Ka-chow!
Now we all know just how important it is to “keep your nose to the grindstone” as it were. In this time where politicians are deciding if we are going to be able to get jobs or not, sometimes we all need some sort of escape hatch. Polishing up that resume to send out with that cover letter to attract that one interview that will get you the job to save you from this economic tsunami is all well and good, but if you burn yourself to a frazzle you won’t be much good to your new boss, let alone yourself.
That’s why it is important to take some time out for yourself and engage in something mindless, trivial, or (dare I say it) frivolous.
Take me for example. I have been spending the better part of the last month researching topics to write on, finding products to help you, promoting this site and trying to keep my own underutilized head above water whilst the tide of unemployment washes all around me. But every once in a while to re-charge my batteries I have to take time out and step away from this for a little while. Not a long time, just a little while and when I come back I’m ready to dive back in again.
Yesterday and today I’m doing just that, I’m taking some time out while I am working on the blog to give my mind a break. For me that means starting up a video game. Now yeah I can imagine that some of you are saying that I shouldn’t waste my time playing games. Some of you are out there saying that they’re for kids and that grown-ups shouldn’t be engaging in something that stupid and silly. Sorry, but no. There is no age limit on whether or not you can play games or engage in any other hobby.
With the NASCAR season about to start up I’ve been playing a lot of NASCAR SimRacing in preperation for the Daytona 500. I’ve got a mod installed that allows me to drive the Car of Tomorrow (COT) in Career Mode, and I have a special car that I’m driving myself. I managed to aquire a paintjob that allows me to drive Lightning McQueen from the movie “Cars” in the game.
Just follow me, Joey.
As you can see the car looks very much like it did in the movie. I have to admit it is a fun game to play because it allows me to do something that I’ve always loved doing, and that always seems to relax me – drive. I don’t mean just race, I mean drive. Now this past summer with the gas prices being what they were I didn’t have much opportunity to actually take our car out for a spin. We live in a rural area with the capital city of our state to the east, farmland to the west and south, and mountains to the north. It has actually been a great way for me to get away from everything and yet save money at the same time.
NASCAR isn’t the only game I have at my disposal – I also have Madden NFL 08, MVP Baseball 2005, FIFA Soccer 2004, NHL 2004, The Political Machine and Bowl Bound College Football, all of which are for the PC (yeah, I’m one of those people who refuses to buy a $700.00 console every few years).
The point I’m trying to make is that our lives don’t all have to be about doom and gloom as we try to swim upstream against this economic river. Yeah we’re all trying to save where we can but the hobbies that give us joy shouldn’t be one of the things we cut, not if they provide some relief and not if there is a way to engage in them cheaply. Besides it’s possible that today’s hobby might become tomorrow’s job for you. You never know what might happen. Look at me, I spent years posting on video gaming websites about my favorite games and wondered if I could actually make a living writing about it. I even eventually wondered if I could somehow make money by having my own blog.
Then a way was presented to me where I might be able to achieve just that. I haven’t made any money – yet, but I am hopeful for the future that I will be soon. That’s just one example of how someone turned a hobby (in my case, writing of forums boards) into something they could actually do for a living. Now I’m not saying that you could make a living at your specific hobby, but it might be possible to do something that is in some way connected with it.
Most of all, relax and enjoy what comes your way. Take some time out for yourself in between job interviews and sending out those resumes. In the end you may find that you are better prepared and more confident to take on whatever comes next.
And that could be the difference between getting that job, or not.
