Hi,

At the moment I am having some issues deciding what I want to do as far as a hobby goes and this is starting to cause me some stress and problems in other parts of my life.

I work full time (Monday – Friday 8:30 – 5pm) in IT support so outside work I try to not spend too much time on the computer outside work (most nights I don’t even take my laptop home with me) I got right in to radio scanning about 11 years ago, this is / was something I really enjoyed and something I have spent a lot of time doing over the years, I help to run a forum for this (www.scanningtasmania.org) about 2.5 years ago my partner at the time (who I am no longer with) expressed a concern that this hobby was not “socially acceptable” and as such I took up photography to make her happy and left the radio scanning hobby for a while. Around 18 months ago we split up and while I kept doing photography I also got right back in to radio scanning again.

Now I have given up on photography totally and am back doing radio scanning as my main / only hobby but the “magic” seems to have left it for me since my other partner was so unhappy about me doing it and I am feeling less and less like doing it, it is to the stage now where I almost feel like I have to do it or else I just sit around doing nothing of a weekend. My current partner is very supportive of me and whatever I decide to do but I am sick of feeling unhappy about it and not knowing what I want to do.

I do have another interest which is Lego Technic design and building, I did this quite a bit growing up and am thinking about getting right back in to it again now but again this is not really a “social” hobby or one I could talk to other people about. I have spoken to a few people about it but everybody has a “vested interest” those people who I know via radio scanning think I should be doing that and people I know in the Lego hobby think I should be doing that as a hobby. I have tried to have a mix / balance of different hobbies but this never works very well for me, whenever I am doing one I feel like I should be doing the other one plus I live in a small unit so I don’t have a lot of room to have things setup.

Which hobby should I go forward with?

Paul

Both. The reason you do a hobby is not because its social its because you like it. If you want to do both then do both. If the 'social' aspect is going to be an issue then I'm sure you can find some AFOLs around you : ) You're not the only AFOL in the world, just as I'm sure you're not the only one scanning radios.

Do what you enjoy.

Both. The reason you do a hobby is not because its social its because you like it. If you want to do both then do both. If the 'social' aspect is going to be an issue then I'm sure you can find some AFOLs around you : ) You're not the only AFOL in the world, just as I'm sure you're not the only one scanning radios.

Do what you enjoy.

Thank you, I am going to see if I can find any other AFOL's around my area.

This is... hard to determine. I (used to) work 8-5 so there was plenty of time for hobbies. I split my time between... hrm... let's say, LEGO, Magic: The Gathering, video gaming, board gaming, and bar time with friends (if you want to include them) ((something you can do without real life friends - EX. I am an AFOL, yet I know no AFOLs)).... the latter, is not really what I'm interested in, but my friends are interested in. Magic friends tended to be the same as the board gaming friends.

OK, this is rambling, what I mean to say is it will be different for any person and that person's group of friends. Good luck with this.

Edited June 22, 201014 yr by TheWarden

My own experience has then that I have been most happy with my hobbies when allowed to drift between them. I go from LEGO to 40k to Electric Bass building every few months, and that seems to work out well. Many times I've said, I'm done with "that" hobby, only to drift back into it a year later. This has gone on for over a decade now.

So don't stress out. Do what interests you now and put the others to the side. When you get tired of the hobby at hand, don't feel guilty about going back to one of the others. My only suggestion would be to try and limit the number of hobbies you move between. Pick 2 or 3 and stick with those.

As for social'ness of a hobby, that's a tricky one. I find that all my hobbies have social outlets, it's just a matter of finding them. Of course living in a major urban center does make it easier to find likeminded individuals. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the hobby for personal reasons and find your social outlet elsewhere.

I'm sorry, but I think the way that you have structured this thread is not in keeping with the goals of the Community forum. I really find this far too personal, and basically just an "I-need-advice" thread. If you are on Eurobricks, that means you do have a hobby: LEGO.

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, but this is not the place for that sort of thing. A general "How do you pick your hobbies?" thread would be more appropriate, but mostly we have those specific to a certain hobby so that all of the hobbyists can discuss their common hobby together.

In the future, please refrain from creating threads asking for non-LEGO related advice, and also threads that have a narrow and personal focus. Thanks for your understanding.

At the moment I am having some issues deciding what I want to do as far as a hobby goes and this is starting to cause me some stress and problems in other parts of my life.

Which hobby should I go forward with?

You have to do what makes you happy and screw the opinions of former GFs. Seriously, there's a reason she's 'former' and at that point her opinion stopped counting. You're lucky to be with someone who is supportive. Enjoy that opportunity to be yourself and do what you like. I don't really know what radio scanning is, but it sounds like something that you might be able to do while getting into Technic robotics. Maybe think of a creative way to mix the two. At the same time, maybe you could also find something that you would enjoy doing together and enhance your relationship.

I'm sorry, but I think the way that you have structured this thread is not in keeping with the goals of the Community forum. I really find this far too personal, and basically just an "I-need-advice" thread.

An "I need advice" thread that involves an AFOL and LEGO options. It's perfectly acceptable in this context.

In the future, please refrain from creating threads asking for non-LEGO related advice, and also threads that have a narrow and personal focus. Thanks for your understanding.

Every topic has a narrow and personal focus to some extent. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a good way to get to know another person. Lighten up a little.

I will second the idea to keep both. Hobbies are only hobbies if you have interest. Sometimes, I'm quite obsessed with Lego, and then I can take a break from it. At the moment, I'm into it, and look forward to tomorrow's payday purchase. But in three months, I may be on a break. Hobbies aren't like smoking or drinking, where people declare a 'quit', there's an ebb and flow, and don't need to be consciously managed.

If a girlfriend requests a pull-back, just nod and say yes, and go about your business. Either she'll stay or she'll go. My wife had no clue what a nerd I was when we met, but in the long term decided a toy-buyer and comic-reader was better than a cheater or a gambler. Don't change your hobbies for a woman unless you yourself think you're weird. If you think you're fine, then she's just too close-minded.

Natural selection. It won't work unless you are compatible. If you circle a square to fit in a round hole, you'll be unhappy.

Paul: this is certainly an interesting topic. While I don't know you (not even from EB), it sounds as if (forgive me for saying), you may still have a bit of a broken heart over your first relationship and looking for something that can fill the gap.

Whether or not my assumption is true, you should pursue interests that you feel passionate about. There is no wrong or right answer, and while many can read your question(s) and provide their advise, you should ask yourself which hobby(ies) make you feel good inside. Personally, as an old fart that still likes LEGO, I don't have one 'real-life friend' or work associate that is into building LEGO; however, I've found a great group of people that have turned my interest of LEGO into a social hobby, right here on Eurobricks.

That said, that doesn't mean you have to give up any of your other interests (IT, photography, or radio scanning (although I don't even know what that is )). I enjoy horror and mystery movies, spooky stories, and collecting Playmobil as well as LEGO - to name just a few. Being who you are affords you the opportunity to pursue many interests aside from and including LEGO.

Enjoy your passions regardless of what others think. Those who care about you will understand. It makes you unique and who you really are.

Good luck!

You can always do both. Of course you might feel like "Not enough time to do everything". I sometimes feel that way. Ultimately I end up favoring one hobby over the other. And then I miss the other hobbies and I switch around.