When you step back and look at the education system, television, media, colleges, ect. real creativity seems to take a back seat. No where does anyone teach you to acquire hobbies or learn NEW things in the main stream. Most people get home from work and sit down by the television for the night or literally sit in front of it all day. If you ask someone what their hobbies are you usually get a very shallow answer like buying guns, getting coffee, or “facebook”. Now don’t get me wrong, I love buying guns but buying guns itself is not really a hobby. Shooting your gun a few times a year is not really a hobby either. Investing long term time, energy, and skill into a skill like reloading or target practice however is a great hobby. This is how I define a hobby and you will see why.

You might be a little confused on why I separate short term fun of buying a gun and shooting it once in a while against reloading or regular target practice. The difference between the two seems tiny but the results can be quite different for your mind. At least mine. For example, if I go out shooting every weekend just for fun blasting holes in fruits and water jugs I’m not building a skill set. I’m not pushing myself to become better or grow in any way.

Another example for me is getting into a buy craze. I didn’t spend a lot of money but I was constantly trading guns and shooting and trying new ones. I had a few I kept long term but a lot of them I traded and just kept shooting different guns. At the end of it I didn’t grow or obtain any new skills other than perhaps minimal knowledge on shooting a variety of weapons in a standard situation. Not that valuable compared to the mental enjoyment of seeing yourself grow each time you go out for target practice to get better. I don’t really look at it as a competition with myself either, but rather seeing myself improve from dedication of time and hard work. Whether it be at the reloading table or the shooting bench.

> Check Current Book Prices <

When I get caught up in the fake version of what hobbies have become I find myself less happy. I’m not learning anything new of value and it can’t really be applied to my life to benefit me in anyway. It simply drains me or my bank account. Real hobbies however, can be quite beneficial financially and mentally. There’s a simple joy in feeding your chickens or quail every day. Collecting some eggs and perhaps even butchering a few for a good meal.

On top of that you can sell chicks or meat as well. Learning how to raise these animals is the challenge and the feeling of success when you accomplish this is much more rewarding. You learn many skills along the way that can be applied to many areas of your life. Not to mention there’s a nice reward for winning a shooting competition if your aim get’s good enough. Or perhaps even a trick shot artist. These types of hobbies bring joy as you get better and improve. It brings a joy to your self and builds self confidence.

I have felt a direct correlation to my own health. If I ever stopped participating in my favorite hobbies I would slowly become more depressed. If I stopped learning and growing in my hobbies it really starts to set in. This would happen quite a bit in past relationships. A lot of women would get jealous or angry about me having quality hobbies and try and distance me from them. Girlfriends would shame me about things I enjoy just so I would stop. Once I saw what they where doing I never looked back! Never let anyone keep you from this growth and discovering new hobbies because it does impact your mental health.

There’s many times when I’d be out filling water bowls, carving wood, working on the food forest, or building animal houses and I would have total mental clarity. I would find myself in a total peace and find joy in what I was doing. The scripture I had been reading would be clear and obvious to my situation and the realities we face on this plane. My problems would find answers and things would simplify themselves. Stress would disappear with growth in it’s place.

This is why hobbies, or lack there of, can be dangerous without growth. You’ll start to find fake or materialistic ways to satisfy your depression. You’ll allow yourself to make poor decisions over and over again stuck in the hamster wheel. A real problem in the MGTOW movement is this depression that stems from lack of real hobbies and growth. A lot of men are stuck in a red pill rage unable to find themselves again after several brutal divorce’s or relationships.

Unable to move past the women bashing and anger. I don’t blame them at all because I’ve been there myself. That’s why I share this because this is how I have always found myself and my peace. How I have always found my individualism and my identity. My hobbies are what define me. Not my job, not my career, not my relationships, not my social life. My hobbies are where I draw my joy in life. My solitude and energy. Without them I’d be miserable, still stuck in a place of real anger and rage.