You know what? Can we please destroy this idea that people should always be striving to ‘improve’ at their hobbies? Like, the literal things they’re doing in their spare time for fun and sharing with others for free?
I see this argument every time I reblog or make posts about the dangers of unsolicited constructive criticism: “well how else will they improve? No one is above criticism! No one is perfect!”
You’re right: no one is perfect. And if someone wants to improve, and asks for suggestions on how to do so, then offering them those suggestions is perfectly all right. It’s fine to want to improve and it’s fine to ask for criticism if it’s something you want, and it’s fine to offer criticism if you have been requested to do so.
Let me be abundantly clear that I am not talking about the consensual requesting and giving of criticism, because that is perfectly fine.
And frankly, I’ve already screamed my head off too many times about why unsolicited constructive criticism does more harm than good when people are offering it to those who are literally just creating for fun (not for a job, or for a commission, but literally in their spare time for free). So I won’t go into that here either.
What I would like to say is we really need to destroy this idea that the only proper way to enjoy a hobby is to try to be good at it.
It’s okay to enjoy a hobby without being good at it.
It’s okay to draw stick figures or wonky anatomy. It’s okay to sing off key. It’s okay to make lumpy, uneven knitting. It’s okay to write choppy prose with grammatical errors and odd pacing.
It is okay to enjoy a hobby without being good at it.
IT IS OKAY TO HAVE NO DESIRE TO IMPROVE.
Destroy the idea that to be a valid participant in a hobby, you have to be constantly trying to get good at it.
You do not have to want to improve.
It is perfectly okay to enjoy yourself where you are without constantly pushing yourself to get better.
It is totally fine if improvement is not one of your goals–if the only reason you’re doing something is because it’s fun and you enjoy it.
So please, please, can we stop this crusade to “help others improve” when 1) they haven’t asked for help in doing so, and 2) it’s not anyone else’s place to decide whether improvement should be someone’s goal in the first place?
Let people enjoy their hobbies without constantly demanding they be trying to get good at them.
And if you don’t personally like what they’re doing? Move along. Because they don’t owe you anything–certainly not the time, energy, effort or expense to get “good” at something they’re just doing for fun.
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