Why Having Hobbies Can Enrich Your Life
There are many benefits to having hobbies. Hobbies can help you defeat boredom, boost your confidence and connect with others.
Having hobbies can help you to enrich your life and make you a happier person.
There are many benefits to having hobbies. Hobbies can help you defeat boredom, boost your confidence and connect with others. Having hobbies can help you to enrich your life and make you a happier person.
What is a hobby?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a hobby is “an activity that you do for pleasure when you are not working.”
Hobbies help you to entertain yourself. For a lot of us growing up, having hobbies wasn’t explained as an important part of life and adulting. When I grew into an adult, my hobbies were watching movies, going shopping, and eating out with friends.
While those activities were enjoyable, the sense of satisfaction I got from them was short-lived. When I understood myself better, I realized I needed different hobbies.
5 Benefits of Hobbies
Defeats boredom
Hobbies help you defeat boredom because your mind is focused on something you enjoy. When you get into your flow, the time passes very quickly and you don’t even notice.
Tip: Having a hobby is a good way of staying booked and busy. You can redirect your energy to your hobby when you find yourself obsessing over why they haven’t called or texted you.
Cultivates Creativity
If your hobby involves creating something new especially with your hands, this can boost your creativity. For example, when you draw you’re making your brain explore new ways of creating your sketches.
You might find that this creativity spills over into other aspects of your life.
Provides A Sense of Purpose
Hobbies can give you a satisfying sense of purpose. You’re doing something fun and working towards a goal.
Boosts Confidence
If your hobby involves stretching yourself and exploring things you’ve never done before that can improve your confidence. When I started learning how to swim, getting better each time made me feel like I could try other things I was scared to try.
Connect With Others
Hobbies that are done in groups provide you with the opportunity to connect with others and build a relationship based on a shared interest.
Tip: If you like the people in your group, you're likely to keep up the hobby.
How To Choose A Hobby
Think Back To Your Childhood
What are some of the things you enjoyed doing as a child? Can you do them now? Some of the things you enjoyed as a child can still be enjoyable as an adult if you allow them to be.
For example, I love trampolining! It's fun and you can get a great workout from it.
Make A List
Go through a list of hobbies online. Narrow down a few you’d like to try and take the plunge! If it's something you've never tried before, don't overthink it or worry about whether you'll be good at it. You won't know until you actually try.
Fit It Into Your Schedule
If you enjoyed the activity, think about how you can fit it into your schedule. When I tried swimming and boxing, I found I really enjoyed both activities so I incorporated them into my weekly routine.
You may find you can do some hobbies daily and some less frequently. Choose what is easily accessible and what works best for you. I’d swim most mornings before work (pre-covid) and I found a boxing class near me which I’d go to once a week.
The reason I’m able to maintain my hobbies is that I truly enjoy them. When I’m having a difficult time, my hobbies bring me joy. I’ve seen many people turn their hobbies into side hustles or full-time jobs.
Once your hobby becomes your job, can you still call it a hobby? Do you have a hobby? Why do you enjoy it and how long have you been doing it?
Resources
