system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: A hobby can't be "fun" if you get serious enough about it and get past a certain skill level that is above amateur but still below a professional

 

This is something I struggle with and I am trying to see if I can adjust my view.

Whenever people think of hobbies, they tend to think it's something fun and easy and relaxing. But, this has never been my experience because if I love something enough to spend my free time on it, then I am obviously going to care enough to try to get better at it and keep improving. When you get better, you have a finer judgement of what is considered good quality and something that is amateur/crappy quality. This causes you to see the amateur level of your own work (or performance if it's action or "playing" based) and this realization is upsetting.

Additionally, constantly pushing yourself is NOT fun because this means you're constantly on the edge of your abilities or slightly beyond it. Being in such a zone means you are very likely failing quite often. Failing is not fun and it's kind of draining, no matter how much you try to justify its necessity in the improvement process.

So, how exactly do we view hobbies as "fun" given the above? I understand that you have brief moments of joy when you hit plateaus but those moments are very rare past a certain skill level. Overall, it's still not easy-going or fun.

For reference, I am mostly referring to art/music/photography. My experience is in those generally.
gpt
Being extremely critical of yourself can be one tool to getting better at something.  And you'll often find that people at the forefront of their fields are extremely critical of themselves to the point where they can't enjoy their works.  But that doesn't mean they don't enjoy doing them, just that they probably spend little time looking back at them.  They finish and move on.  Directors don't watch their own movies over and over again once they are released because it would make them cringe and see areas that they'd want to go back and improve but can't.

A musician can enjoy playing music, but cringe while listening to it.  A photographer can enjoy being out in the woods at 5 am taking pictures, but cringe when viewing the final framed results.

But being self-critical is really only a necessity when you're at the forefront of your field.  That doesn't stop you from being self-critical at any level.  And that doesn't stop that self-criticalness from being partially responsible for your improvement.  But there are plenty of people at a professional level that take great joy in what they do.

You just appear to be someone that is especially self-critical.  You can get to the below professional level without being self-critical to the point of ruining your enjoyment.  You can even get to the professional level without that.

So apart from just concluding that you are an unfortunate soul that is very self-critical and you should try to stop (unless significant improvement is more important than enjoyment), I'd just recommend spending more time doing your art and less time viewing your art.

If you're a painter, for example, try doing 5 minute paintings and just throw them away.  It can help you practice doing quick paintings and also help you understand they don't have to be perfect.