No. End of article for those to clicked on the link just to know the yes/no answer.
If you want to understand the why behind it, read on.
Hobby, by definition, is any activity done in one’s leisure time for fun. As soon as we expect anything other than pleasure in return, I think the activity ceases to be a hobby.
Imagine telling someone your hobby is playing a guitar and not knowing how to play a single song or that your hobby is reading when you read one book a year. Imagine joining a gardening club for hobbyists when you’ve killed every single house plant you’ve ever had. Umm, okay… maybe it wasn’t completely your fault.
But, would you do that? Would you be okay admitting you’re not great at your hobby? Would you be okay accepting that your skill level doesn’t match the socially desirable level in a hobby context? I’m here to tell you, it is okay to not be good at your hobby. Getting better at your hobby might be an unintentional consequence but you can suck at something and still list it as a hobby.
In a world where you’re expected to turn every single interest in a hustle, to monetize your hobbies and commodify your free time, I think its quite liberating to accept that it is okay to never be exceptional at something and still enjoy doing it for a very long period of time.
One of my hobbies is painting and I’m often asked if I’ll ever sell my artwork. I rebel against the idea of monetizing my art because as soon as I start painting because somebody asked me to, it will stop being fun for me. I like painting landscapes and because I paint for myself and nobody else, the fact that I cannot paint a human face to save my life, doesn’t bother me. I cannot paint all day and hence most of my paintings are small, done on an A5 size paper which take me anywhere between 30 minutes to two hours. I prefer watercolours over acrylic and gouache and hence I am okay not experimenting with any other kind. To sum it up, painting to me is synonymous to freedom.
I could be producing artwork that is too hideous for someone — labelled totally and utterly unsaleable and still not care or I could be creating extraordinary paintings and never wish to sell them. It is up to me and nobody else and that is what I want from a hobby.
Coming back to the question — Do you have to excel at your hobby? Absolutely not. But you can if you want to. You can monetize and publicize it or you can keep it to yourself and never tell another soul. Your hobby could become your hustle, but don’t let anybody tell you that it is the only way a hobby can be meaningful.
So can you think of any activities that will now feature in your hobbies list? :D
