Tuesday, April 25, 2006

If i make my hobby as my profession, i can enjoy work better. Right or Wrong?

I have heard many people say that if a person's hobby becomes his profession as well, then he would enjoy his work better and would also excel in it.

But i don't feel it's always true.

In fact in most of the cases, i feel a person should let his hobby remain a hobby, and his profession remain his profession.
Because hobby needs a 90 percent heart and 10 percent head..whereas for a profession one needs 90% head and 10% percent heart:)

Is a person enjoying his profession or not, depends not just on the work he is doing, but on so many factors like the environment, the people with whom he is working, the work pressure, the importance of his work and so many more like this.

Whereas when it comes to hobbies, each individual behaves independently while working on his hobbies. There are no environmental constraints or work pressure around him. So this way his hobbies refreshes and rejenuates him and keeps him creative. He is the king when he is with his hobby.

For example, if i have painiting as a hobby , i can scribble or paint anything that comes to my mind and feel happy and refreshed after it (ofcourse with social responsibility).
But then...if I make it my profession because it's my hobby, can i just paint anything that i want to?:). No. I will be driven by the environment, requirements and ofcourse my boss.

So in a hobby, we just have social responsibility, but in a profession, we have social responsibility as well as accountability.
M.F. Hussain aaahh..poor guy is a good example for this, who tried to paint some rubbish(rubbish as per indian tradition) with his whole heart, and then public around him screwed his peace for that:)

So, if you are making your hobbies as your profession...it's better you start making something else as your hobbies. Else life starts to suck...

I am making this post after talking to one on friends sister.
She has just passed out of the college and looking out for a job.
She feels call center would be right profession for her because she loves to talk to her friends for long hours on phone. And it seems most of the times she is doing that only when she is at home:)
Lady hasn't realised yet that 'friends are friends' and 'customers are customers'...and in few days she would definetly want to run away from her phone and monotonous phone calls:)

But ofcourse, exception are alsways their...and those are the luckiest people who could make their hobby as their profession and still feel happy about it.

So be careful when you decide!

3 comments:

Srini said...

Agree to a large extent.

I am a painter myself. but I do software for my income. if there is ever any deadline for a painting, i will end up making a crappy painting.I often feel creativity and productivity dont go hand in hand.

But the exception will be the case, where the person has enough money to take care of his social obligations and he only does a job for keeping himself occupied and for some social acceptance, then he is better off taking up something that gives him satisfaction. But as I told you. such people are only exception, may be even fiction :)

coolkrishnan said...

Nice post...
This thought has come to my mind too.....

creativity cannot be scheduled...
but then look at people like A R Rahman, Sachin Tendulkar, Bill Gates.... blessed souls....

probably the secret of their succes is that - they discovered a talent inside them which they can do with joy better than others with/without pressure....

Will I discover it in me ?

coolkrishnan said...

Just blogged similar thoughts of mine : http://coolkrishnan.blogspot.com

Pls have a look. Comments most welcome.