The Four Stages of My Interests

I have a lot of interests, most of them I do and most of them I would like to do. I have a huge passion for story writing and creating videos, but I didn't manage to go far with those passions. I have four stages when it comes to interests. Observe, experiment, practice, and act. It's an unconscious thing for me, but I was aware of the routine I have done every time I have an interest.

First off, observation. When I look at something that I'm interested in, I usually look up videos or instructions on how to do it. Say if I wanted to pick up an interest in music, specifically on playing the guitar. I look up videos of people playing the guitar or see an instructional video on how to play the guitar. When it comes to my interests, I observe them; see what I like about them and the reasons for why I wanted to do this.

Secondly, experiment. After some observation of my interests, I experiment. If I would play the guitar, I would get my own guitar first. It's better if I would rent out a guitar or borrow someone else's guitar instead of buying a guitar, otherwise, the interest would be dead. But it depends on how passionate your interest is. Try experimenting your interest and see your opinion on it.

Thirdly, there's practice. This is the part where some of my interests die off because of two things: lack of passion and lack of time. It can be either one or both. Once you experiment your interest and manage to have a liking of your interest, practice your skills in your interest. For example, playing the guitar requires some skill, so maybe you could take classes or clubs based on playing the guitar. You could do the same thing when it comes to other interests. If you like reading books, then join a book club. If you like the arts, take an art program. If you like sports, head to a gym or something involving sports. For practicing, it's basically making a piece or something involving a win. This phase is likely the "trial and error" phase, where it's usually an "oops, try again" thing that most people always get blocked with.

Usually, both the experimental and the practice phase are both similar in their own way. But it does help with what you wanted to do.

And finally, act. I couldn't figure out what specific word I wanted as the last phase, so I'm sticking with "act" for now. The "act" phase is the last part of an interest and usually, it's about putting your interest to use. What I mean is that you could use your interest as a hobby, or better, a career. I have seen many people succeed because of their interest. A lot of people create videos and upload them to YouTube, but I have only seen a few people so passionate about their career on YouTube. The same thing goes for making music or creating dishes based on cooking. A lot of people go for their passion than what people think about what's best for them.

I have driven a lot of interests forward, but none of them didn't work out as far as I know. However, it would motivate some people based on what they like. If someone likes reading and writing stories, maybe become an author. If someone likes cooking, become a chef. If someone likes the arts, it depends on what they like. Music, design, photography, or acting, anything from the arts.

So if you have an interest in something, observe, experiment, practice, and act. It may help you with either your career or just simply a hobby.