During term 2 of university, I participated in a public speaking course. Long story short, this course transformed me into my most confident self. If you ever have the chance to participate in a public speaking course, do it!
For my final, I had to write and present a speech. I wanted to share it, so here it is:
“I’ll pick up a paintbrush when I retire. I’ll travel when I settle down. I’ll try dancing when I have time.” I hear so many people talk about what they’ll pursue when they have the time, when they’ll retire. We live in a time where every single minute of ours is precious. We have so much work to do, and we often battle with falling behind or staying ahead of our work, and in this process our hobbies and interests and passions get swept under the rug; or we procrastinate on social media until our spare time vanishes. But what would you pursue with that time?
A while back I stumbled upon a quote, which was, “The gap between what your soul loves and the amount of time you spend doing it, will be the size of your unhappiness.”
After re-reading the quote several times, I realised that my moods were indeed coming from somewhere. I realised that whenever I was feeling down or bone-tired or unmotivated it was because I’d spent too many days away from doing what I love. People are burnt out because they aren’t doing enough of what they love, or they are no longer doing what they love for their own self enjoyment.
That spark, gone.
You’ve strayed too far from the ski slopes. The books you longed to read are collecting dust. Your camera roll is missing new sunset photos, or photos in general.
Or perhaps you have yet to find your hobby, and that’s okay. Finding a hobby is damn hard. It took me around 8 years of searching before I found what I was really interested in and passionate about.
I was, and am, the kid who tried everything. The issue with that was as I got older and school became more demanding and my sports more competitive, I had to let some of my hobbies go in order to gain time.
And then, COVID. I suddenly had extra time on my hands. I picked up reading again, after letting it slip away, and then I realised I could learn to write like this. So I did, and I found my passion.
Everything I did before felt good. I felt that spark of energy and interest, but writing took that and blew it out of the water. The passion I have for writing took me by surprise. On good days, it makes me feel like I could conquer anything, and on my bad days, it is capable of getting me out of bed.
The point is, your hobbies and passions should fill you with excitement and fulfilment. It should feel like a breath has been breathed back into you after you’ve been struggling to catch it.
And if you’re on that journey of finding a hobby:
Try everything.
Reinvent yourself every day. Become a verb, not a noun. Every hobby you try that you don’t like is one more crossed off the list—you are now one closer to finding it.
After you've found what it is that you'd like to do with your time, now you have to realise that you do in fact have time.
I watch so many people rush through their lives.
You can afford that “sick” day. You can afford to take a break, to step back and for once do something your heart is telling you to do.
You can afford it, because the only thing in life you will never be able to afford is more time.
Time cannot be bought.
How you spend your time will differentiate you from everyone else. It will dictate your happiness and your success. So, how will you spend your time?
Life is too short to be spent in a constant hustle. Allow yourself to slow down, allow yourself to fit a hobby into your schedule, and you will wake up feeling more motivated, less burnt out, and more inspired. You will feel purpose and fulfilment in a world so full of uncertainty.
Reference:
Paul Scanlon: “The gap between what your soul loves and the amount of time you spend doing it, will be the size of your unhappiness.”
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