The current HN submission “You are chasing the wrong goals” doesn’t describe the article. The article isn’t targeted directives about your (the reader’s) life, it’s a reflection on the author’s life.
Per HN guidelines the title here should be changed.
Wow, labeling them as unproductive feels so crazy to me. Those are among the most "bang for the buck" productive hobbies I can think of.
Doing just one of them regularly will have literally life-changing results that will drastically transform your life. Reading fiction will develop your ability to focus, improve your mental health, develop you empathy and make it easier to connect with other people through shared common cultural experiences. Board games will strengthen your social ties with others, increase your analytical skills, you social skills, everything. I could go on and on.
What would be "productive" hobbies? Leet code?
Though I admit that seeing hobbies in terms of benefits and self improvement kind of also has its downside. I think it is also good to be able to have fun for the sake of having fun. For me the lines between work and play are often blurry, for better or worse. I am honestly not sure.
The post resonated with me. After a couple decades trying different things, I think the best opportunities have always come with doing random fun things. Hard work is important but that's not where the opportunities come from. For example: applying for hundreds of jobs yielded no results for me, but just engaging in hobbies allowed me to find a much better job.
The problem is humans tend to seek out goals and accomplish them because it feels safe, but I think the return is much less than if you just let yourself be a bit more free. It's scary because you don't know what will happen, but it works much better in the long run.
I personally have found grinding and grit mostly counter productive unless it is accompanied by a reasonably short term outcome.
Also grinding continuously to get an abstract thing that might help you somedays is a recipe for burnout. Sustainable self improvement has to come from a place of intention, and the grid can service that intention in the short term; but sometimes you need to refuel your intention.
It feels like a never-ending treadmill and after chased the goal, there will always be something else. Until we sit down and intentionally look around, we could realize the personal meaning is within ourselves but not set by others.
Thank you for sharing your reflective thoughts and happy new year.
