ALT-2 The Pros and Cons of Making your Hobby into a Career
A career that stems from a hobby is a rare treasure that should be polished and displayed. The danger comes when it has been on display so long that you no longer feel the same sense of joy that it once brought.
I enjoyed computers as a hobby for a very long time and have been in the information technology field for a little over ten years now. The joys were many for me because I was driven to learn more. I studied programming, operating systems, databases, and networking. There was so much to explore. I was fueled by passion for the subject. Each morning brought a sense of excitement and it never felt like I was going to 'just another day at a job'. I could put my area of interest into use for a broad base of purposes. If someone describes a need, I am able to look at what is available in the organization and come up with a method to put existing tools to use on the needed task. If someone brings me a system with the windows operating system in a language other than English, I am still able to remove the virus or spyware. There is nothing like the rush of knowing that your interest has paid off in ways that help others.
Conversely, I have spent so much time with this hobby that others were neglected until recently. I had started feeling incomplete for making computers my priority. Music, writing, poetry, and exercise are all as important to me. My health has suffered because of my single minded focus. I have barely started learning an instrument that I could have started sooner. The feeling of knowing that I am not as well rounded as I would like is prevalent like a haze within my mind. It distracts me and saps enthusiasm.
If you are fortunate enough to find gainful employment through skills acquired from one or more hobbies, treasure it and continue to learn and excel; Don't make it your sole focus at the expense of all else just because it pays the bills and feels like free money. You will pay later in mind and spirit. Further, don't deny the gift and let it stagnate. Even gifts must be nurtured through education and sharing.
I have since come to realize that all my interests and gifts have one common ground that cannot be ignored - people. Without anyone to share ideas, learn from, help, and nurture my talents; all the things that I cherish most has no meaning at all.
May you find your common ground as use that as a focus to bring all of your interests to bare and nurture all of your talents in the process.
