What If We Didn’t Optimise This?

I can write about goal setting, discipline, and routine all day long. It comes naturally to me. Trained as an elite athlete from a young age, I learned to do, to do a lot and always in the service of a goal. Everything had meaning: sleep, food, training, all of it mattered, and all of it counted.

When I was about 25, someone asked me what I liked to do in my spare time. I remember feeling genuinely confused. Spare time? What was that? And more importantly, who cares what I like to do? I do what I should do.

When my athletic career ended, I kept searching for meaning elsewhere. I found some, here and there- mostly through social entrepreneurship, which I’ve written about before. But what I want to do with this piece is sit with something I’m actually quite bad at. Something that, I think, has quietly disappeared in our culture’s relentless search for meaning.

Hobbies.

The dictionary defines a hobby as “an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.” For pleasure. You do something over and over again… just because you enjoy it?

I have a very hard time with that. Anyone else?

I tend to assign purpose to everything. Any flicker of talent immediately turns into a potential business idea. Reading becomes “what can I learn?” Gardening becomes “who can I feed?” Walking becomes “how many steps can I get in?” And on and on and on.

Which is why one of my goals (yes, I see the irony) for 2026 is “more white space”- time to do things simply because they light me up.

Interestingly, a Harvard study found that people with hobbies reported better health, more happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher life satisfaction than those without. The study was observational, so it doesn’t prove that hobbies cause happiness or health, but the researchers noted that hobbies often involve creativity, sensory engagement, self-expression, relaxation, and cognitive stimulation. All things are strongly linked to mental well-being. Add to that the social connection many hobbies bring, and you also reduce loneliness and isolation.

Reading this, it struck me that hobbies do have meaning- just not the loud, outcome-driven kind that we’re used to chasing. The purpose is quieter, but perhaps more important. Hobbies make us happier and healthier.

The key distinction, I believe, is that the process is everything, and the outcome is completely irrelevant. The study didn’t care how big the tomatoes were, how beautiful the artwork looked, or how many games anyone won. People simply did the thing for pleasure.

So maybe we can practice being okay with having a hobby…

…that you’re bad at

…that makes no money

…that you tell no one about

…that you never share on Instagram

Shall we?

With love,

Alexandra Nash