Having a hobby is a great stress reliever and gives a sense of accomplishment. Hobbies are activities that a person does in his leisure time that they like or love and feel great spending time doing that. This could be any activity that a person wants to engage into to make them feel happy. Infect it is said that everyone should atleast have one hobby outside of their professional work. It increases the probability for a person to remain happy and stay active, because let’s face it everyone does not necessarily do the job they love. And if one was able to make their hobby their profession then nothing better than that. Hobbies can include gardening, painting, music, wood working, writing, engaging in sports, biking, hiking (read hiking benefits), etc.
Benefits of hobby
Hobbies are a great thing to have as they help to relieve stress and give immense relaxation. Every individual would have an interest in something other than their job or business. Because of this self generated interest and self motivation a person would have an inclination to engage into this activity on a regular basis. This kind of takes their mind off the daily rut and focuses on something they love. How many times would one get distracted in doing something they love? Hardly, and they allow one to improve focus and concentration. Studies have shown that engaging in hobbies has been found to positively impact both psychological and physical well-being.
Any activity or project that a person engages will eventually get accomplished. Does that mean their hobby is done? No, infect it ignites the urge to do something new again, a little bit better than before. Every human being will want to progress in whatever they do by law of nature. This urge of engaging over and over again together with improvising what they do boosts creativity and problem solving skills. As one accomplishes a project in their hobby, it also builds their self-confidence.
Success and Self confidence are two sides of a coin, one builds the other.
Hobbies also are great in improving social connections. It is often said in self help books about meeting new people and breaking the ice that if human beings tend to socialise with total strangers if they find something common like from the same city, same university, same profession etc. So just imagine what would happen if you find people with the same hobbies that you possess. Some hobbies a person starts on his or her own and for others the person would get connected with people right away. For instance one can start gardening on their own in their backyard, but if they are into sports they would always be a part of the team. Hobbies are great in enhancing social connection and generate a lot of networking opportunities. And as a human being, we always like to have friends with people who are like us so what better than sharing the same hobby.
Overall hobbies are great for mental health and is said that it helps cultivating various qualities
- Hobbies boosts creativity and problem solving skills.
- They can help a person develop patience. For instance in gardening nothing happens overnight so if someone engages in gardening they will eventually get more patient
- Time management. In today’s world where everyone is busy it could be hard to find time, however for the love of hobby one will definitely find ways for that – more later on this
- Social skills by being around people with same hobbies
- Focus and concentration
- Overall being happy by experiencing sense of accomplishment
Finding what you like
Often people who are busy with life’s responsibilities forget about their interests and hobbies. So one who wants to start engaging in a hobby answer the below questions to yourself
- Try to remember what was the most favourite thing that you use to do as a kid outside of school
- What was that one thing as a kid you just loved doing and did not really need formal training?
- What areas gained curiosity in your mind and after learning about it, you wanted to know more and more?
- What is that one thing that gives you joy and happiness?
Once you find answers to the above, it will definitely lead to finding your hobby. However here are various options to explore from:
- Creative pursuits:
- Painting and drawing
- Writing and journaling
- Photography
- Crafting (e.g., knitting, woodworking, pottery)
- Active hobbies:
- Hiking and nature walks
- Sports (e.g., soccer, basketball, tennis)
- Dancing
- Yoga and meditation
- Intellectual hobbies:
- Reading and book clubs
- Puzzle-solving and brain games
- Learning a new language
- Social hobbies:
- Joining clubs or interest groups
- Volunteering and community service
- Board games and gaming communities
Finding time
In today’s world where everyone is so busy with their daily job or business, it’s hard to find time. However, if we look closely at our daily routine, there are definitely instances where something can be done, something can be switched to start a new hobby. Often after a stressful day people tend to take an easy route to sit in front of the television for hours. So there you go, take out an hour from that and invest in yourself. With the right approach and mindset, you can carve out time in your day to pursue your passions. Don’t let a busy schedule keep you from enjoying the things you love. Some strategies that can be useful are:
- Prioritizing daily tasks
- Breaking up your day into manageable chunks
- Delegating tasks wherever possible
Things not to do:
- Don’t take up something big which takes months, take up something small and achievable
- Don’t get into something that requires a lot of spending. Hobbies are to give happiness, not to give stress by breaking your bank
- Don’t stop everything else and just focus on the hobby
- Don’t get in blindly, understand what resources are required and plan a bit
- Don’t try to figure out everything yourself – take help if required. These days there are lot of free resources available online – Google finds anything
