Do people actually like doing hobbies etc., or is it all for show?

I did laugh out loud at the cow. Literal humour is appealing to us?

I thought perhaps it was studying Bio-moooo-dical research.
(yeah not as funny)

(After I posted the cow now has a lab coat on for me)

that is a really good idea! (I think I can still manage some more in it) - maybe I should do this when it's full!

When I was a kid, my mum gave me a suitcase that went under my bed for all my drawings and art. The rule being when I filled it, I would have to get rid of some to make space.

Stuart333 said:

that you then have to try to overwrite.

which I find difficult to do - as far as I am concerned that cow is still in that field chewing grass.

it does thank you  

That’s a great idea. It’s a good thing those don’t take up a ton of space in a folder. I’m glad you can go back and look at them, I bet that feels really good to look back on what you have accomplished!

profdanger said:

What do you do with the end product

That's the issue I have with diamond painting, fun to do but then where does the finished product go?

I got myself a art folder (like they use at college / school), and store the finished products in there - I don't feel I can throw my hard work away but I don't have enough room for them to go up (plus I can look at them when I want to!)

Literal interpretation at work. Before you read the rest of the sentence you already have an image in your head that you then have to try to overwrite. 

I once tried painting as a pastime, but here’s the problem: What do you do with the end product? I find that if I have to store the end product or thrust it onto someone that may or may not actually want it, I don’t really want to do the pastime. However, writing books and music does not have to be shared. So I just keep those for myself and since they are digital they take up zero space. I find that much more rewarding.

Yes, I think I'm typically (autistically) monotropic in my interests.

It has tended to be photography with ancillary apps to work with eg Photoshop + filters, for many years.

However, I do have other interests such as gardening, wildlife, nature generally including animals and insects (I have a bee obsession at the moment) and reading.

With regard to reading, I don't watch TV or listen to radio so really I don't see it as a hobby but rather a way of life.

With regard to 'all for show' I wasn't sure what you mean?

BeaE said:

bad for not finishing a project I've bought things for and not finished (or even started...)

It sounds as though the projects you refer to here might be described as hobbies, or are they something else, eg. related to work?

Are you saying that you feel you 'ought' to be doing them but actually aren't keen?

If that is the case then just don't do them - throw or give them away - they are there for pleasure not as a task that must be done.

It's counterproductive for you to have things hanging around that stress/affect you because you feel you ought to do them.

pinkchocoholic said:

health and wellbeing start with yourself not others

Absolutely and monotropism is an autistic characteristic.

I focus on things I like if others don't like me doing it, their problem - after all you can't please yourself and everyone else - health and wellbeing start with yourself not others

Stuart333 said:

If you do a job that also holds your interest you may need a defined hobby less. I wouldn't overthink it.

TheCatWoman said:

I think if your work and study brings you pleasure and you find it fulfilling then don't worry about what others do, just enjoy what you do.

I agree.

Martin said:

I worked in a field

I saw a cow in that field when I read this.

A hobby is just something you like doing in your spare time. There is nothing special about it. It could be growing things in a greenhouse, painting, playing computer games, learning a language, reading, watching documentaries, doing maths puzzles, knitting, etc.

It passes time and is  sort of rewarding or relaxing.

If you do a job that also holds your interest you may need a defined hobby less. I wouldn't overthink it.

I'm not much of a one for hobbies either there are things I enjoy, like gardening and I read loads, I've tried lots of things too and few of them have stuck, there's also the money side of it, hobies can be an expensive old business. I think if your work and study brings you pleasure and you find it fulfilling then don't worry about what others do, just enjoy what you do.

I worked in a field I was fascinated by - biomedical research - but I have never lived to work, even though I found work rewarding. I have always had two strings to my bow, biology and history. So even while I was working at one, the other gave me an alternative outlet and interest. Now I write Wikipedia articles (40 novel ones, so far, and I have rewritten and extended many more), mostly on historical subjects. I have also had historical articles published in online and print journals. I have also always read and enjoyed fiction, I think it has allowed me to explore how people work in a way that my autism has impeded in real life. In novels you are often told what people are feeling, you do not have to work it out from facial expressions or body language.

I have intense special interests/passions I think they come under hobbies but I’m wondering if work and study meets your needs better than hobbies that you have tried?  I don’t think everyone has hobbies especially if they are working in a career that they find interesting and enjoyable.

I am surprised by your post as I mistakenly assumed everyone had hobbies they enjoyed, clearly for you this is not the case. 

I don’t experience the “live to work” thing you described and infact assumed that people who lived this way had a deep hole in their core, certainly the people I met in my working life with this approach were compensating for something, often love or validation or self esteem, and never appeared happy or content. But again I may be wrong. 

I have many hobbies I deeply enjoy, many relating to collecting, reading, learning for its own sake, being creative with words, being with my cats, organising and sorting and tidying, even doing the dishes

So photography has been my biggest passion for a long time. When i started it was purely for fun, i was obsessed with it. Then as i got better i got more serious about it. Then i tried to turn into a business…thats when the enjoyment started to fade as i was obsessing over technical perfection, eventually it just fizzled away for a good few years. Now i’m enjoying it again, but just for fun. I have no intention of making money on it. Not every hobby has to eventually turn into a money making thing.