The beauty in being an amateur is that the only thing keeping you going is a drive rooted in love and passion. There is no boss, no pressing deadlines threatening to consume us; our motivation flows solely from within. Hobbies and passions aren’t inborn traits; they discover us along the winding path of life. Our problem is that the art of getting started in them can be pretty hard to master. Torn between the grip of ignorance and the allure of desire it’s easy to get stuck. Despite the familiarity of our comfort zone we crave newness and challenge. Exploration and adventure are etched just as deeply into our souls as fear. 

Our spirit of exploration may take us down many rabbit holes, often more than our resources can sustain. The spirit is exuberant. Without discipline, those like me can find ourselves dragged over the hill and yonder chasing our next fleeting interest. The shortcuts for Amazon and YouTube are right next to each other in my browser. I am the speed of the internet from making the leap from a YouTube rabbit hole to my shopping cart ordering everything I need to take off on my brand new interest in sushi making. $30 later and now I have a bamboo rolling mat that needs a home in the kitchen. It’s an all-too-familiar cycle, chasing whims with little to no lasting fulfillment. Most, like the sushi mat, find themselves tucked into a corner of my life collecting dust, serving as a monument to my impulses. 

My fellow ordinary folks, there is a better way. Recently I discovered fly fishing. It is so different from all the other spontaneous pursuits. I find a sense of fulfillment in it that I am yet to find anywhere else. I am up early in the morning, and home late at night. I carry a fly rod in my car at all times just in case I find the opportunity to toss a line. I feel alive when I am in a stream, whether I am catching fish or not (which is fortunate because I usually am not). But this time, it all started with just a bargain $4 fly pole from a yard sale and $5 worth of flies. From my meager beginnings, frustration with sinking flies led me to realize that I would need a floatant to keep my flies on the surface of the water, so I went out and got some. As my passion for the sport grew, I let what I had learned inform my purchases, as with the floatant. Gradually, my collection expanded alongside my experience. I delved into techniques to compensate for my limited equipment, learning to maximize what I had before seeking more. I may have followed interest to the doorstep, but I let passion guide me in. In doing so, I discovered a piece of my soul that snugly cradled a fly rod. And guess what? None of my gear sits abandoned in a corner; it’s either proudly displayed or meticulously organized.

What I’m suggesting from my learned experience is this: let your passions steer both your ambitions and purchases.  We absolutely will not start every endeavor with the efficiency that gear and tools provide; but, if there is one thing that us amateurs know about life as a whole it is that success and efficiency are not equivalent to passion and pleasure. Some things we do for the love of it, not the success. We can allow room to grow in our avocations as our skills progress. Instead of leading with purchases, be resourceful first and let need drive commerce instead of interest. Begin where you are, and if interest blooms passion, then resources will come. When you’ve reached the limits of your tools, expand gradually. This way, if your interest proves fleeting, you won’t be left with a clutter of neglected supplies and a gaping hole in your wallet.

As amateurs, as seekers of passion, we owe it to ourselves to only keep the things in our lives we love. Buying hobbies does not bring us closer to uncovering ourselves through our endeavors, but constructs obstacles to self-discovery. It drains us of the resources that could otherwise bring us closer to our chosen purposes. Explore the world around you, allow your interests to take you to new places–Just don’t let them drag you away between sowing and reaping. Conserve what you have so that there are more opportunities to uncover what truly animates us. “You can’t have everything you want, but you can have the things that really matter to you.” -Marissa Mayer