Why Hobbies Are Important and How To Find One!

We all know someone with a hobby they love! Odds are they talk about it endlessly, they might spend a good bit of money on it and they have probably tried to talk you into joining them at least once. People can’t help it – when we find something we love its natural to try and share that love with others. The passion and joy you hear in your friend’s voice when they talk about their hobby are one of the most important clues as to why hobbies are important – but it’s not the only one.

Finding the hobby that’s perfect for you might be challenging but will be worthwhile in the end! Keep reading for some tips on how to find your perfect hobby and why you should!

Why Hobbies Are Important and How To Find One!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of the links I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you

The Benefits of Having A Hobby

Having a hobby that you enjoy has been proven to have beneficial results for not only people’s mental health but their physical health as well! Studies have shown that spending time doing something you enjoy (such as a hobby!) is a great way to lower blood pressure and cortisol levels. Depending on the type of hobby you choose you might find even more physical benefits but even low movement hobbies such as knitting and painting are linked to a healthier life.

• Reduces Stress – Having something to look forward too can go a long way in making a bad day better. Many people tend to relax when they are doing something they love and as a result hobbies can be an excellent way for someone to destress.
• Remind You to Take A Break! – It’s great to hustle and feel productive all the time but after a while, this type of busy lifestyle can really wear a person down and sometimes people have a hard time relearning how to slow down and do something just for them. A hobby can allow you to take time for yourself and enjoy an activity you like while also still feeling like your getting something done. The difference is being productive doing something that feels like work and doing something that’s fun and enjoyable. Hobbies let you take a break without making you feel guilty about doing nothing.
• Explore New Skills and Creativity – Learning new skills should be a lifetime goal. Just like the wonderful benefits of DIY projects, having a hobby allows you to enhance your skill set and explore your creative side. Creativity is a lot like a muscle, the more you try to be creative the easier it becomes to come up with new ideas. Being creative teaches you to think outside the box when it comes to solving problems a skill that can be beneficial in both your everyday life and your work life.
• Hobbies Allow you to Explore Yourself – Having a hobby is great for kids but arguably even more important when your an adult. When you become an adult you get a job, suddenly have a house, potentially a family and all the bills and responsibilities that come with it. It’s so easy to live your day to day life and completely lose sight of yourself as an individual beyond those responsibilities. Then when the kids leave home, a relationship fails or you eventually retire your left with no clue about who you are and what you want to do! If you invest time exploring hobbies and making sure to carve out time for your individual desires then these sorts of life changes won’t leave you floundering and unsure of yourself quite as badly.
• Hobbies Can Provide Social Interaction – Many hobbies have clubs, meets and fellow enthusiasts that not only have something in common with you but also love to chat about it just as much as you do. Learning from each other and sharing knowledge about shared passions can often lead to lasting friendships – something that can be hard to come by as an adult.

This Sounds Great But How Do I FIND A Hobby?!?

For some people finding a hobby isn’t much of a problem, their passions find them (usually at a young age) and they pursue it for the rest of their lives leaving the rest of us to look on with jealousy and awe.

For the rest of us? Finding a hobby can be a bit more challenging. Some of us feel confined by our lives – time, finances, & location can be major hurdles for some hobbies, and some of us really have no clue what we want to do! If you are completely lost and don’t know where to tun then there are a few steps you can take that might help you out.

• Make a List – Literally sit down and make a list of every possible thing you might want to try. List everything, no matter how crazy or implausible it might seem. The goal is to brainstorm not make definite plans and get your creative juices flowing. Besides a lot of those hobbies that seem hard to reach might have similar offshoots that are far more obtainable when you start researching. Maybe you can’t take a stained glass class right away but…you can definitely try a faux stained glass project!
• Separate Your List – Once you have a list of everything you’re interested in you can go back and separate it into categories. The categories you choose should be based on your current limitations – financial, seasonal, the time required – etc.
• Make a Plan – Once you have your potential hobby list separated it’s time to make a plan. Start by researching the easiest items on your list and make plans to buy the basics, watch a few youtube videos and give it a try! Since starting this blog I have made it a point to try something new at least once a month! Some of the things I have tried have worked out and I continued to pursue them, others were fun but ultimately didn’t hold my attention. This is completely normal and part of the process! As you try some of the easier items on your list consider how you might give some of the harder items a try, save, research and plan for them if possible.
• Make It A Point To Continue Looking – Unless you get lucky and discover a hobby you want to pursue right off the bat then you might have to keep brainstorming and researching different possibilities. If you liked one activity but found it difficult for one reason or another you might look into similar pursuits. If the drying time of oil painting annoyed you look into acrylics. If you want to grow a garden but lack the space (or its the middle of winter) consider an indoor herb garden or succulents!

In the end, finding a hobby that suits you might be an ongoing process that takes some time BUT if you continue to try new things you will ultimately discover skills you didn’t know you had and hopefully have a lot of fun along the way!