Why Hobbies Can Make You Happier
The first time I heard the word hobby I was in high school. I was told I needed them to look good on a college application. Before that hobbies were just things I enjoyed doing. But once I knew they had a quantifiable use for someone that wasn’t me, all of a sudden they weren’t as fun anymore. If I had to do something to look good to someone else, was I actually enjoying it?
Needless to say, I have struggled with the word hobby and what it means for a lot of my adult life. It wasn’t until we were forces to quarantine this last year(s) that I realized the unquantifiable things that made me truly happy. Things like painting, and crocheting. And thats when I started doing them again. For no outcome at all except to make me happier. But of course, this made me want to dig into why hobbies really are so great for us. What are the real benefits of a hobby? Let’s see!
Bring Joy into Your Life
Spending just a couple hours a day, week or month doing something you love not only brings you happiness at the time but it also has the ability to spill into other areas of your life. Taking time for yourself with no pressure from the outside world can bring a new outlook or overall excitement to the rest of your life!
Lower Stress
Giving yourself time to enjoy something takes your mind off daily stressors but in doing something that isn’t just a distraction (ie watching tv, social media), shows us that there are many facets to who we are. Hobbies can be a great way to distance ourselves from our stressors and our jobs. *Reminder* we are not our jobs, they are just a part of our whole self.
Increase Patience
No matter the age we start a new hobby it is just that, NEW. Learning anything new takes time and often times failing and starting again. This is a great way for us to learn more patience and build character!
Increase Confidence
Just as we work on our patience while learning a new hobby, there is a confidence that comes when we become more proficient or master a hobby. Working hard or learning to let go while enjoying your hobby brings a confidence that only patience and proficiency can bring.
Challenge You
Finding something engaging is important in building new physical and mental connections! In todays society we often associate learning something new or challenging as hard or stressful. Challenging and hard don’t always have to be synonymous. Finding a hobby that engages you is a great way to learn associations when we encounter challenges.
Increase Your Knowledge
Pretty self-explanatory but learning something new not only increases knowledge but you now have that knowledge to share with others!
Increase Time Management
Starting a hobby often takes juggling our time between work, personal obligations and a new activity. This is a great skill that will develop over time as you continually make time for the things that are important to you.
Making New Friends/Strengthen Existing Friendships
If your hobby is something you can enjoy with others like joining a club, sport or a way to share your hobby, this is a great way to make new friends who have similar hobbies as you or spend time with existing friends.
Allows You to Get to Know Yourself
Exposing yourself to new things allows you to learn more about yourself. Your likes, dislikes, things you are naturally good at and things that are more challenging.
Stop Wasting Our Time
When we put time into our hobby we automatically spend less time doing things that waste our time. Things that are distractions but not engaging, like watching tv (which can be great sometimes but not when it becomes habitual) or spending hours scrolling on social media.
So, I hope this was a gentle push to find a new hobby and see how it can bring more joy into your life!