What are your hobbies and interests/ am I boring

[Tarascone]

I love reading and walking. I do yoga a couple of times a week but enjoy the benefits of it more than the actual yoga so wouldn’t call it a hobby.

However I’ve noticed a lot of people don’t seem to think either reading or walking are proper hobbies. When I read I’m seen as doing nothing whereas someone who does a sport or arts/crafts is seen as doing something productive.

When I say to people I love walking they always ask if I’ve done various challenges like the three peaks or a coast to coast walk. That doesn’t really interest me, I just like getting out for a 2-3 hour walk in the countryside. I do sometimes do longer or more challenging walks (children permitting) but it’s the actual walking and scenery I enjoy rather than the challenge.

I’ve always been quite proud of getting enjoyment from such simple things, but recently I’m feeling like my interests aren’t “enough” and that I’m perceived as boring and as having no hobbies.

The good thing about the ‘boring’ hobbies is nobody expects you to monetise them! If writing was your hobby rather than reading people would ask when you are going to publish. If you listen to music that’s fine but if you write it and or play it on an instrument there’s often an expectation that unless you can do so to a professional standard or to please a crowd it’s pointless.

Crafts especially come in for this, almost everyone who knits or sews or crochets has been encouraged to sell their finished items at some point. I don’t know why this is.

Reading, walking and a bit of yoga sound find to me!
I think sometimes people equate interesting hobbies with exciting/adventurous and/or some skill involved.

eg walking up a mountain requires some level of skill whereas a 3 hour ramble in the woods not so much.

Some people would regard my hobbies as super dull but I love them - knitting, history, books.

I did (an average of) 30 mins a day of yoga for 4 weeks a while back and felt I definitely had less aches and pains plus I felt overall stronger. If you're looking to give it a go, Yoga with Adriene has some short videos on her YouTube channel and some of them are 10/15 mins. Another good option as Adriene does tend to waffle a lot is the Down Dog App but you do have to pay for that. It's great though as you can set it to 15 mins and I think you can also specify target areas - it's been a while since I used it as my subscription ran out but I'm pretty sure they do black Friday deals and I've seen it in the past at £30 for the full year. I personally find shorter videos more often are more beneficial than longer videos less frequently. I haven't done it in a while and really need to get back into it. Whenever I'm getting back into it I always start with 10/15 mins, either shorter videos or part of a 30 min video and that seems to work quite well.

Can I just say OP that I really appreciate you starting this thread. There can definitely feel pressure to constantly be doing things that require vast amounts of skill, but it's really good to know there are quite a few of us who are happy with these kinds of hobbies.

Productive / being so busy is how some people measure self-worth . And it's a nasty cycle of impact - you have to be productive to get more stuff to show how productive you are , and to be ever busier and more productive . Hec even the idea of taking a hobby into a "side hustle " - like it's not enough to have a hobby that you enjoy , it had to make money.

Bad for mental and physical health . Rats in a cage.

Whilst Reading and walking are both cheap and healthy hobbies - stick to your guns and pity those who can't live fulfilling lives easily

Sorry everyone, I completely forgot to come back to the thread! I really appreciate all your responses though and it’s great to know that other people out there also enjoy similar things 😃

@Cloud44 with the yoga I currently do two classes a week. I find this helps reduce stress and also helps me to feel more at ease within myself. I used to do 15-20 minutes a day and this really helped me get stronger and more flexible. I should get back to it really as I’ve been a bit achy and tired recently.

I’m a reader & a walker too. I also do jigsaw puzzles and a bit of colouring. Am I boring? I don’t care if I am. I enjoy these things.

I think sometimes its a question of semantics - for example, I bet if you started calling it 'rambling' rather than 'walking' then you wouldn't feel like people didn't regard it as a proper hobby. It's like no one goes jogging any more, it's all running.

My hobbies are reading and gaming, I find people are much more judgemental of the gaming than the reading. But for me, gaming after DC are in bed is massively important to help me unwind from work and parenting.

I don’t think you’re boring.
I don’t really consider walking and reading to be ‘hobbies’ though. I think of hobbies as things that I either do socially or do to learn or improve some skill.
It’s totally fine to want to spend your time doing those things (obviously)

Oh that’s interesting. So would you consider the yoga classes to be more of a hobby?
To me a hobby is something that you enjoy doing and do in your leisure time. So I consider the reading and walking more of a hobby than the yoga.

There’s a lot of silly snobbery about hobbies. I also have boring hobbies - walking, sewing, listening to audio books, going to exhibitions.
I would like a social hobby but there’s nothing where I live that I would like to do.

My BIL particularly goes on about the boring hobbies I do and likes to comment. His free time is going to watch football which he has now got his wife doing with him, so can’t understand why I also am not interested, I went once, bored stiff.

All a hobby is, is an activity you do in your free time, one hobby doesn’t have more value than another.

I class yoga as my hobby, it's my passion. I've been on retreats, no different to going on golfing holidays, away for running events ime

Reading, walking and yoga are excellent hobbies. I do all 3 of them (not so much walking atm though). I also knit, crochet and spin (on a spinning wheel) and I play an instrument (not very well - I've recently picked it up again having learned as a kid) in a wind band.

I really, really, REALLY love my craft hobbies. Two out of three of them (not the spinning!) are very portable, can be done anywhere, give a creative outlet without you actually having to be a very creative person (just follow the pattern!). They're also great as solo hobbies or as a group. I belong to a guild, but it only meets once a month. Like with reading, knitting and crochet are great when you have 'trapped time' (on a train, stuck waiting for someone etc).

I read, walk and potter in the garden.
I've signed up for "well woman yoga" in January.
I don't care if I'm boring to others.
I'm never bored

Learning Italian and brushing up my French
embroidery
swimming
playing the piano and flute, when I retire my goal is to join an orchestra or flute choir
i cook/bake a lot but I'm not sure I'd count that as a hobby, more a household necessity

Yes, as a pp said, it’s a matter of semantics. I wouldn’t class either reading or walking as ‘hobbies’, either, and I’m a voracious reader and enjoy walking and hillwalking. I think I’d class those as ‘pastimes’, something you do routinely to enjoyably pass the time, rather than ‘hobbies’. I think it’s to do with intention and priorities, rather than the actual activities themselves, though I know some definitions think ‘hobbies’ usually produce a physical object or result, whether that’s knitting producing a jumper or am dram producing a play.

I’m actually not sure I do anything I could classify as a ‘hobby’. I do yoga, tai chi, drystone walling, go to the opera, theatre and art galleries a lot, take language classes, as well as reading and walking, but the yoga and tai chi are beneficial for my back problems, reading and writing is what I do for a living, drystone walling is a voluntary thing (restoring old and damaged walls as part of habitat conservation), the language classes are to help when travelling, and opera, theatre and art are too occasional to be ‘hobbies’, because they’re dependent on what’s on wherever I am, if that makes sense.

I remember taking in lots of CVs from teenagers in one retail job I had as a student, and most had a hobbies section, which usually said ‘Shopping and watching TV’.😀

I think reading and walking are perfectly decent hobbies!
Sometimes it depends what you are reading and how well something is written. But it's great for expanding your vocabulary, finding out about things you never heard of... I absolutely love historical novels or fiction set in the past. If the author is good and has done their homework, it will actually expand your general knowledge. Reading is also escapism, great for mental health and relaxation.

Same for walking/ hiking. Places, seasons plants, animals... you see them, admire their beauty or want find out a bit more about them. You learn to read the sky for weather changes and then there are the mental and physical health benefits.

I do have a 3rd proper hobby, dog agility. It's time consuming and more of a lifestyle as I can't put the dog on a shelf or leave them in the cupboard like my hiking boots! So the level of commitment is obviously higher.
But I would say all 3 are equally important for my wellbeing.

Genuine question. What does scrapbooking involve?

Outside of Mumsnet I never hear anyone say "hobby."

Disregard the views of others on this OP.

If anyone judges you as boring that says way more about them.

I'm exactly the same, I literally take a book everywhere with me. I've been out for a walk today for fresh air, exercise and to take in nature. Also, I do various exercise classes. The main thing is that you've got things you enjoy doing in your spare time, that's good for your mental health and as a couple are exercise, also your physical health.

I make a lot of little books to document trips and events. This kind of thing

People who do nothing but watch tv will find you awesome, those who do extreme sports would probably consider you boring but that's why we need to find our tribe. People with the same interests won't find you boring, it's completely subjective and doesn't really matter what people think if you're with like minded souls