Hobbies, passions, obsessions...

So being in my mid 40's and having a lot of experiences in life I have been wondering what I truly have a passion for, are just hobbies and when shit turns into obsessions. I saw a news story about a guy who rescues pigs. The segment showed the guy "cuddled" right up with 400lbs porkers like they were his dogs. At first, I was like freak show alert but then I got kind of reflective. I have done this with several people lately who have great passion/obsession for things. Maybe a little jealous that they have found something that isn't work and just a great part of their lives.

I have lots of hobbies, loved racing and doing track days but have walked away several times, currently training a retriever to a fairly high level but not crazy like some dog people get. I also spend a lot of time hunting and fishing but don't have stickers all over my truck and count the hours to the next season. Not sure any are passions and none are obsessions. Although, if you said I could never do any of those things again it would be extremely hard to handle.

So whats the difference between a hobby, passion and when do things become obsessions? I think it's odd if someone is "passionate" about car or MC racing that's probably ok but if they are into pig rescues then they are a bit touched. Societal norms are always interesting to study!


This is just an intellectual version of the poo thread...

 

Im either completely obsessed about something, or give no fucks at all. There are no other levels.

 

A hobby is like taking a dump every two to three days. A passion is 2 times a day. An obsession is having a toilet bowl water heater so the backsplash is warm on your sphincter when you go at it like @badmoon692008 5 times a freaking day !

 

Yeap and I can be completely obsessed with something and just flick the switch and overnight, not give a shit about it anymore.

 

Yeah, I have learned to be careful about my sudden obsessions because they turn into expensive past times...like MTB. I like to ride but my free single speed specialized is all I really need...not the $5000 tricked out full suspension bike I eventually sold for $3000...

 

I'll have to say that ever since I threw my leg over a CT70 at 8 years old, motorcycles have been an obsession for me. A full fledged put me in a rubber room obsession.

And here I am, damn near 50 years since that first ride and I'm worse than ever. I buy and sell bikes at a ridiculous pace. I hoard parts that I'll never use because in the back of my head I figure they'll be worth something some day. I spend my work day here, on the ADV forum, on motorcycle sites reading about more motorcycles...anywhere that I may glean even more information about two wheels.

I often wonder what I might have accomplished in life that actually mattered if I would have put forth even a 10th of the passion that went into this. And then I tell myself...nah, that would have just been time wasted.

I can say with 100% confidence that you could give me the choice of Ann Margret in her prime lying naked on a bed for my pleasure or a 10 minute ride on a TZ750 and I'd be looking for my helmet in a matter of seconds (and no, that's not a metaphor for a rubber!). That's how bad I've got it.

 

I heard Ann Margret was into bikes. Maybe you could hit two 'birds with one stone

 

Only if it was a TZ

 

Guilty by association!

 

I saw two of those at the Mosport Vintage Festival last month. They sure was purdy ! (and I bet they aged better than Ann Margret too)

 

Thinking about this about has led me to the conclusion that I have a kid and between upcoming field hockey, travel team lacrosse, her indoor league and whatever the hell else comes up and throw in work I don't have the time or the money for hobbies anymore.

I am drooling over a couple of IWCs and I'd love to get a Jazzmaster and maybe look for a Ruger Red Label or 7, I just don't have the time to invest in the research and even less to drive the sales people insane.

 

Try "Going in Style" and get back to me. I found her shockingly pretty for someone that age who doesn't seem to have had much plastic surgery. I mean, Elvis has been dead 40 years.

This is NOT an endorsement of the movie.

 

Seems like your passion is your family/kid. Nothing wrong with that. But having a few hobbies/creative outlets/alone time away from the family sure does help me vent sometimes lol and I don't know if I'd stay sane very long just doing dad stuff. Right now, I'm pimping out a VFR400, riding the streets on my FJ-09, road cycling and doing the occasionnal endurance race on a friend's bike. That's about all I have time for.

 

I've never been a hobby guy. I dont understand the flavor of the month guys. The time, money, energy to be profictent at another hobby and then change it all around is just too much for me. Ive pretty much been a gearhead all my life and thata about all I can muster to give a shot about.

As DK said, having kids kinda kills your available spare time so you best choose wisely.

 

Same. Full tilt or no go. I do that with everything I do in life. Sometimes it's a bane.

 

I have a pile of lacrosse heads to dye and some other small shit to do. I usually string the heads, throw them on a shaft and then give them out to the poorer kids with complete shit sticks.

I have been asked help paint the fields for the tournaments and help with the bobbleheads when they need it. When they said Field Marshal I got a boner and thought I'd be riding on top of a Panther towards Moscow, not picking up trash and making sure the port-o-shitters weren't completely full.

 

As much as you post here, I don't think anyone would argue that.

 

Hobbies ..... no time for those. Passions ....... motorcycling for sure is one, coaching was another. Obsessions ...... can't allow myself to actually have those. Like many others that have posted, three kids and work kill most of my time and my kids/family are just too important to allow my passions to take over and become obsessions. I think the biggest mistake I have made was allowing a passion to become a job. Going from coaching/training youth soccer players on a small personal scale to taking a staff role in a competitive soccer club in Austin a couple years ago as a second job has steamrolled any time not already allocated to family/work.

 

When I was in the service my only hobbies were shooting and kicking doors but since I retired in 2010 I went back to building bikes, so if any of you need a build don't hesitate to contact me for a build. 1/12 Scale that is.