The Importance of Hobbies

It’s time to give the humble hobby some recognition.  As I learn and growth through this Personal Growth journey I am on I uncover hidden gems like ‘the hobby!’  An overlooked and underappreciated contributor to our overall happiness!  Cynical?  Hear me out.

Hobbies give us so much more than just enjoyment.  Hobbies are a means of self-expression, personal growth and good old pleasure.  Honestly, I think the importance of hobbies is totally lost on most of us.  In this blog I want to have a look at the importance of hobbies and why we need to give them the recognition they deserve.

Feeding Your Soul

Whatever type of hobby you take up, something about it appeals to you.  You feel that you have something to gain from taking up this activity.  But, have you considered the importance of these hobbies?  Have you considered that their role in your life might be much bigger than you realized?  Could there be a deeper, spiritual reason for taking up this hobby? We choose hobbies because we are drawn to them.  Something inside us is intrigued or excited by them.  The reason for this is because these activities are in tune with our desires, values or needs.

The person that is excited about his stamp collection may not be as excited about mosaics and vice versa.  It is just another example of the intricate and fascinating nature of us humans.  We are drawn to something in this activity.  For the stamp collector it may be a fascination with History, for the mosaic artist it would be for creative expression.  Either way it feeds the soul.  It connects with the core of who we are.  You might be thinking: Come on, it’s just a hobby.  Well, think about it.  There’s a reason washing the dishes isn’t considered a hobby!  Hobbies are activities that keep us engaged and inspired!

A Life Without Hobbies

What I want us to talk about is how your hobbies contribute to a balanced and happy life.  The only way for us to ever be truly happy is if we find balance in all areas of our lives.  People easily recognize the need for balance in family, work, health etc.  But, they very seldom think about the value of doing something that is exclusively for their own fulfilment, like a hobby.

Having a hobby is like giving yourself permission to do something for you.  It is a seal of approval, a ‘you deserve it’.  Just this symbolic acceptance of your me-time is significant on its own.  Then, you go about choosing that hobby that speaks to your soul.  Painting, playing guitar, mountain biking.  Something that fills your cup.  And your wheel of life balance starts to shift into place!  Are you starting to see where I’m going with this?  True happiness is about being a well rounded human being.  Balance!  That includes those things that bring you joy and personal development.

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Something for Everyone

The variety of hobbies out there is just about as diverse as we are!  There literally is ‘something for everyone’.  Listed below are some ideas for some of the different personalities out there.  Just a little appetizer to get your thinking, but my guess is your mind (or heart) will jump to something automatically.  Guess what that means!  Like so many of my blogs, they are written to inspire you towards what you innately know to be true.  I want to encourage you to listen to what your heart is calling you to do, and finding a fulfilling hobby is one of the many things our hearts want.

Hobbies for Creatives

People immediately think painting or drawing when you say creative.  But, not everyone is good at those arts and you don’t have to be!  There are so many creative hobbies to enjoy.  Here are some ideas:

  • Photography
  • Pottery
  • Painting
  • Jewellery making
  • Videography
  • Card Making
  • Decoupage
  • Mosaics
  • Clay Modelling
  • Macrame
  • Screen Printing
  • Animation
  • Writing: Plays, Poetry, Children’s book, Blogs etc.

Hobbies for Inquiring Minds

For the thinkers out there, here are some great ideas for hobbies that will keep you engaged and keep that grey matter busy.

  • Collections: Stamps, Postcards, Records etc (this is endless)
  • Learn a new language
  • Reading
  • Puzzles
  • Genealogy
  • Learn a Language
  • Origami
  • Lego
  • Listening to Podcasts
  • Museum and Art Gallery trips
  • Chess, Cards or Mahjong
  • Model Building

Hobbies for the Active

This list could go on for hours but here’s some inspiration.

  • Biking
  • Yoga
  • Tennis
  • Basketball
  • Pilates
  • Kayaking
  • Camping
  • Fishing
  • Hiking
  • Horseriding
  • Gymnastics

Hobbies for the Homebody

For those of us who like to spend some quiet time just doing our thing, here are some ideas for at home.

  • Baking
  • Scrapbooking
  • Knitting
  • DIY natural products
  • Jewelery making
  • Candle making
  • Colouring in for adults or Paint by Numbers
  • Gardening
  • DIY projects around the house
  • Bonsai trees

Why a Blog on Hobbies?

My goal with this blog is to get you to realize that having a hobby is not frivolous.  It is actually extremely important and part of your personal development.  Spending too much time at home watching TV is never a good, well balanced way to live.  We need this kind of stimulation to feel alive and to feel connected to this experience of life we are having.

Imagine a world without hobbies?  How would we ever grow?  How would we discover what we love?  Every day on this planet is a lesson in what we love, don’t love, accept and don’t accept for our individual journeys.  This includes choosing our partner in life, choosing our career, and along the way we learn about what we want by choosing our hobbies!  Plus, they’re fun!  If you are not actively engaged in a hobby at the moment I implore you to have a good think about what you would LOVE to spend an hour doing every Sunday (every single day would be better, but start where you can!), and then head out and make it happen.

Steph x

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Check out this list of hobbies on Wikipedia for more ideas

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