Not Everything I Love Needs to Be Useful
I’ve realized I have a slightly ridiculous habit.
Whenever I enjoy something, some part of my brain eventually asks:
Okay… but what are we doing with this?
Read something?
What did I learn?
Enjoy making something?
Could this become a project?
Get interested in a hobby?
Could I get really good at it?
Could I sell something?
Could I use it for work?
Could I turn it into content?
Could I somehow justify the time I’m spending on it?
Apparently I have been running a tiny corporate office inside my own happiness.
And management has questions.
When Did Joy Need a Business Plan?
I don’t remember thinking like this when I was younger.
You liked something.
So you did it.
That’s pretty much where the analysis ended.
Kids understand this beautifully.
Give a child a weird rock they think is cool and congratulations—you have apparently presented them with an ancient treasure.
Meanwhile an adult finds something they enjoy and immediately starts wondering whether they should open an Etsy store.
We have lost the plot.
I Don’t Need to Monetize Every Hobby
This one feels particularly relevant now.
We’re constantly hearing about side hustles.
Turn your passion into income.
Build something.
Create something.
Grow something.
And listen…
sometimes that’s fantastic.
Something you genuinely enjoy can become a business or a creative project you love.
But sometimes a hobby gets to stay a hobby.
I can do something badly.
I can make something nobody will ever see.
I can spend money on supplies without calculating my return on investment.
I can enjoy learning something without needing to become an expert.
I can quit if it stops being fun.
The hobby does not need to become an employee.
I Don’t Need Every Minute to Improve Me
I’ve noticed the same thing with what I consume.
Books should teach me something.
Podcasts should improve me.
Shows should be new.
Activities should help me grow.
Even relaxation somehow gets categorized as:
“self-care.”
Which is useful language.
But sometimes I don’t need to perform self-care.
Sometimes I’m lying under a blanket watching something ridiculous because that’s what I felt like doing.
No healing journey occurred.
I did not discover myself.
Nothing was optimized.
Excellent evening.
I Can Like the Silly Version
I think adulthood also teaches us to justify our preferences.
Why do you like that?
Why did you buy that?
Do you really need another one?
Isn’t that kind of silly?
Maybe.
And?
There are things I own because they’re useful.
There are things I own because they’re necessary.
And there are things I own because I looked at them and thought:
Ohhhh. Cute.
Apparently that remains a valid purchasing criterion.
Within reason.
My bank account has requested that I include that last sentence.
Being Bad at Something Can Still Be Fun
This might be my favorite part.
We’re allowed to enjoy things we’re mediocre at.
I know.
Revolutionary.
You can paint badly.
Dance badly.
Sing badly.
Garden badly.
Craft badly.
Cook something that looks nothing like the picture.
Take terrible pictures.
Write something nobody reads.
And then…
do it again.
Because you enjoyed yourself.
You don’t need to turn every interest into a skill you’re constantly measuring.
Maybe you’re not trying to improve.
Maybe you’re just having fun.
“Because I Like It” Is a Complete Answer
I think this is what I’m trying to practice.
Why do you watch that again?
Because I like it.
Why did you buy the pink one?
Because I like it.
Why are you doing that if you’re not trying to make money from it?
Because I like it.
Why do you collect those?
Because I like them.
Why do you keep listening to that song?
Because apparently my brain has decided we’re going to hear it 63 more times.
Please direct additional questions to management.
Life Can’t Be One Giant Improvement Project
I care about growing.
Obviously.
It’s literally part of Radiant Rise.
Healing.
Growing.
Rising.
Those things matter deeply to me.
But I don’t think growth means treating my entire life like something that constantly needs improvement.
I don’t want every day to become an evaluation of whether I’m doing enough.
Learning enough.
Building enough.
Healing enough.
Improving enough.
Sometimes I want to exist.
Enjoy something.
Laugh.
Waste a little time.
Be completely unremarkable for an afternoon.
And not turn it into a lesson.
So I’m Keeping the Pointless Stuff
The comfort show.
The little treat.
The unnecessary pink thing.
The hobbies I may never become particularly good at.
The songs I’ve played into the ground.
The books I read because they’re fun.
The things that make absolutely no sense to anybody else.
Not everything I love needs to become productive.
Not everything needs to make money.
Not everything needs to improve me.
Not everything needs a deeper meaning.
Some things get to stay because they make being alive a little more enjoyable.
And maybe that’s not pointless at all.
— Michelle
Radiant Rise
Healing. Growing. Rising Together.
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