Be an Amateur. It’s Good For You.

Today’s book recommendation is a new release that might just be my favorite self-improvement book I’ve read this year so far. While the title is helpfully descriptive, this book is not only about being an amateur at something or a few somethings, but also staying an amateur. That is to say, not focusing on being the best at something, not learning something and then turning it into a side gig, and not learning something because it’s productive or useful. This is about having a hobby, or avocation, for the sake of joy and well-being.

In Defense of Dabbling: The Brilliance of Being a Total Amateur by Karen Walrond The book begins by talking about the term “amateur” and how its current use often has a pejorative connotation. Many people use it as an insult and it’s considered embarrassing to be an amateur. If you’re an amateur, then you must not be serious, as though being serious is something to strive toward. The word “amateur” comes from the Latin word “amare,” meaning “to love.” To be an amateur is to do something simply because you love to do it. This is a wildly foreign concept to me: my mother was always thinking about how to make money from something and my father always told me, “If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly,” so I have always tried to be the best I can be when I embark on something. This book has helped me shift my perspective.

The author outlines what she believes to be the Seven Attributes of Intentional Amateurism, and she uses these as the framework for the rest of the book: Curiosity, Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, Play, Stretch Zone, Connection, and Wonder and Awe. She created a long list of all the things she wanted to try and includes this list at the end of the book. Within the book, she talks about some of the things she did try, how it went, what she learned, and she also shares whether she has kept up with that thing. Throughout the book, the focus on avocations, a fancy word for hobbies, is used as forms of self-care and sometimes even as ways to create on-demand joy.

This book helped me release some ideas of perfection and energized me to try some things without a goal to make content or even share with anyone except my wife. That in itself is incredibly freeing and definitely makes this book worth a read.

That’s it for now, book-lovers!

Patricia

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