Understanding Extreme Hobbyists: Why Stamp Collecting Just Doesn't Cut It

Everybody has their own hobbies

Everybody has their own hobbies. Some people collect stamps. Some people go on archeological digs looking for dinosaur bones. Some people spend their days curled up with a book.

Some people go flying off the face of a cliff with nothing but a rope between them and certain death.

Why do they do that? What is their inspiration to perform such death defying acts? There is something inside them pushing them to the edge. These people definitely think outside the box.

But are they sane? Perhaps they have a death wish or perhaps they simply have a desperate need for attention. Maybe they are related to Evel Knievel.

Some might say yes. Others would argue that the passion that drives people from the tops of the mountains to the bottom of the ocean, from one side of the globe to the other, is much simpler.

Passion and Adventure Don't Disappear Just Because You Get a Little Bit Older

When we were small children we would envision some fantastic adventures. We would battle space aliens, fire-breathing dragons and medieval knights. We were brave souls armed with cardboard swords and we never lost a battle. We drifted off happily to sleep at night dreaming about the next days' adventures.

What do you dream about now you are a mature adult? Do you still take your weapons out against fierce imaginary beings? When was the last time you took out your lightsaber and joined the ewoks in the battle for their lives? Of course, victory would have to go to you and the ewoks because you guys are totally awesome.

The truth is when we grow up our monster enemies all have faces. This is the end of fantasy. Before we know it, we are on the ground looking up into hard, cold reality. We get stuck in a rut of non-fiction as we take on the responsibilities of adult life. Our dragons are gone just like Puff. There is no more Honalee.

There's no more passion. No one wants to live like that.

This is Why there are Extreme Sports and Extreme Hobbyists among us

Why is it that fantastic adventures were so much a part of our childhood? It was not just the fun of it or because it gave us an excuse to delay homework for another hour. There was also the adrenaline rush of realizing that someday the bad monster would win. The day may come when we let down our guard a little and let the enemy in. That day a whole village will be looted, pillaged and destroyed because we couldn't hold back the terrible, vicious beast.

If that wasn't inspiration enough to get you going, nothing was going to be.

This is the attitude that keeps extreme hobbyists going. They know there will always come the day when the demonic beast will win, so they must push themselves onward into battle, further than they have ever gone before. Beating the demon beast keeps them feeling more alive than anything they do.

by: Bruce S Tulio

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