Why Hobbies Are Great for Your Well-Being
Nowadays, it's not so easy to find someone who hasn't developed a personal hobby. There's a good reason why that is so. Whether it's painting, collecting rare books, soccer on weekends, swimming, playing guitar, or origami - it doesn't matter. What matters is that your time's occupied with an activity you enjoy. Also, there's no need to emphasize that hobbies are a fantastic way of getting in touch with ourselves (and our surroundings); they do miracles in regulating our mental processes. In other words: they help us battle stress and anxiety and teach us patience & virtue. Okay, that was just a quick preview of why hobbies are great for your well-being. Feel free to enjoy the whole thing downstairs!
Hobbies are fantastic stress-reducers
It's almost a commonplace thing to say contemporary life's too busy. That's why we won't lament over that fact even for a second. Anyway, once you develop a hobby, you can take a break from your daily (stressful) modus operandi. Hobbies help you relax during troubling times by enabling you to do an activity you love and find much-needed peace and solitude (if your hobby isn't a collective sport or somethin' similar). Imagine coming home from work after a busy day, taking a warm bath, and relaxing with an acoustic guitar in your lap. Now, that's what we call peace of mind.
Music-related hobbies are phenomenal for our well-being since they enable us to communicate with the world without using words, thus avoiding any confusion.
Hobbies help us battle depression
There's a good reason why folks recovering from substance addiction are advised to take up a hobby. These activities fight the feelings of hopelessness and anxiety, which are two key ingredients of depression. Hobbies give purpose to our daily lives and provide our thoughts with a chance to avoid sinking into a ruminating hole.
Hobbies = socialization
Okay, so whether you've joined a weekend soccer team or signed up for a new gym, participating in a group activity is a fantastic way to stay on track. First of all, physical exercise itself is nature's mood booster. Additionally, engaging in a (physical) collective activity provides other phenomenal advantages to our mental well-being by:
- Increasing our social connections, social capital, and so on.
- Teaching us to deal with challenges and setbacks in the healthiest way imaginable.
- Improving our sleep (obviously).
Rediscovering identity through hobbies
Today, an identity crisis isn't something you'd call an unusual issue. Folks have a hard time figuring out their nature and purpose in this world that isn't giving them a helping hand. By taking up a hobby, a person makes a giant leap towards a better sense of self. In other words: hobbies help us rediscover who we essentially are. For instance, you might recognize your true self in one of your paintings or musical pieces. Or maybe you'll handle difficult & troubling times only by knowing you're creating fantastic art and that, whatever happens, you'll continue to do it, regardless of the issues that might appear. Seeing oneself as a creator will help you swim through the negative.
Hobbies help us rediscover our identity, sense of self, and most importantly – purpose.
An example: Painting
Okay, so let's see why one should take up painting as a hobby, for example. It's one of the more obvious choices. Communicating with your surroundings (and yourself, of course) using only shapes and colors is something, by all means, unique. Every piece you do represents a certain emotion trapped at the moment it appears. You'll be able to track your spirit levels by just looking at your work. Additionally, taking up painting as a hobby will help you:
- Nurture your creativity in the best possible manner.
- Sharp your mind & memory.
- Enhance your problem-solving skills.
- Grow an optimistic attitude.
Also, you don't have to be a professional to enjoy this hobby. Even though some folks might propel themselves into stardom through their art, it doesn't mean your art isn't valuable. Who knows? You might even become one of those outsider-art phenomenons.
Artwork is delicate
Before we continue talking about why hobbies are great for your well-being and how to begin your journey into the world of hobbies, we'll give you a quick tip. There's probably no need to mention the artwork you'll create is delicate and requires your utmost attention, along with optimal storage conditions. Once you start getting your paintings ready for storage, be sure to do it properly. You might want to consider renting a climate-controlled storage unit to make sure nothing happens to your precious pieces.
Renting a climate-controlled storage unit for storing your artwork is the best way to ensure nothing will damage it.
How to get started?
For the end, we've prepared a little how-to on picking up a hobby. Let's see what the steps are towards starting a hobby:
#1 Find something you're genuinely interested in
First of all, you'll want to figure out which activity might be the best for you. In other words: you'll want to brainstorm hobby ideas. Think about something you've enjoyed as a kid, for instance. Maybe you'll want to revive an old hobby of yours? Also, no one can tell you regular daily activities (which you already engage in) aren't to be turned into hobbies. Take cooking as an obvious example.
#2 Rethink your time organization
One of the biggest issue modern humans face is the obvious lack of free time. That's because most of us have problems organizing our daily schedule. Anyway, you'll want to introduce the new activity to your day without feeling like you're always running out of time. Maybe you'll want to think about spending less time staring at a computer/cellphone screen.
#3 Purpose over productivity
Even though hobbies are great for your well-being, you'll want to separate our little (or big) hobbies from the ever-present and irritating need to be productive (i.e., earn money). Of course, it isn't easy since we're living in an achievement-oriented culture. See if you can switch off the whole gotta-make-more-money mode of thinking while you're practicing your hobby.