How can hobbies help your business?
Seeing as this issue falls on a weekend, I thought I’d devote it to hobbies. Hobby is an odd word whose etymology is so old, and its origin is interwoven with colloquial references lost with time. According to one of my favourite websites, etymonline, the word dates back to the 1400s, with the word hobi meaning a “small, active horse”, short for the Anglo-Latin word hobyn, and possibly traced back to a proper name Robyn or Robert. To quote etymonline: “The modern sense of “a favourite pursuit, object, or topic” is from 1816, a shortening of hobbyhorse (q.v.) in this sense, which is attested from the 1670s. Earlier it meant “a wooden or wickerwork figure of a horse,” as a child’s toy or a costume in the morris-dance, the connecting notion being “activity that doesn’t go anywhere.” Hobby as a shortening of hobbyhorse also was used in the “morris horse” sense (1760) and the “child’s toy horse” sense (1680s).”
So at one time, a hobby was felt worthless, an activity that doesn’t go anywhere. Is that still true today? If so, why do we bother, and if not, do we consider our pastimes and pursuits outside of work hobbies or essential extensions of our drive to better ourselves? In fact, to raise the bar on the conversation, are our hobbies more important than our careers, is there often an interweaving of our social pursuits with those of our vocational pursuits, and if so, why?
Lots of questions there.
The type of hobby I pursue is also favourable to me depending on how I feel and what I need.
Whether illustration, photography, family or sports, all of my hobbies are driven by a desire for betterment and an inclination to let off steam. Don’t get me wrong; I love my job, but more often than not, being creative involves solving problems and creating solutions for subjects that are not appealing to my own personal taste. Hence, my personal work is focused more on subjects I find interesting, science-fiction, wildlife, food, my family and other creative channels that I don’t work in, videography for example. The type of hobby I pursue is also favourable to me depending on how I feel and what I need. Illustration tempers my outer-extrovert by forcing me into a quiet, introverted state, something that is often required after a day of back-to-back meetings, presentations and pitches. On the other hand, photography launches me forth amongst people and forces me to interact to attain the best shot. Like all parents, I have many photos of my kids. I prefer to take candid shots of them rather than get them to pose for the camera; I find it helps to capture better their character and the activity they are doing at the time. Still, to attain such shots, you have to blend in and breed an indifference into your subject to the extent that they really don’t care that you’re there anymore.
Last weekend we went as a family to Chester Zoo. It was an awesome day, and my wife asked me to take my DSLR, a Nikon D3250, with various lenses that I’ve had for years, but for some reason, I’d not used for a while. Well, I say for some reason, but if I’m being honest, it’s just sheer laziness, and I’m more reliant upon my iPhone to take pics than a camera that’s more fit for purpose. The zoo was very busy and, post-Covid (if there is such a thing), a tad disconcerting in places, but I persevered, and my family gave me space to take some photographs of the animals. I was patient with people, and I surprised myself with the results, some of which illustrate this article and others I’ve posted on a separate Linked In Post. Being creative, I felt a release, and I sensed that my pursuit for a good shot was comparable to producing great work for a client or watching your children achieve life goals. At the end of the day, my happiness was palpable. This palpability pursued me throughout the following week, helped support my work with the agency and provided a cushion of self-confidence to fall back on when times were challenging.
I actively promote my team to engage in their ‘hobbies’ as they do help within their roles within est.
From my perspective, hobbies are necessary, whether interwoven with your vocation or completely separate; they allow for release and provide sustenance for days afterwards. As for etymology, the word hobby is archaic at the very least and the most an unnecessary word because it is far from “an activity that does not go anywhere.” Instead, your hobby is an activity that drives personal growth, and as an employer, I actively promote my team to engage in their ‘hobbies’ as they do help within their roles within est. A great example is our Project Manager, Matt, who keeps saltwater fish in a specially built tank. Recently I’ve been talking to him about it and discovered what a challenging hobby it actually is. It requires patience, time, research, knowledge, trial-and-error, planning, dedication and an appreciation of a beautiful result. I was slightly taken aback because these are all traits that make Matt a treasured team member and incredible Project Manager.
Hobbies can take you everywhere, advance personal growth and, in turn, help the business you work in, your career, and in some instances, the world we live in. So I encourage all of you to get to know your colleagues or employees more, find out what they do in their spare time and encourage them in their pursuits. You never know what you’ll discover, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
I’ll leave you with the rest of your weekend as you head off to pursue your hobbies, spend time with family and friends and pursue your extra-vocational desires.
Until next issue.
Mike
Mike Marshall is Managing Director of eatsleepthink, an award-winning strategic branding and digital agency based in Chesterfield, UK.
You can contact Mike by email: mike@eatsleepthink.com
All photography and illustration are ©copyright Mike Marshall 2021 and are not for reproduction without agreement from the copyright owner.