Hobby, Hobby! Is it time for a HOBBY?

It’s a question we all face more than once. It shows up on most applications, on any of the many online profiles we complete, or even at a networking event! It’s a standard question. What are your hobbies? Or interests? Or activities you enjoy?

I used to dread that question. Mainly because I didn’t have what I thought of as a hobby. I wasn’t doing or creating anything or participating in anything just for the fun or joy it would bring. It sounded blissful. But impractical. It felt like something indulgent. But I was wrong.

Several years ago, when I was feeling rather listless with my life, I started to wonder what it might be like to have a real hobby. Especially as the “empty nest” was looming, I wondered what I would do with all the time I would have. The danger, of course, was that I would just fill that void with work, and I knew I needed a different plan.

I believe that we are all meant to be creators. We’re all meant to be creating something and I realized that my void was right there. I wasn’t creating anything. I was doing plenty but creating nothing. Something I’ve learned in my hobby quest is this is the place where many of us return to the joy of that for the first time since childhood.

If cooking is your hobby, and it is for many, there is something very satisfying about what you create from all of those raw ingredients. My daughter, an incredible glass artist, has said she feels more creative in the kitchen than in an art studio. She’s made some beautiful blown glass pieces. But her cupcakes bring her joy. Because of that joy, her baking shows her creativity at its finest.

Another friend of mine is an exceptional painter. She works across many mediums. Oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, and more. She is comfortable with them all. But her spark doesn’t come from the medium she uses. The canvases she discovers inspire it. She does some work on more traditional canvases, but the best of her work is on other surfaces, including furniture and fabric. She can turn a dull, simple cabinet into a feast for the eyes. What she can create on the back of a denim jacket can make anyone feel like a model on the runway. Her belief is that anything can be a canvas for expressing ourselves.

Others have hobbies like gardening, woodworking, photography, crafting, jewelry making, dancing, writing, playing a musical instrument or singing, and many more. 

The one that finally got me hooked was pottery. I had always wanted to do something artistic but just didn’t think I had the skill. My stick figures were even pitiful. Because I loved pottery and had collected it for years, someone suggested I try my hand at making it. 

Me? Play in mud? I was intrigued, to say the least, and off I went to my first lesson at the pottery studio. Time disappeared. I was completely drawn into that world. I loved my fellow potters and everything about it. Within the first few months, I knew this would be with me for life. It’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever given myself. And now, it has become a gift that I give to others.

My first piece was a dish with a small bird on it since that’s my favorite collectible. It became a Mother’s Day gift for my Mom. By then a grandmother myself, it had been a long time since my gift to her was something made by my own hand. It felt so good to do that. And the gift had a richer meaning for her as well. When she passed away, that dish came back to me. It’s one of my favorite treasures and will one day go to my daughter.

Even beyond the enjoyment, there were lessons (of course!). There was value well beyond just the fun, friends, and mud!

·         To make things happen, we have to be willing to take some risks, get our hands dirty, and trust the process

·         Pressure and heat create strength and transformation

·         We all sign our work in one way or another

Yes, I am always learning, but this learning went deeper because of how it happened. I think that’s one of the best reasons to have a hobby. We get to remember and embrace again the fun of learning.

And the value of hobbies goes even further. Studies have shown that creative hobbies even help us reduce stress and improve our mental health.

If you’re still on the fence like I was, here are a few more benefits from getting creative with a hobby:

You will improve your problem-solving skills. Creative endeavors encourage out-of-the-box thinking. They invite exploration and experimentation. Those are the cornerstone skills we need in every area of our lives and work.

Your focus and productivity will get highly tuned. Hobbies allow us to get lost in something and experience flow. Once you’ve experienced it, you know just how powerful it can be and will find yourself able to do that with other activities as well.

Hobbies naturally create the opportunity to network and share our interests with others. Almost all hobbies have communities or clubs centered around them that you can join. Friendships that are based on something we mutually enjoy are inevitable. And from there, opportunities for other ventures can happen as well. In fact, a community can turn almost any hobby into a connection point of unending value, including opportunities to serve in a business relationship.

But perhaps the most valuable jewel in the hobby crown is what you will realize from the increased confidence and sense of personal fulfillment you will experience. Just as I experienced with that first piece of pottery I made. We are inherently driven to master the craft of the hobby, and because it’s something we enjoy, it will be much easier than other things we might try. We are reminded that we are capable of learning anything we choose to learn.

What about you? Do you have a hobby? If you do, I hope these words remind you just how important it is and that you will give it an even greater priority. And, if you don’t have one yet, consider this a personal invitation to say yes to one, and step into the ring and find your perfect fit like I did.

It will change your life for the better beyond anything you might imagine.