People who focus on one thing and continue that for a long time tend to receive respect from others, but how about people who always try new things? Don’t they deserve admiration for their courage and ability to hop onto what they desire on a heart beat?
My mother is a habitual hobby changer, and I didn’t think this characteristic of hers was particularly good for a long time. Growing up in Japan, the implicit societal virtue I learned was to immerse ourselves in one thing and keep at it at length. However, I think this idea could prevent us from trying new things, making us afraid of becoming one of those 三日坊主 (pronounced: Mikka Bouzu) which refers to someone who starts something and stops it only after three days, and it has a negative connotation that someone like this cannot achieve excellence.
But what if we look at the positive side of Mikka Bouzu? Don’t we find it admirable when we hear our friends doing something new? And do we care if they continue that for a long time? Maybe we do, but even if it was a short-lived hobby, that’s still great that they had that experience! Honestly, we don’t know if we like something until we try it out. So we should free ourselves from the fear that we might not enjoy it as much as we initially thought.
Just in the last couple of weeks, I have started several new hobbies from baking to this blog. And I just purchased some equipment to get started on digital drawing today! These are all things I have always wanted to try but haven’t done yet, not just because of the fear of becoming Mikka Bouzu, but it was subconsciously part of it.
After all, these are all just hobbies. They are meant to be joyful and bring happiness into our lives. So let go of any fear you might have. You might not finish reading that Harry Potter book you started or you might end up never baking with the new tart mold you just purchased. And that’s completely fine. You already gained new XP from embarking on that journey. They already did good to you, so don’t fret their future.
I am going to try everything I always wanted, taking advantage of the fact that we are asked to stay at home as much as possible due to COVID-19. Stay home. Stay healthy.