Robert Fulghum says in his famous book, Everything I Need to Learn, I Learned in Kindergarten: “Live a balanced life—learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.” You function better when there is balance in what you do for work, and what you do for fun. And that is where hobbies come in.
Hobbies are things you do for fun. They play an important role in ensuring we develop holistically and have time for ourselves and focus on the things we want. These are the activities we do to relax and destress and not get overly critical about. These are things we do as a creative outlet and as a form of self-expression which would otherwise not have been expressed in our work. People nowadays focus on social-media platforms as a way of expressing themselves when there are alternatives which can help them develop a positive sense of who they are. Indulging in a hobby/ies is one of them.
Hobbies are a good way to take a break. Just like what I am doing now—writing. It takes the sense of guilt away because what I am doing is purposive and I find meaning and fulfillment in what I do. When I write, I get to immortalize my thoughts in ink and hopefully affect another with what I am writing down. But I write primarily for the joy of writing. While hobbies are activities you do which are normally unpaid, your hobby can actually become a source of income as you hone and evolve your craft.
This, in turn, will help you connect to people. Your hobby will open doors to opportunities of meeting new people who are likely to provide tips on how to improve your hobby. A sense of belonging helps you take more risks in thinking outside the box and sharing your discoveries to the group. You encourage each other to continue your hobby and at the same time, they provide you an environment where you can freely and safely explore how to do things better.
Your hobbies also make you more interesting to people. Take the case of the accountant whose hobby is spelunking. Immediately, you break the stereotype of what you think an accountant should be doing, and you suddenly want to ask the accountant how he came to like exploring caves. Your hobby can show a unique facet of yourself that not all people will get to know, but when they do, it becomes a conversation piece. You are no longer the boss who gives orders—you become the leader who was able to climb to the top of the second-highest mountain in the Philippines.
Hobbies also curtail the development of bad habits because you focus on developing something you enjoy. It helps you develop self-confidence because hobbies provide eustress or what people call positive stress. Eustress is the kind of stress which makes you feel excited to do something, and hobbies provide that kind of anticipation because it is something you look forward to. You build confidence after finishing your hobby because these small wins help alleviate your mood and prepare you to do other things. So rather than spend most of your time comparing yourself to others, or, worse, in social media, find a hobby which will help you become excited and invigorated.
But how do you find a hobby just for you?
One thing which will help you find the right hobby is to go back to your childhood. What did you enjoy doing the most when you were young? List them down and try them one at a time and you will find what makes you excited. I discovered my love of mountaineering when I climbed Mount Pulag and I realized we used to do it when I was young. Our house in La Union was beside a hill and after that hill were several other hills. My siblings and I would spend the entire afternoon getting lost in those hills, much to the exasperation of our mama who would welcome us back with a slipper in one hand. But that did not stop us from exploring and finding new paths and getting lost some more. So, go back to your childhood because you will discover a hobby which will make you feel excited and interested.
How do you know if a hobby is right for you? One thing is for sure: if it feels like work, it is not a hobby. Find a hobby which literally makes you forget your day. When was the last time you were doing something that you even forgot to eat? If it is something as exciting and thrilling as that, then you have found your hobby.
Hobbies are a good way of finding balance in ourselves. We get to become kids again and discover that life has more to offer than just paycheck after paycheck. We discover that, while we have to make a living, we can make a life with the simple pleasures which hobbies can bring to our growth as a person. And you will realize after doing a hobby, you like yourself better.