Beyond your daily routine: Hobbies can help us in so many ways.
Were you a typical child with several different hobbies? From learning a musical Instrument or dancing, to being in groups such as Guides, Scouts, cadets or those sports activities junior football, rugby, and swimming etc…
As we got older, our life became consumed with studying, exams, socialising, and new activities, and quite often our hobbies fell aside.
My Childhood hobbies
When I was younger, we did not have the technology we have these days. There were only 4 channels on the TV (I was 10 when Channel 4 started). We only had 1 TV in the lounge – none in our bedrooms until we were much older – and Mum and Dad had control of what we watched.
Now, I am not going for a sob story. I want to paint a picture, which I recall was the same for most of my friends growing up in the 70s and 80s. We had no central heating and the fires we did have in our bedrooms were only on for an hour before we went to bed ‘to take the chill off.’ So, in the winter months we were in the lounge to keep warm.
I could not do all my hobbies in the warmth of the lounge, there were times when my older sister and I were practicing our musical instruments in the cold of our bedroom or the dining room as we shared the bedroom. However, there were many things we could do – reading, deciding on which Brownie or Guide badge to work on, colouring in or learning to knit.
The thing is our hobbies did teach us a lot of things that we may not have learned through normal classes at school and the same can be said about the workplace.
Take learning an instrument for example. Like most people around the age of 6 or 7 you learn to play the recorder at school and start learning to read music. When I was 8 or 9, I started to learn the Clarinet – chosen because my sisters’ best friend played it, and I liked the sound. It wasn’t just learning to play it; you had regular exams to take to help you improve. You got to be part of the school orchestra. The main thing though, was practicing, practicing, and practicing getting better and better.
A bit like any sport, the more you practice the better you get. You won’t know it all straight off or learn a new piece of music. For me it helped me learn time management.
The same as a similar task in the workplace. If it’s new, we are going to make errors before we perfect it. We do not get taught this as such in school, it come through our hobbies.
How can our hobbies help us now as adults?
Self-discovery
As we explored different interests when we were children we decided, probably without realising, what our passions were. If we enjoyed it, we wanted to spend more time doing it.
If we explore new interests now, we might find a passion and a motivation in something we did not enjoy when we were younger. This could lead us into finding a whole new purpose in our life.
Time Management
Remember homework? When we did all the activities we did as youngsters we still had to manage to get our homework done on time. I know for me Tuesdays were my busy day. I had a choir at lunch time and then senior school choir after school, so did not get home until 5:00. That gave me 2 hours to do my homework, help cook the evening meal and eat before going to Girl Guides at 7pm for 2 hours.
As adults, balancing our jobs, family, housework, and life can be a struggle and time consuming. Putting others first, not being clear about our boundaries and always compromising. Having a hobby can help us manage our time more effectively. It reminds us of the importance of putting ourselves first.
Problem Solving
With most hobbies there will come a time when something is not going right, or we make a mistake. As we have a passion for our hobby, we will do what we can to figure it out. How we go about finding the right solution helps us to learn and find a new skill or approach. There may be times when we know who to ask and others when we do not. So, we Google, or find help on YouTube. The thing we are learning is not only the solution to the problem, but also the ability to seek the answers.
A sense of achievement
Were you ever part of junior sports team or another sport where you achieved things other than matches – end of year team player, a rosette, a badge. A sense of achievement can be found amongst other hobbies, even those stamp collectors had a sense of achievement when the found a rare stamp.
If we are spending time in a job that we enjoy but we can no longer see the sense of achievement, then having a hobby will help us find that. And that may even be indirectly. I am a unit helper for a Guide unit of girls between 10 and 14. It is a small group and is growing. The sense of achievement for me is seeing the girls grow from being shy and not knowing anyone to becoming more of a team player and their inner confidence grow.
Continuous learning
From my personal example above, I learn so much from my fellow Guiders and the girls themselves. Understanding what life is like for them is different from my experiences as a 10 – 14-year-old in the 1980s. Working alongside guiders 20 years younger than me teaches me a different perspective. And of course, the offering to Guides is so much different as it was when I was a Guide and as a previous Guider.
You might start a hobby through a spark of interest obtained through something else or an interest or comment made by someone. You have this urge to find out more, to learn about it, acquire a new skill or two. Whilst also boosting your own self confidence. You may find you become more curious and inquisitive than you have ever been before. Who knows, your hobby could lead to a whole new career and life change.
Enhancing your tribe and community
Do you remember your friends from the hobbies you had from your childhood – even the ones we would rather forget? Having a hobby can lead you to finding new friendships, a sense of belonging and even new experiences. This does not only happen for hobbies where you have a group of people taking part. Even solitary hobbies like knitting or photography can lead you to finding likeminded people, your tribe of fellow knitters and photographers.
Finding these people will give you a sense of belonging, support, and enhanced enjoyment. It will take you out of your comfort zone and help enhance the skills your hobby gives you as well as internal growth that is personal to you.
Health benefits
A blog about switching off from work and household chores cannot be finished without acknowledging the health benefits that come from having a hobby. Our lifestyle now is full on, constant demands practically 24/7.
I am that old, I remember a time when the shops did not open on a Sunday, apart from the newsagents until 2pm. You had to leave the building by a certain time, and you did not work evenings or weekends at home. In some ways this gave us more time for hobbies in the evenings and weekends.
Now with the demands and stresses we have, the pressures not just from work but every other part of lives expectations. Our hobbies, interests, passions or whatever you wish to call them, can help provide that element of stress relief. It has been said that when you engage with activities you love, it triggers the release of endorphins which are the body’s natural stressbuster. It will help promote a sense of relaxation and happiness inside. Research has also shown that 20 minutes in nature is better for you than an hour or so down the gym.
You may find with your hobbies a sense of mindfulness, a distraction from everything else around you. Who would not love that dose of inner peace to help you relax.
I would conclude that in frantic world we now live in, adhering to the perceived expectations, comparisons on social media and the feeling that we need to be on top of everything. We have underestimated the importance of the impact our hobbies have had on us growing up and can help us now.
Find out what ignites your passion, helps you relax, build new and improved connections, and develops your skills and knowledge. Explore these with an open mind, including those you did not enjoy so much as a child, let these interests and hobbies bring you the fun and joy you deserve.
Need someone to be your cheerleader to start a new hobby, let’s have a chat about how coaching can help you. Visit my coaching page for more information – www.louisemcmilan.co.uk/coaching/
Photo by Aravind Kumar on Unsplash