Our hobbies, and the way we spend our free time, are a reflection of who we are, our interests, priorities, and overall how we represent ourselves in daily life.
However, hobbies are for more than just showing off the new piano piece you've learned to your friends or making your garden look nice for your neighbours.
Hobbies provide many benefits and are more than just how your spend you time.
So, whether you're considering starting yoga, cake baking or taking up a new language, there are dozens of benefits that all of these have in common.
Here are five powerful reasons to start a new hobby today:
Building Confidence
Doing something not usually part of your regular routine and something that isn't wasting your time, unlike scrolling through social media (yes, we're all guilty of it), will make you feel more confident as it will keep you out of a repetitive cycle of doing the same thing every day.
Hobbies can easily help individuals to achieve a sense of purpose and satisfaction after reaching each small milestone, and overall boosts self-confidence.
Mental Health
There is a bucket load of reasons why hobbies are linked to mental health.
Firstly, as we are told time and time again, hobbies are key to relieving stress and anxiety.
Have you ever been so lost in a project that you have lost track of time?
By letting go of time for a while, it can give you a sense of control that work or school tends to take away and taking some time to solely focus on an activity that isn't so pressuring means that rather than having to figure out how to pay your bills, all you need is to figure out what shade of blue to use to paint the sky.
Physical Health
Additionally to mental benefits, certain hobbies can have a strong impact on your physical health.
If it is an active hobby such as, running, dance or hiking or something more hands-on like gardening and pottery, any hobbies that encourage you to be moving, and even if they may not seem like typical exercise will help to improve stamina, strength and flexibility, and therefore contribute to your overall health.
Even simpler and more creative activities like painting or knitting encourages use of fine motor-skills and can as mentioned before reduce stress, which will lower blood pressure helping keep your heart healthy.
Social Circle
Hobbies can be a fantastic way of meeting new people with similar interests.
By joining a local club, online group or taking classes, connecting with a community can lead to friendships and provides a way to build your social circle, which is something many people struggle to do.
By sharing a hobby you instantly have something to talk about and it encourages collaboration and inspiration to continue your hobby.
Boosting Skills
Hobbies challenge the way you think.
They encourage creative exploration and gives a safe space to practice problem solving skills.
For example, activities like playing an instrument or coding requires you to use your brain in ways you may not do at work, this improves your cognitive flexibility and encourages new ways of thinking.
This boost then will help with other areas of your life by showing you how to overcome challenges and find creative solutions to everyday problems.
Taking part in a new hobby can benefit you health, build your social network and transform you wellbeing for the better.
Whether it is a strong passion or a relaxing pastime, hobbies bring a purpose and escape from your regular working routine.
So, why not explore something new today and experience these endless benefits hobbies have to offer?
