Supporting Your Spouses Hobbies

Even if you think they’re silly…

Photo by Surface on Unsplash

Earlier this week I attended a conference in Miami known as “Shit Coin 2021”. It was an event highlighting opportunities with various crypto currencies beyond Bitcoin. I can remember the moment my husband asked me to join him. It was a hesitated yes knowing that I would be surrounded by conversation topics I could not participate in, while awkwardly smiling and nodding at strangers.

We went to the conference. I was awkward. He had a great time.

We’ve been married just under a year now, and this is the first time I’ve faced a challenge understanding his interests. Truly one of the reasons we are so compatible is that every interest or hobby we’ve had up until now has been shared.

Here are some ways we’ve learned to overcome this challenge —

I set boundaries.

When people are passionate about something, there’s an impulsive desire to learn more about the subject. We read about it, listen to podcasts, and share our learnings with whomever gives us the opportunity to. When my husband started to use our quality time together as a chance to talk about crypto, I slowly started to disengage with the conversation, and also with him.

I had to set boundaries. I communicated that while I loved that he was passionate and excited about his new hobby, I didn’t want to spend all of our time together talking about it.

After expressing my feelings, we were able to create a healthy balance of quality time and crypto time.

When he speaks, I engage.

Now that crypto currencies aren’t the topic of conversation I am able to be more engaged when it is. I ask questions and make an effort to understand what he’s trying to share with me; because he’s sharing it with me.

When I say it’s easier, it isn’t always easy.

Is it really work?

People say that relationships are work. I’ve never really agreed with that concept. Though, I do think that you need to make an effort to maintain your connection with your partner. I just don’t know if you can call that work.

It comes from a place of love that we want to share our lives with our partner. Knowing this, I am grateful that my husband wants me to be involved with every part of his life, including crypto.