How My View On Hobbies Changes Over The Years

When I was younger, I used to believe that hobbies — and any endeavours in general — needed to be challenging or it’d be a waste of time. I was a firm believer in constantly pushing myself, to always progress and strive for excellence.

I carried this mindset in many aspects of life. Running is one example.

Pushing The Limits with Running

I first began running in summer 2012, mostly as a way to lose weight and kill some spare time. May 8th, 2012 was my first run ever. I could barely jog for 19 minutes before collapsing in exhaustion. I eventually managed 4.3 km in 30m10s, the last 11 minutes of which was just walking.

I quickly became obsessed with this solitary sport of distance running. I was determined to become faster. I’d spend hours every day watching YouTube videos of champion Kenyan and Ethiopian runners, of Olympic and racing footage. I frequented the r/running subreddit, the LetsRun forum, and read countless running tutorials.

Almost every day, I’d ride my bicycle to Thong Nhat park and run laps around the lake. My weekly mileage gradually increased, and my running time steadily improved. Every single run I was pushing myself to the point of complete exhaustion. I did tempo runs, interval runs, speed work, and every session I was aiming for a PR of some kind. The concept of a “leisure” or “relaxed” run did not exist in my mind.

October 27, 2012 was a day I’d never forget. I was feeing good, so I decided to attempt a 5K PR (personal record). I did it: I clocked a sub-20 5K — which means I ran 5 km in under 20 minutes, or each kilometre was under 4 minutes (this is insanely fast by normal standards, by the way). The actual time was 19:59.

The sub-20 5K is a major milestone for any recreational runners. I was on absolute cloud nine that day! I posted my achievement to Reddit, and the overall consensus was that my progress, from a complete noob to a sub-20 5K in 3.5 months, was fast. Very, very fast.

Granted it helps that I was young, had plenty of time on my hand, and was willing to push my body beyond its limits. But still, for a recreational runner, it was absolutely an achievement worthy of respect.

Back then, I’d look at anyone who was running at a leisurely pace with complete bafflement and sometimes, even disdain. I thought to myself: what is the point of running that slow? You’re just wasting time! Why not push yourself a bit further, to become better than you were yesterday? I honestly thought a run was useless unless you were exerting yourself to a point of being completely out of gas.

Bodybuilding

In 2013, I stopped running and began picking up bodybuilding (this period deserves many posts of its own but I’ll stay brief here). I bought a pair of dumbbells home and began lifting weights. I applied the same mindset — I’d push myself to utter failure every single set.

I did not miss a single workout. Every week I’d be lifting 3 times. Day in, day out, whether it was 11 pm or if I had to get up at 4.30 am to lift before school. Every single session, I’d make sure I was lifting more weights or more repetitions than I had done previously. I had an Excel file in which I meticulously logged and tracked every single rep and set that I did.

It took me less than a year to gain 9 kg of muscle mass, and the results were astonishing. I was active on webthehinh.com back then (the Vietnamese version of bodybuilding.com), and I received quite a bit of attention for my transformation. After 6 years, my thread is still one of the most viewed threads of all time on the forum. Many guys were saying they were inspired by my story, or that I was blessed genetically.

Either way, I was fanatical when it comes to pushing limits. Young and ambitious me believed that’s how hobbies are supposed to be — hard and challenging, worthy of effort and pursuit.

Times Have Changed

Well, time goes by and my perspective has certainly changed. To this day, I still run. Still lift weights. But — I haven’t cared about pacing, PRs, or pushing to failure for a looooong time. I’m no longer so fiercely self-competitive. Progress and improvement are great, but now during exercise I focus more on just enjoying the time and the physical sensation.

I run 2 – 3 times a week now, each run about 7 – 10 kilometres. I just run. I no longer obsessively track every single kilometre split. No longer perform the mental maths to achieve certain pacing and time. During the run, I try to consciously feel the air going in and out of my lungs, the taste of sweat dripping down my forehead to my lips, the muscles of my core and legs flexing and hardening with each stride.

I much better understand the people who jog casually now (because I’m one of them!). They might just be trying to get in shape, enjoying some cardio, or simply feeling the outdoors. Whatever it is, it’s fine to take it slow and easy. Life is not a constant battle, a zero-sum game with winners and losers.

Same goes for lifting. I used to think if you’re not working out like a powerlifter, if you’re not always lifting heavy, if your muscles are not completely beaten and sore from a workout, and if there’s not constant progressive overload, you’re just horsing around wasting time. I’d look at the people who worked out with those little girly colourful dumbbells and find them weird and weak as hell.

Well, I’ve got to admit, that just makes me sound like a massive judgmental prick. I’m beginning to see the merits of those short easy workouts. They save time and work out the entire body. Hell, I might even begin incorporating them in my routine in a not so distant future.

Being Productive With Hobbies

I also used to think about how great it’d be to have a productive hobby, i.e. a hobby that I can produce something tangible to show to others, such as painting, playing music, carpentry and the likes. This is in contrast to hobbies that are purely consumption in nature. I used to have this sort of condescending attitude towards people whose only pastime activities include reading, listening to music, eating, or travelling.

Yea, I’ve grown up, and my view has changed. Life is short, and nothing matters in the end anyway, so what difference does it make what we do in our free time? A guy can dedicate his spare time to becoming a cơm rang dưa bò connoisseur, or to amassing the largest hentai collection, for all I care.

It would be nice to have a hobby that produces something to show to your friends: open an art gallery, write a poetry collection, play beautiful pieces of music, create gorgeous sculptures, build functional software, assemble robots, cook delicious meals, things like that.

But what I’ve come to realise is that ultimately, nobody cares. Even your loved ones might only fake cursory interest in your “hobby” to show support. The only people whom you’ll find common ground with are fellow enthusiasts.

Final Thoughts

Whatever you choose to do for fun and enjoyment, do it for yourself. Do it in a competitive or relaxed manner, in a selfish or selfless way, by yourself or with a group — it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are getting a kick and satisfaction out of it.

Exhibit A is the fact that I’m writing this blog with no intention of readership in mind. I simply enjoy sitting down with my thoughts and writing something. That’s it. It’s nice to have some alone time for honest introspection, put your thoughts into words, and try to proofread and craft a readable and digestible piece. It’s meditative in a way. I guess I’m also writing for my future self to one day come back and see what 26-year-old me used to be like.

I guess this is also one of the most important lessons of growing up too — the realisation that you have to do it for yourself, and care less what others think and judge less what others do. Because ultimately nobody cares, and it just doesn’t matter.