Have you ever seen someone who’s super good at something– be it playing the guitar, knitting, cooking, doing the crossword puzzle– and thought to yourself, “Damn. I wish I had something I was that good at”? It’s a common feeling. In fact, French philosopher Friedrich Nietzche first described this irrational force driving humans towards mastery of different ends as the “will to power”. Indeed, it’s human nature to want to take on a skill– any skill– and become the best at it. However, evidently, the saying “practice makes perfect” rings a little too true; many people find that actually working to improve at various crafts is a lot less satisfying than just being immediately good at it.
So, in honor of those people, here are the five best hobbies to pick up and then drop when you’re not immediately good at them.
1: Origami
You were totally the go-to person for making origami fortune tellers in kindergarten, so surely you’ll have no problem following Jo Nakashima’s Prehistoric Squirrel-Scrat origami tutorial. And, if not… well, whatever.
2: Surfing
If Bethenny Frankel can do it with only one arm, surely you can do it with two. You literally just have to stand there. *Cue Tyler, the Creator voice* Oh no! I hope I don’t fall!
3: Calligraphy
That wedding invitation from pre-Covid was stunning, and no doubt you could recreate it if you had the right kinds of pens. Who cares that your elementary school cut cursive from the curriculum – it’s time to take a trip to Michael’s!
4: Chess
Just finished binge watching The Queen’s Gambit and think that shit couldn’t possibly be so hard? You’re probably right! Anyone got those special green pills on hand? Asking for a friend.
5: Photoshop
You’ve already mastered the Instagram filters, how much harder can Photoshop be? You know what a Bézier curve is, right? Right!?
So there you have them. Go on! Take a stab at it. Worst case scenario, you suck at it, and you can move right along to the next hobby on the list. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
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