hobby: something you do in your leisure time because you enjoy it.
There are a lot of articles explaining the importance of having hobbies, how they can can be beneficial to our health. For instance, Having a hobby tied to happiness and well-being, Health Benefits of Hobbies, and Why Having a Little Hobby Is So Good for You, According to Science. I agree with the author of the last article. She ends with,
And despite all the positive aspects of hobbies, remember that they don’t have to be “beneficial” to be worth your time. You do the thing because you enjoy it! Too often, we convince ourselves that we have to Be Productive and prioritize Important Things, like making money, improving our skills, advancing in our careers, etc. And then we wind up monetizing our hobbies, putting pressure on ourselves, and sucking the fun right out of them, and what do you know? We have no hobbies. And we all deserve a little hobby we love just because.
I can relate to that. Not about monetizing, but putting pressure on ourselves. As I’ve said, this picture surprised and moved me:
Instead of inspiring me, it stopped me cold for a bit. I no longer wanted to play around with drawing… I could never draw something I liked as well. How dumb was that? I waited for a day or two until that mood passed. I’m now back to being a little kid, playing around with a beginner’s mind.
Do you have any hobbies? Sandra/Mad Snapper talks about one of hers in this post. She illustrates how powerful a resource a hobby can be.
October 27, 2024
Thank you for posting this and inspires me to keep trying and I know it doesn’t matter what it looks like when I’m done if I had fun doing it. Thanks Jean
Thank you!!
…I wish that I had the time for all of my hobbies.
Better that than not having enough interests.
What a wonderful piece this is. You need to keep drawing. Sometimes we are our most difficult critics. What someone else sees as a beautiful piece, we visualize by seeing mistakes. Glad you visited my blog. Hoping you have a very Blessed Sunday.
I hope you had a blessed Sunday too.
I love too many things, but basically my sewing is my main hobby. It becomes a real job when someone asks me to make them something… I worry about everything about it…get the right fabrics. Getting it done in time. I could never tell someone I would make them something and put it off, even if they don’t care. I would feel pressure to get it done.
My mother was a beautiful sewer, but she never sewed for anyone except the family. Too stressful.
I’m glad you got back to drawing. I look at it as once in a while I manage to create something I really like. It’s like a hobby bonus. 😉
That’s the right attitude!
Inspiring post, I will visit Sandra too. I like cooking and art and weeding actually
Liking weeding sounds like a great hobby!
For years, our shared hobby was designing and building operating model railroads. In 1990, we built one that was so fantastic I wasn’t sure we’d ever build another. But, we did and they were fun, too.
That sounds like a fun one, especially because it was shared. 🙂
Yes, she embodies the real spirit of this. I think the goal is not to be perfect, but to help our relaxation and mental health!
Yes!
Puzzles are my go to hobby. I love all kinds of puzzles, word puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles. I spend way too much time playing Words with Friends:)
I like puzzles too. I do a Wordle and a Spelling Bee every evening, the other ones not as much since I started learning Spanish with Duolingo almost 18 months ago.
Blogging seems to be my main hobby. Friends and relatives have told me over the years, “You should write a book. You have such great stories!” But I long ago gave up that idea so now I just write for fun.
Oh, and of course there is Wordle and the plethora of crosswords I’ve found to occupy my time, especially on Sundays.
Yes, blogging counts too, along with puzzles. They’re good for our brains as well as being fun. Cooking counts too.
It’s hard to stop being a perfectionist, even with hobbies, but I’m trying:)
Good luck!
For years my hobby was reading, but somewhere along the line I lost my moxie. Nowadays it’s Blogging and puzzles — Wordle, Strands, Connections and crosswords.
I love puzzles too.
My hobby is playing music on a big variety of instuments.
That’s a great one!
I had to downsize my biggest hobby when I moved here – goodbye shed, spare room and bigger all round
I collected things
I saved things
I made”parts” with things
That part of the move must have been hard.
I suppose anything crafty or creative is my hobby. I did try to sell crafts for a while and it took the fun out of it. Now I make things because I want to and I like to give them away.
I’m glad you went back to drawing.
I’m glad you’re doing it for fun now, and for love.
I don’t have any hobbies but I really need to find one.
They’re great resources to have.