Dan, KB6NU, wrote a very kind review of my book “Ham Radio Boost“. Thank you, Dan!
I think he really grasped what it is all about – the human side of ham radio and the various ways in which we hams can make our lives more difficult than it should be.
He does make one interesting point about the contradiction between ‘avoiding obsession’ and ‘being committed’:
Some of the advice may seem contradictory. For example, lesson #1 is to avoid being obsessed with amateur radio, yet one of the chapters is titled, “Commitment is king.” Life is like that, though, isn’t it? The trick is being able to resolve those conflicting ideas in our lives. In this case that means not being obsessed with the hobby while at the same time being committed to it. Without commitment you won’t get as much out of amateur radio as you might expect, but you still do need to be able to step away when you need to as well.
Indeed, life is like that methinks – it can be contradictory, there can be pulls in opposing directions, and there can be conflicting rules in our ethics and outlook on life.
Here is how I personally go about the conflict between commitment and avoiding obsession: I think obsession is like a tunnel we can enter that makes us forget everything and everyone, even people and things that are very dear to us. In such a state, our focus can become extremely narrow. Now, this can sometimes be a good thing: sometimes we just need a lot of concentration and focus to achieve something worthwhile. However, if the balance is lost and the whole thing becomes totally unreasonable, then I call it obsession.
For example, if I work for hours on a project, running in circles and becoming irritated when I get disturbed – even without really advancing my project anyway -, then this is not good. Oftentimes, I found it much more productive to work on a ham radio-related project for 2 hours or so and then do something else. I can still come back the next day or whenever I find some time, and oftentimes I come back to the project with fresh ideas and solutions. My unconsciousness probably figured it out while my mind was occupied with other things – an interesting phenomenon that we can use to our advantage.
Or think about it this way: how does such obsession, i.e. spending 8 hours straight on a project, affect others in your life? I don’t think, for example, that letting my wife clean the house alone even though I could help her just so that I can fumble with my ridiculous ham radio project is very nice. Maybe there are repairs in the house to make. Maybe I could do something I have promised a friend. And so on. When ham radio obsession interferes with other duties and commitments, it’s really not helpful and doesn’t make ham radio look too good in the eyes of others either.
Which brings me to commitment. For me, commitment to ham radio means doing things I’m not necessarily crazy about at the moment, but which I know are important and make me happy in the long run. This includes practicing patience, being a reliable club member who does what he promises, or practicing my radio skills on a continuous basis – not in radio binge sessions, but consistently.
In other words, commitment is when you practice CW for 30min even though you want to surf on the internet. When you go to the club meeting even though you feel tired and want to watch TV. When you write that QSL card even though you want to watch a movie. That sort of thing. Commitment is difficult and rewarding in the long term, whereas obsession is easy and potentially harmful.
At least that’s my take on it. Feel free to share what you think!
Ham Radio Soul 