mortar people" come in. They flow around and between the brick people, and bring them cohesively together.
"When something gets accomplished," he continued, "it's the brick people whose names are written in history. But they could never have done it without the mortar people." 👌✨
Thank you for sharing this. It’s a reminder that not every contribution is loud or visible, but all of them are essential.
Thankyou for reading and leave a comment
Much love