I cannot stress this enough. Having a hobby is important to your happiness. Here are my five reasons why:
1) Give your life meaning.In my experience a lot of people seem to lack meaning in their day jobs. Now I could go into how one should find meaning in your day job
but one way to add a sense of meaning to your life is to have a meaningful hobby. This could involve doing charity work, helping to care for the elderly, volunteering at your local “soup kitchen” or helping out at your local animal sanctuary.
Volunteering allows you to be human again rather than a cog in the machine.
2) Energizes your life.If you find yourself falling through your front door after a hard day’s slog and slumping in front of the television you may be surprised to know that you do in fact have some hidden energy left. I found when I was doing a live show on community radio, even after a hard day at the office, I was able to find the energy to perform. The thought of doing the live show energized me. I got a “buzz” from doing it even though every other day of the week I would find myself not having the same energy. So if you think you are just too tired after work to do something with your spare time –
if you find something you’re passionate about – you might be surprised by the energy you have.
3) A chance to switch off.If I continue to use my radio show as an example – I never thought about my worries or work issues when I was doing the show. It was totally different from my day to day life and I just didn’t have time to dwell on my worries. When the on-air sign came on and I got my queue I had to do my segment, introduce the next song and generally try and be entertaining.
Having a hobby that captures your imagination and all of your attention can be a welcome rest from all your worries. Try it and see.
4) A way to express your talent.Are you keeping your talents hidden? Do the necessities of paying the bills force you to work in jobs where your talents are not fully expressed? Well if you are a budding artist, musician, author, actor or (ahem) radio presenter –
a hobby can give you the forum to express your hidden talent or even discover a new one! 5) A way to have fun.Having fun is important! Life is much too short to be serious all the time! Having fun can release tension and is a perfect way to counter stress.
Having a hobby that is fun can make you feel alive again and remind you that you don’t always need to be productive to feel worthwhile. Doing the activity for the sake of doing it is enough! Get out there and have some fun…
Hobbies can allow you to be the person you were meant to be and give perspective to your life. It can remind you on a regular basis -
life is not always about work. Find your passion and your hobby today and you will find happiness!
Good Luck,
Allen
