Stop Trying to Sell Your Soul: Why You Need a Hobby You’re Bad At

In the professional world, we are obsessed with “optimization.” We want the most efficient workout, the most profitable network, and the most viral social media presence. This mindset has leaked into our private lives like an oil spill.

If you like to bake, people tell you to start a shop. If you like to take photos, they say you should sell prints. If you write, you’re told to build a “personal brand.”

But when you turn a joy into a job, you lose the very thing that made it special: the freedom to fail.

1. The Death of the “Pure” Amateur
The word “amateur” comes from the Latin amator—a lover. An amateur is someone who does something for the sheer love of it.

Today, the amateur is a dying breed. We feel guilty if we spend four hours painting a mediocre watercolor that no one will ever see. We feel like we should have been “upskilling” or “networking.” But as an editor who has spent decades polishing professional prose, I can tell you: The most interesting people are usually those who have a rich, private life that is not for sale.

2. The Side-Hustle Burnout
When you monetize a hobby, you introduce a new boss: The Market. Suddenly, you aren’t painting what you feel; you’re painting what the algorithm rewards. You aren’t writing for yourself; you’re writing for “engagement.”

The pressure to be “productive” with our leisure time is a recipe for burnout. It turns our sanctuaries into factories. We need spaces in our lives where the “ROI” (Return on Investment) is simply a sense of peace, not a line on a bank statement.

3. The Power of “Play”
In the newsroom, the best ideas often come from “play”—the jokes made during a coffee break, the idle doodling on a notepad, the tangential conversations that have nothing to do with the headline.

When you allow yourself to be an amateur at something, you reclaim the right to play. You can be bad at tennis. You can play the guitar out of tune. You can cook a meal that looks terrible but tastes like home. This “useless” activity is actually what keeps your brain flexible and your spirit intact.