Evaluate Your Hobbies. Are You Unbalanced?

Most people have hobbies—even if they don’t recognize them as such. A hobby is any activity you choose to do regularly in your free time because you find it enjoyable, interesting, or meaningful.

I classify hobbies into three distinct groups - consumption, participation and creation. Consumption hobbies are the passive intake of content or experiences. This could be following a sports team, going to concerts, habitually watching TV series or movies, etc. 

Participation hobbies require your direct involvement. Some examples are recreational sports, outdoor activities like hiking or camping, gaming, etc. Creative hobbies involve actively making something that didn’t exist before. This may be painting, writing, woodworking, gardening, coding, etc. These boxes aren’t rigid, they are about your interactions with interests. Any interest you have could flow between groups. For example, if you play guitar, you could consume music, participate in a cover band and create your own songs. 

Keeping the right balance is critical for mental health, personal growth and building a sense of self. Over-consumption is the easiest trap to fall into. It's frictionless  and feels the most rewarding in the short term, but has the lowest long term benefit. It can displace time for more meaningful engagement, especially if it is used as an escape from boredom or discomfort. Over-participation can result in an overscheduled, busy life that doesn’t allow time for depth or creativity. An over-focus on creating can quickly lead to burnout if it isn’t balanced with the relaxation and social building of the other two categories. Finding your balance gives you inspiration from consumption, energy and connection from participation plus fulfilment and growth from creation. 

Creative hobbies are uniquely powerful because they offer the chance to shape reality. When you create, whether it’s writing, baking or building, you impose your ideas on the world. You generate something from nothing through the power of your thoughts and skills. Creation demands deep focus, allows you to experience flow, and helps you define your identity. That’s why people say “I’m a photographer” or “I paint”, but never “I am a Netflix-watcher”. There is pride in creative hobbies. When you think of people that you admire, they are usually creators.

Reflect on your hobbies. List them and categorize them. Then ask yourself:

What percent of your free time is  spent doing each?

Am I passively consuming more than I am actively creating?

Am I using consumption as inspiration or as an escape?

What is one creative hobby that I’ve always wanted to explore or pick up again?

If your balance is skewed towards consumption, intentionally schedule 30 minutes per week for a creative hobby. Do it with no pressure to be good - just explore. The benefit comes from the gradual improvement and growth.

We build meaning in life when we believe that we have the power to shape our own world. They move you towards agency, identity and growth. While consumption can inspire and participation can connect, only creation gives you the power to turn your inner world into something real.