For a long time I would tell you that I didn’t really have any hobbies. Depending on the period in my life, I had school or I had work, and that pretty much defined me. In high school, I did not do many extracurriculars. In college, I found participating in clubs to be too daunting and overwhelming. In grad school, I had a decent social life but no real “thing” that I did in my free time to bring me joy or fulfillment. And when I finally graduated and began my career, I did not cultivate an identity outside of my work and even stopped cultivating friendships beyond my colleagues.

I’ve since learned that this lack of hobbies likely stemmed from my neurodivergence. My executive functioning was so overtaxed by the things I had to do that no real mental energy was left to do anything beyond the tasks of school or work for anything else I might want to do. Put another way, I was putting all of my limited energy into my vocation and had nothing left for my avocation.

“Avocation” is just a fancy way of saying “the things we do for fun or as a hobby.” And I’ve come to believe that a healthy avocation is essential to a healthy vocation. While it is important for us to dedicate ourselves to the good work to which we have been called in the world, doing that well requires that we nurture our whole selves so that we might bring those whole selves into that work. Avocation helps our full selves flourish in ways that enhance our ability to show up to our vocational work spiritually nourished and emotionally equipped to handle the work without experiencing the burnout that plagues so many in ministry and other “helping” fields.

Even those of us with a sense of holy vocation must learn that we are more than even that sacred work. Without a healthy avocation, we run the risk of limiting our own human flourishing which is supposed to be one of the main objectives of vocation after all.

So, now that my neurodivergence is diagnosed and I have a better sense of how to balance things in my life, I’m proactively choosing to pursue my avocations, even when I’d rather just lie in bed staring at my phone. I play bass guitar in a middle-aged rock band. And I’m writing a novel (or I’m trying to… I just started, and I’m hoping this public declaration might help hold me accountable to the process!). I still experience executive functioning exhaustion, and I don’t always want to show up to band practice or sit down to write a few mediocre sentences. But I’ve learned that if I force myself to do those things, I’m a happier, healthier person. And that can only help me when I turn my attention from avocation to vocation and pursue the work that God has given me.