Written on: Wednesday, 05-Jan-'11

Since childhood we've been developing various kinds of hobbies. We're, in fact, taught in school to develop a hobby, as it's not only a good pass time, but also a very good catalyst to one's creativity.

I've seen many people who continue to aspire their hobbies despite continuing studies. Some are so dedicated that they even give-up their studies to achieve what they want to. It's also very famously said that many great personalities even did not complete their high-school studies, the immediate example that comes to me is Lata Mangeshkar. I, personally, don't promote this, because studies are equally important, so that you have one direction ahead in life. Unless you are ardently dedicated to your passion and have no other way to choose, it's okay to give up another facet of life, however, not otherwise.

Most of us suppress our hobbies and passions (further, interchangeably called 'passion') for various reasons, such as family pressure, peer pressure, or just because of our preferences for the time being. If we suppress or give up our passions out of loss of interest, it's still a part of our personality and choice. However, if we do so in fear of pressure, torture, it's not a genuine sacrifice. There are still most of us who continue to pursue our passion with or without the support of others. Whether we become successful in achieving that target is immaterial, but continuing to genuinely pursue what you like is all that counts.

People who are the closest to us are our family members i.e. parent(s), sibling(s), spouse, kid(s), and their support is very crucial in you involving in your passion, dedicating your time, money, energy, and physical body for the same. Not everyone may be supported by their family in pursuing what they want to, and this, usually, becomes the deciding factor for someone to continue to 'pet' that passion or not. Our family usually gets very critical and methodical in deciding whether our passion is beneficial to us or not. They want you to do or not do something, and it is said to be for your good. No doubt that they love you and they want to see you happy only, but objecting someone from doing something can often cause rifts in relationships, quarrels, disputes, and basically, unhappiness.

Good children [like me ;)] don't like to disregard what their parents have to decide for them, and hence it often becomes an honest nature to listen to them, no matter what. In the process we continue to suppress ourselves, our openness, and our creativity without realizing whether or not it may be valuable in the outside world. This, however, in some cases, may come out as a revenge inadvertently in the form of words sometimes in the future.

Never stop pursuing a passion just because others:
- don't want you to do it
- find benefit for you or themselves in it
- don't see a bright future in it
- don't like seeing you do it
- hate to or are embarrassed by your passion

This does not mean you disrespect their opinion and continue to do it. This only means that you should continue to respect your own passion, have faith in it, and put more positive energy. As long as you know what you are doing is ethically right, is interesting to you. In situations where there are financial obligations due to which you are not entertained to pursue your passion, you are the right person to judge whether or not to continue it, however, whereas the mind is concerned, it's like a horse. It's just a set of thought patterns, processes, and experiences that make people around you think the way they do. So, you don't really have to mind what worst things they may have to say to you. You just have to continue to be positive.

I have, for instance, been always pulled down from my hobbies such as Dancing, Fashion Photography, Spirituality, etc. but I cannot sit and blame my closed ones for doing that. They have their own view, and since these are some things I am ardently in love with, I should and would always continue to pursue them, unless I believe I should stop them for my own reasoning and conviction. It's very true and challenging that those close ones will:
- continue to look at me differently
- talk to me differently
- continuously hint and taunt how bad these hobbies are for the world
- continue to say that I am supposed to do something different from what I am doing
but my role here is to continue to be positive, humble towards them, and without trying to prove too much to them, continue doing what I want to do.

Only when you think you should discontinue from your passion, you should stop doing it, because that will be with complete conviction, and belief that it's your own responsibility and reasoning behind it. If you do things for others, time, age will simply go away and at the end even blaming others will not help, because they will hardly accept that. Imagine, you don't pursue a passion (e.g. singing, for instance) thinking that your parents might not like it, and you say to them later that you didn't pursue it because of them, and they end up saying, "We never stopped you from doing so", what would it feel like. No chance of reversal too.

You can always have a primary career to earn your living and work dedicatedly part-time on your passion. Nobody will stop you :)

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