What I aspire to be 💪

Well said. 
 

One thing I would add is that as we age, get married, have kids and such, there can be a tendency to make our lives all about our families. To be fair, women are more likely to do this, but men do it too. I would argue this isn’t exactly healthy, which brings us to hobbies. 
 

Hobbies keep us engaged mentally and/or physically in life. I guess what I’m saying is, if you enjoy researching and getting new watches, I’d that keeps you emotionally healthy, then by all means do it. It doesn’t have to be about impressing people or anything else. It can be whatever you want. 

I have a very good friend who reached an enlightened Buddhist state, where he no longer desired worldly things.  He was very happy to sit and relax in the dark for weeks on end.  This was, effectively, Siddhartha Gautama's notion of Nirvana, no?

When I asked him about it, and he said, "Yeah, it sucks.  I want to desire things."

He went to see a doctor, and essentially his body had stopped producing testosterone.  He got on treatment and has recently bought a new house, a new car, and a bunch of toys.  He's much happier now.

100% this.

Hobbies are so very important for our mental health. Especially for men.

There is a men's mental health charity in the UK called 'Mens Sheds' which is all about creating social connections around hobbies. From their website:

For a long time research has shown the negative impact of loneliness and isolation on a person’s health and wellbeing. Recently we have seen more evidence come to light that shows loneliness and isolation can be as hazardous to our health as obesity and excessive smoking. Surveys from mental health charities are finding that millions of people report feeling lonely on a daily basis.

Men typically find it more difficult to build social connections than women, and unlike women of a similar age, less older men have networks of friends and rarely share personal concerns about health and personal worries. It is not the case for all men, but for some, when retirement comes, it can feel like personal identity and purpose is lost. Men’s Sheds can change all of that.

Sheds are about meeting like-minded people and having someone to share your worries with. They are about having fun, sharing skills and knowledge with like-minded people and gaining a renewed sense of purpose and belonging. As a by-product of all of that they reduce isolation and feelings of loneliness, they allow men to deal with mental health challenges more easily and remain independent, they rebuild communities and in many cases, they save men’s lives.

Consider WatchCrunch a shed. 👍

There is zero need for you to keep buying watches however. There are lots of other ways to enjoy this wonderful hobby and community 🍻

True 😊 I will always have hobbies. But I might want to focus more on hobbies that will help my mental and physical health.

And I speak only for myself!! I may have different values or put more importance on certain things, but that doesn't mean that it's wrong to do it or view it any other way 😊 

Dude!! Come join us and let’s got to Mordor!!! … 

But only problem especially with me with this new adventure is that I’m constantly Hangry lol… but c’mon join us!! love it everytime I see post new miles/km in im excited to go and exercise myself !!

I don't think there are rules to achieve happiness. Everyone tries to find a reason or purpose to live and more importantly enjoy life. 

I would tend to agree material things are not crucial in life. But if you are fortunate enough to have the basics covered (i.e. food/water, shelter and friends/family) then the little things are the spice of life that make it fun. You're in one of three states: trying to survive, blissfully happy or having an existential crisis. I think most first world people fall in the 3rd slot, we worry too much about too many things we can't control. For me at least, hobbies like watches have kept me focused on staying present and just enjoying little things.

Also, to be fair, simple enjoyments can become obsessions. If you ever catch yourself prioritizing a watch over basic needs or people you care about, you might want to step back and realize watches won't remember you when you're gone, the people wearing them will.

I still want plenty. And that is not the issue 😊 But what do I really want? I want to stop being ungrateful and I want to enjoy the life I got. And still strive but to more meaningful things (for me).

True.. But I still will have hobbies that are social: the gym with friends, board game nights and hiking. And I want to read more.

And I do appericiate WC very much ♥️ 

I will 🧙‍♂️ Cool concept!! Never heard of it before. 

We don't have a gandalf or any dwarves yet 😁

Ck out @Deeperblue thread below!! It‘s weirdly addicting for me anyways in a good way….healthy way… but I can’t feel

my legs today though 😂

https://www.watchcrunch.com/Deeperblue/posts/who-wants-to-walk-to-mordor-with-me-22944#comment-302896

I agree 💪 Especially with the 3 states of the human mind. 

I am very obsessive about things. I'm doing better it seems. I did wonder if I needed something to be obsessing about and I felt watches was a tame addiction compared to alcohol 😅 But I feel less presses to have a substitue now after being sober for over a year.

It seems like I'm obsessing less the less I'm obsessing or self-destructing. If that make any sense 🥴

I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm just as likely to become content with my current watch as any other fancy watch I could aquire in the future?

I'm not aiming to offend anybody. I'm just doing some reflections about me and my relationship with watches ☺️

Being engaged in expensive hobbies is literally one of the defining characteristics of the adults around me and in my own extended family.  I think its almost universal. Interestingly they don't think of what they are doing that way.  To them its just a "good thing" to have a nice a car, a motorcycle, a boat for the weekend....you can fill in the blanks any way you like.....but all of these very normal things are, in fact, expensive hobbies.  The things that are normalized by society appear almost invisible.  No one bats an eyelash when you spend 50k on a car when a more humble 25k would have sufficed. But anything that is even a bit out of the norm (like collecting watches) appears to be "an eccentric hobby."  But all of these things fill similar positive purposes.  They provide a sense of engagement and meaning with the world.  They create a space for self-exploration and pro-social play.  They are the focus for community building.  Modern adults need these things as much as anyone.  And honestly, even collecting Tudors is pretty cheap compared to owning a boat or most sports cars.  One of the things I really appreciate about horology is that it focuses so much on the acquisition of knowledge rather than just stuff.  It can be done at almost any price point and there is a great supportive community here. And it intersect with so many other interests and areas of life, history, fashion, astronomy, engineering...they all touch and enrich our study. I guess the real question is how do we make sure we are getting the maximum benefits from the activities that we love?

And those are choices we each make for ourselves. I just wanted to point out that watch collecting doesn’t have to be viewed as narcissistic or shallow. 

Sounds like a good plan 👍

I would agree in theory, but have never seen the Explorer in personal.. I think maybe I would go OP over the BB36 if I were shitting money and I could buy it at the AD without any hustling.

But I don't think it fits my personality, style or my jobb and social environment. I like that most people will see my BB36 and think it's another Inex, Tissot, Citizen and worth a hundred buck or two. 

I wish I could and maybe I'll try. I still have my vintage Omega quartz and my blacked out Seiko Tuna MarineMaster. I still enjoy my other watches, but I also think they make me think about different configurations of watches I could have.

I don't know... I really enjoy the BB36 after going back to fabric straps. I 

Will one more watch or another one make me more satisfied? It seems to me that the chances of being a happy watchnerd is just as big with one watch and with one of the ones I currently own.

I don't know if this would be the right thing. And I don't think I recommend 🤔 But I do wonder if it's the path I should go down and I also like the idea of adding to the ways someone can enjoy watches ☺️

I might be in the position where I might need to take over the family farm if it's not going to disappear out of the family. Me and my sons would be generation 4-5 if we would take it over. I should save up to buy out my siblings if I think this is important to me 🤔 I don't think any of the others will carry on. There are also big money in the land on the farm, so I should think of my kids.

Its a lovely diversion :)

I always wore a watch because this is what we all did in my generation and until recently I never thought of watch collection as a hobby.

It's not because I was a stranger to the concept of hobbies, they were and are still important to my mental well being since without a hobby my life will revolve around work and that would be a very sad thing indeed. But I didn't connect between the concept of owning watches and a hobby until I realized that I do like watches as watches and not only as obsolete tools to tell the time and that watch collecting is a unique experience because:

• It doesn't take a lot of space (try scale modeling for comparison and tell me about your shelf space requirements).
• You can enjoy wearing your collection going out without having a full detail of security and body guards surrounding you. 
• It can but doesn't need to be an expensive hobby. The more interesting watches for me are those in the sub 2,000US$ range.

It's a great hobby in the way that you can enjoy it all the time with little requirements 😊 

I agree that it's important to have a hobby. I wonder if I could still view at as a hobby if I went with the 1-watch for life approach 🤔

Kudos on one year sober! THAT, my friend, may be your biggest accomplishment thus far. Well done!

Thanks 😊 It's changing my life slowly, for the better for course.

I'm with you.  Ten years for me, and I live in the Bourbon Capital of the World. 😇😆

Fantastic 🥳 I do miss having a couple of beers sometimes. But honestly, I never had a couple of beers or one Whisky, I just started with that 🥴 And the constant battle in my mind and the anxiety was exhausting. 

Yep. Well done, regardless.  Gets easier,  though. Keep the faith! 

To quote my wife, specifically regarding my watches: “all hobbies are dumb, but if they make you happy, then do it; unless they interfere with your life or livelihood“.

I agree.. But it does interfere because it becomes stressful. Less so when I have fewer watches 😊