How do you spend your free time? Common answers include scrolling through social media or binge-watching the latest drama on Netflix. But is that really how you want to spend hour after hour?
With the coronavirus pandemic plaguing the world, now is the perfect time to pick up a new hobby you’ve wanted to try. We’re used to living in a fast-paced world we can barely keep up with, but now we’re forced to sit still. You can use the extra time and energy to focus on something that brings you joy and fulfillment.
There are many reasons why maintaining a hobby is important. If you need more convincing, here are three reasons you should get started.
Boost Your Confidence & Creativity
When you take the time to learn and perfect a new skill, it gives you a profound sense of confidence and wellbeing. You prove to the world and yourself that you can achieve great things if you work hard enough.
Sticking to a new activity reminds you that you can rely on yourself. Your consistency brings you closer to reaching your goals and improving your skills. This encourages you to continue working hard and practicing so you can continue building your expertise.
Along with confidence, you also boost your creativity by having a hobby. It takes you out of work mode and allows you to look at things through a different lens. You’re able to think outside the box when you dedicate yourself to something you’re passionate about.
Learn Patience & Perseverance
Life won’t always go the way you want it to, but that doesn’t mean it should drastically change your worldview or make you give up. Learning a new hobby requires you to practice patience and perseverance to see the results you want.
You may want to start a blog, but you need to understand what reaching that goal takes in doing so. You can’t publish one post and expect the views and engagement to roll in. Instead, you need to stay consistent with it and publish several high-quality posts a week. You don’t have to, but you can also monetize your hobby and add another income stream.
Learning how to be patient and work hard on your hobby prepares you to act the same way in other areas of your life. You can apply those same principles to your career or relationships, for example.
Connect with Others
Participating in hobbies means you get to connect with like-minded people who have similar values, interests, and ideas. It feels great to have conversations with those you have in common with, making you feel comfortable and understood.
Since the start of the pandemic, connecting with others has been more challenging than ever. Meeting new people organically is practically impossible due to social distancing laws and restrictions. But the great thing is that having a hobby gives you easier access to like-minded individuals.
Even if you can’t meet in person, there are ways to develop relationships with people who have similar interests as you. If your hobby is working out, you can research online meetups or join Facebook groups specific to that community. Until it’s safe to hang out with others, meeting people online is your best bet and can still be a great way to connect with them.
Your Turn
If you spend most of your free time glued to a screen or doing something unfulfilling, then it’s time to pick up a new hobby. Hobbies give you room to explore your passions, develop new skills, and meet new people. It gives you a strong sense of self because you’re dedicated to something that makes you happy. If anything, hobbies are a form of self-care that encourage you to be creative and find fun in any situation. What hobby will you take up soon?