our jobs don't make us interesting. our hobbies do.

I said what I said.

This is my birth month, so you should get a gift: if you’re not a paid subscriber, for the month of July, I’m offering 25% off annual subscriptions. I hope you join me.

---

One of my guilty pleasures is Subway Takes, the brainchild of

Kareem Rahma

, a comic and actor based out of New York City. The series features Kareem on a New York City subway, interviewing folks about their “hot takes” — their quick, blunt stands on a controversial (?) topic. The Guardian describes the series as “ a modern-day speakers’ corner without the crazies,” and that feels pretty accurate. Mostly, I love it because it’s often a sweet little snapshot of everyday (and some not-so-everyday) folks sharing their thoughts and their lives. Here’s an example:

Every time I watch an episode, I think how fun it would be to get on the subway and watch Kareem interviewing one of his subjects, or — dare I dream? — actually be one of his subjects. Which leads me, of course, to wonder what my hot take would be. The answer comes pretty easily, actually, and it is this:

Our jobs don’t make us interesting. Our hobbies do.

Yeah, I said it. What’s more, I think I have a pretty cogent argument for why this is. And in true lawyer fashion, my argument has three prongs (because, as any lawyer/law student will tell you, we love a prong):

1. The main purpose of a job is to make us money. The main purpose of a hobby is to fill our soul.

The reason we work is to earn a living. Ideally, the work we do is fun and fulfilling, and even sometimes cool: I’ll concede that firefighters, for example, and teachers, and nurses, and librarians, and so many others are exceptionally cool. But I think what’s more interesting is learning what folks do with their time when they’re not trying to earn a living. I’m more interested in what people are doing to fill their spirits. What captures their imagination when they’re doing something for which they have no expectation of a paycheck? Even more importantly, why is that activity so important to them?

That, my friends, is interesting.

2. People with hobbies are healthier. And given that it feels like healthy people are increasingly rare, they’re also increasingly interesting.

I’m actually not making this up: according to some pretty extensive research involving five large studies of over 93,000 people across 16 countries, it turns out that having a hobby is strongly tied to happiness and well-being. In fact, compared with people who didn't have hobbies, “those who did reported better health, more happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher life satisfaction.”

I don’t know about you, but in a world where *waves hands wildly* all this is happening, being able to access health, happiness, and satisfaction feels increasingly more difficult. I’m interested in folks who are able to tether themselves to a cadence of self-care — in a natural, unique way, often through their hobbies — while also navigating the world. And if they’re committed to fighting injustice, as well? Bonus points. To me, these folks are incredibly interesting.

3. People with hobbies live longer. And staying engaged and gaining experience in the world through our hobbies makes us empirically more interesting as we get older.

Even better news: studies suggest that hobbies that include “physical activity, arts and cultural engagement, and social and community participation have the potential to lengthen ‘the third age’ period of life.” And given that the older we get, the more diverse we become (because of our diverse life experiences), our curiosity in cultivating a cadence of doing the things we love to do purely because we love them necessarily means the more uniquely interesting we become!

Naturally, I would say all of these things — I wrote the book on it. But here’s the truth: when I began writing In Defense of Dabbling, I thought I was just going to write a lighthearted little book on hobbies. But by the time I’d written the last words, I’d come to believe that creating a cadence of doing what we love, purely for the love of doing it, is essential for our well-being. I believe it’s as necessary as spiritual care and physical care and emotional care. In fact, it might actually be spiritual, physical and emotional care, depending on what avocations we choose.

But Karen, I don’t have a hobby, and I have no idea where to begin!

Don’t worry, my friend, I got you: I’ve spent the last week creating a fun little quiz to help guide you in the right direction. Never fear, it doesn’t ask for your email address, or your firstborn child — it’s mostly designed to get you thinking about what you might want to try dabbling in. Go ahead, give it a try.

And as for my wish for all of us this week (and frankly, every week hereafter): that we spend some time — even 20 minutes! — doing something we love, just because we love doing it. And when we do, may we delight in how it makes us feel.

Have a great week, everybody.

---

If you enjoyed this post, please let me know with a comment, below, or give it a heart and feel free to share it with friends who you think might enjoy it. It’s a quick, easy way to support my work, and I’d be deeply grateful.