Hobbies: Their Role in the Workplace
Photo Credit: Austin Trigg Photography
The lessons we learn over the course of a lifetime may not come from books or university, but rather how your body and mind adapt to certain situations you may find yourself in. Moving forward when there is no clear way out is what Angela Duckworth would call grit (just like the title of her book). Grit is an unstoppable drive paired with a fiery passion that propels us forward when the going gets tough. I find myself fighting the socially constructed 9-5 work week every day. Interview after interview, I get asked to sit on the phone for 40-50 hours every week in exchange for criminally low wages in Denver. They like to wrap this mindless work in lame distractions like kombucha on tap in their office or half day Fridays. What? It is just one case of disappointment after another with these interviews; it feels like I’m on Tinder.
I can’t help but think that the skills I have developed on my own in times of fear, necessity or desire couldn’t be of greater use to any company. Do they really want a mindless college graduate who got a degree because they had to? I take comfort in the fact that I am 1. Not the only one facing this issue, and 2. One who refuses to settle on a job that may pay slightly better, but would prohibit me from doing what I love. Early in 2020 when things got really bad, most of the people in Colorado headed for the mountains to escape the hellish lockdown procedures, but I headed for the sky. I bought a paraglider, found a coach in Boulder and got to work.
I was never a great academic student; the intricacies of Shakespeare, thermodynamics of physics and stories of history were all lost on me in both high school and college. However, when it came to air sports, I noticed that the classroom work directly correlated to the air; I picked it up in the matter of a few days. After watching pilots for years and idolizing these men who conquered the earth’s terrain with some nylon, string and a lot of confidence, I felt like I could do it (or at least an easier version of it). It was a lesson in taming my own ego and it was much more important than I thought it would be. I was not there to impress anyone, I was there to make every take off and landing perfect, accurate and smooth.
As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough, the 2021 season rolled around and before I even got up for a flight, my wing got stolen out of my car. I was grounded, I had just lost my job and the one piece of equipment that allowed me to fly. Just like every roadblock we face, the 24 hour rule was imposed; you get 24 hours to cry, vent, complain and be furious. After the 24 hours, you figure out your next move. I pursued the next thing on the list: skydiving. I took the AFF course, wore the ugly purple suits and dorky helmet until I was cool enough to fly with the veterans. It took me 6 months to get my A-license. I am very proud that I was able to do it on my own, start to finish; who wouldn’t be? Will Smith spoke very profoundly about his first tandem skydive. “Skydiving is a really interesting confront with fear ... You realize at the point of maximum danger, is the point of minimum fear,” Smith said. “God placed the best things in life on the other side of fear.” No matter how many jumps you have, you have to push yourself a little bit to get out of that plane. I enjoyed the internal struggle in the beginning and now that I am more experienced, it is so important to be calm and thorough every time you get in that plane. It keeps you safe, it keeps your friends safe and keeps the amazing sport alive.
It is lost on me that the skills and perseverance necessary to push through all of these barriers are not useful to employers. People who are able to break down the walls of human adversity to get what they want and do what they love are an invaluable asset to the work force. Hiring minds, not bodies, people that have hunches, theories and ideas to prove; that is where the real work gets done. All of the sports I have participated in tell me that I am stubborn. Very stubborn. I refuse to believe that the lessons that I have learned from my hobbies are useless. I have one goal in life: figure out how to get paid for your passion. It can be done.