it’s okay to abandon projects
So often, I find myself starting a project I have every intention of finishing, only to be sorely let down when life gets in the way again and I have to put it aside. For example, I love embroidery. I have a bunch of embroidered hoops on my wall that either myself or my friends have made. I really got into it this past Christmas and embroiled every day, getting better and better as I went along. When school and work came back to bite me, I had to put it aside, and have one large hoop I began at the end of January that has not been touched since. For a long while, I felt really disappointed in myself for not having the drive to finish it. It took me a bit to understand that it’s okay to be disappointed you’re not doing that project you love anymore and be comfortable with the fact that hobbies can be there to act as a crutch rather than a consistent life occurrence. Let me explain.
Hobbies give us moments for self reflection. We take those few minutes to sit with just ourselves, doing the things we love most. Whether that’s baking, sewing, writing, reading, cooking, biking, hiking, running, walking, etc. those moments are contemplative even if we’re busy while doing them. In those moments it’s just you and that activity. In our world today, we glorify success and wealth making us strive for concrete modes of achievement we can market. While that can be worthwhile, these hobbies are a vital part of how we survive and continue to feed our soul.
In that, sometimes hobbies get pushed to the side to make room for more concrete things like jobs or family. The things we find joy in get set into a bin and shoved under a bed for awhile, until they’re re-discovered. It’s important to know that life is life. Things happen. You should of course feel that disappointment or frustration in losing time to do these wonderful things, but know that in due time we can come back to them.
Sometimes our projects don’t even consist of hobbies. Sometimes we want these little things to turn into more concrete measures of success. I love doing embroidery and considered selling some hoops on Etsy. When I kept making more, I realized that was not going to be sustainable for my lifestyle and had to stop.
All throughout my life I’ve had abandoned projects, goals, and thoughts. Things I’ve left behind for other issues that felt more pressing at the time. As I work more on self reflection, I’ve come to realize that I can’t be disappointed in myself for giving up. In those moments, I did what I felt was best and I must move forward from here. It is important to feel, experience, and digest, then keep on moving. Life is not going to wait for you. Those projects will continue to gather dust in the wake of our neglect. That’s okay though. If we take moments here and there to enjoy those things, they become less of a project and transform into a hobby once again.
