10 Reasons To Start A Hobby Of Your Own

Life’s a bit busy, isn’t it? We tell ourselves every single day that if we only had the time, we’d be able to do more for ourselves, but given that so many of us didn’t during lockdowns, it’s not true! 

We are spending more and more time on our phones and immersed in our social media lives than we are our real ones, and it’s becoming a real problem.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying social media, of course, but there is a lot wrong with only enjoying social media. We’ve all been lost in the rabbit hole of TikTok, or mindlessly scrolled through YouTube channels, sucked in by funny videos and conspiracy theories. The thing is, none of these things are hobbies. They take our time, and they give us something to giggle over, but they’re not hobbies that fulfil us and bring us joy.

Life is full of yo-yoing to-do lists and basic hustles, which means that beginning a hobby of your very own may not be at the top of your priority list right now. The thing is, a hobby shouldn’t be a part of the list, it should be as essential as working and sleeping. You need to be able to have some downtime to function as a human being, and if you don’t get that downtime you’re far more likely to burn out. Hobbies form part of your passions, interests and time spent just being you. Remember when you were a child, and you’d spend hours coloring with crayons and making pictures, just for a way to let your imagination out? Why don’t you do that now? Of course, the obvious answer is time – we have much less of it the more responsibility we take on and the more we grow, the harder it gets.

The key? Making the time. The world isn’t slowing down and social media isn’t going anywhere. But neither is football. Neither are card games with friends. Neither is the gardening club. All of these things are going to be here for the long haul and how you use these hobbies is up to you. The important thing is that you use them at all times. Whether you find yourself burying your mind in an old hobby you loved but lost sight of, or you choose to gain new interest in books about demonic magick, the point is that you can find the fun and develop an interest in pretty much anything if you give yourself the time. Finding a few hours to do something new is the right way to spend your time, and hobbies are giving us a reason to slow down for a moment in a world that can only speed up and move quickly. The things that you once loved are still there, and there are so many new things to love, too. So, with this in mind, we’ve put together ten clear reasons to start a hobby of your very own.

• Where you can, be creative. There are very few opportunities to be creative in life when you spend most of your time working or sleeping. Having a hobby is your chance to have a creative outlet in your life, and whether you love to paint, to draw or to create your own models, getting your creative juices flowing can actually help your mental health. Not only that, but you can remember that it’s okay to have fun and enjoy yourself, which is often much harder to do as an adult. We think we’ll grow up and it’ll be all fun – but it’s also life and bills and responsibility, which is terrifying!
• You’re going to work on that self-confidence. When you are taking on the prospect of a brand new challenge, you know that seeing through that project of yours to completion is going to happen. Hobbies aren’t just something you do – you have to work on them to do well at them. The more effort you put in, the better, and it;s important that you are building something you will really love. Whether you are building a garden out of nothing or you’re really getting stuck into learning an instrument, you will develop some serious self-confidence as a result of starting out your own hobby. It’s thrilling to know that you’re going to feel excellent and it’s all because you put some effort into working on yourself for a change! 
• You’re going to be able to get better at problem solving. Starting your own hobby is wonderful, but it’s even better to know that you are going to learn how to problem solve and overcome issues much faster. Hobbies give you the chance to develop essential critical reasoning skills, and things like puzzles are going to help you to keep your brain working correctly. You’d be surprised how much you can learn when you start a new hobby.
• A hobby offers you the chance to be social. Being at work for hours on end and being with the kids is all great, but where’s the time you spend with friends and like-minded people? Well, a community of people joining together like the one created with your hobby is where it’s at! You can join – or even start – a group of people who know and love the same things that you do, and you can really feel as if you are a part of something epic when you do this. You can share your experiences and relate to each other in a way that you may not be able to with others, and this is so precious to hang onto.
• Creating stronger bonds. If you take a hobby up with a friend or family member, you’re going to create some seriously strong bonds off the back of it. You’ll be able to relate better to each other, and you’ll have stories and memories to tell each other as you go through life. You can turn those long-term traditions into favorite hobbies together and this will mean so much to you. Having a hobby that you share with your whole family can actually be life changing for you if you are craving some closeness.

• The chance to learn. If you’ve never tinkled the keys on a piano, you’ll feel the thrill of doing it when you do it for the first time. Hobbies that give you the chance to learn something are important. There are so many things that a hobby can teach you, and even if what you’re doing involves scale model building and not learning an instrument you’re still going to learn something. The whole point of the hobbies that you do is to make yourself feel as if you can achieve something, and this is all so important if you want to enrich your life.
• Give your brain a workout. There is every chance that you’ve read that reading, doing puzzles and solving problems are all there to help you to avoid dementia and brain deterioration. Those studies are absolutely all correct, and the hobbies that you choose that give your brain a workout can help you to stay mentally fit. Reaping the benefits of a much sharper mind is important, and it will help you in the years to come – especially as you enjoy a longer time with your hobby.
• Taking the chance to open up new careers. Did you know that model building could open an interest in engineering and a career in it, too? What if your hobby is all things history? That could prompt you to train as a history teacher and impart your insane amount of wisdom as a result. There are so many things that a hobby can help you with but if your hobby can inspire your earning potential. Wouldn’t you want to make sure that you were getting as much as you could out of it? Reading helps you to absorb and understand information, and puzzles can help you to understand sequencing. Science and technology hobbies get those juices flowing about space travel and more! The point is that you can get involved in a hobby of your own, and you can get so much out of it that goes beyond enjoying your time spent with it!
• You can become an expert. Hobbies aren’t just there for fun, they’re a passionate thing to be involved in. The more you know, the more you grow in that topic and there are so many things that you can teach others along the way. Being an expert in Harry Potter isn’t useless, either, as this is a huge franchise and could give you the inspiration that you need to write books of your own.
• You could become a mentor. If you’re an expert at painting, perhaps you could teach others how to do it? If you love to sing, perhaps you could learn to be a vocal coach. Mentoring other people can help you to pay your hobby forward and keep the interest going!