Taking up a hobby can bring huge benefits to your wellbeing and plays a crucial role in self care. Here’s how to develop a new interest and stick with it
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Life can sometimes feel like it’s all work and no fun as an adult. So many of us spend our time doing things we need to do rather than things we would like to do. Of course, being an adult does bring responsibility, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make time for enjoyment. In fact, setting aside time to do things purely for pleasure is essential. Developing a hobby, interest, or pastime is an excellent way to do this.
Research conducted by the Society of Behavioral Medicine found that people with hobbies experience a more positive mood and feel less stressed when engaging in their hobbies. Surprisingly, the researchers found that people even had a lower heart rate when they were engaged in their pastimes.
In this article, we’ll detail how you can find your own interest and develop it into a hobby and explain why it’s so beneficial to have an interest or pastime.
Contents List:
4 Steps to Developing a Hobby, Interest, or Pastime
- Revisit Your Childhood Interests
- Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
- Make it Meaningful
- Build a Habit
- Final Thoughts
4 Steps to Developing a Hobby, Interest, or Pastime
While you may like the idea of having an interest or developing a hobby, you may be less sure how to make this happen. But don’t worry, we have all the information you need.
The first issue many people face is deciding which hobby they should choose. This can be a tough decision to make. After all, there are literally thousands of different hobbies available. Some common, others pretty niche. So, how do you find the right one for you? Here’s how to get started in your quest to develop a new pastime:
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- Revisit Your Childhood Interests
When trying to find a hobby seems challenging, turning to the past can help. Thinking about the interests and hobbies you had as a child is a perfect starting point. When you were younger, you probably had lots of hobbies that you enjoyed. But as the years have passed and your responsibilities have grown, your interests may have lapsed.
Revisiting these childhood pastimes can be really helpful in your quest to develop a pastime. You may find that you completely re-engage with the interest. Or, it may act as a springboard that guides you to a new hobby that you love. Either way, it’s a beneficial experience and excellent place to begin.
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- Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Hobbies can certainly act as a method of self care. Immersing yourself in an interest for no other reason than to gain enjoyment can deliver a much-needed wellbeing boost. Developing a new interest can strongly support self help strategies and challenge you to take a step outside of your comfort zone.
Think about the one hobby that’s always appealed to you but you never felt confident enough to try. This could be anything from learning how to rollerskate to joining a choir and singing in public. Leaving your comfort zone isn’t easy. However, trying new hobbies can bring a huge number of benefits. According to experts at Harvard University, when you leave your comfort zone, you give yourself the opportunity to develop in so many ways.
Trying a hobby that’s outside your comfort zone can help you increase your self-confidence as you finally give that hobby a try. Your resilience will also grow as you challenge yourself to try something unfamiliar and persevere to learn how to do it. In addition to all these positives, you will also reaffirm your sense of self by giving yourself permission to pursue something that interests you and doing it even though it feels uncomfortable. This will occur as you learn more about yourself and bravely reconnect with the way you want to live your life.
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- Make it Meaningful
Reconnecting with your values is an excellent starting point for an interest. Being clear on your personal values and following them is an excellent way to feel a sense of satisfaction in your life. Unfortunately, the daily grind of life can sometimes move us away from our core values. Being busy earning money and maintaining your lifestyle can see your values drop down in your list of priorities.
When you’re seeking a new hobby or interest, reassessing your values can really help. Choosing a hobby that aligns with your values can help redress the imbalance created when constantly pursuing achievement over happiness. This is backed up by the Value Fulfilment and Well-being: Clarifying Directions Over Time conducted by the University of Essex and University of Bath.
Professor Greg Maio, University of Bath, said: “People often spend most of their days working hard for their daily income, studies, and careers.
“Against this backdrop, where achievement-oriented values have ring-fenced a great portion of our time, we found that it helps to value freedom and other values just enough to bring in balance and recovery.”
So, choosing to make time for a hobby that aligns with your values could be the perfect antidote to a busy lifestyle driven by achievement.
Developing an interest is also an excellent way to reconnect with causes that are meaningful to you. For example, if you are passionate about nature, your pastime could be volunteering for a wildlife charity. Or, if you are concerned about fast fashion and its impact on the planet, you could make upcycling or making your own clothing your hobby.
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- Build a Habit
Once you’ve found a hobby that interests you, it’s vital to make it a habit. Habits are often portrayed as negative actions, such as smoking or drinking alcohol to excess. However, habits can also be positive.
As James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says: “What you repeatedly do (i.e. what you spend time thinking about and doing each day) ultimately forms the person you are, the things you believe, and the personality that you portray.”
Scheduling time into your weekly routine and dedicating it to your new hobby is an excellent way to make it a habit. Ensure that you always keep your diary clear for this time and commit to using it for your hobby. You should soon find that this becomes a high point for your week and something you look forward to. From here, it will become so much easier to build up to spending more time pursuing your interests and enjoying the benefits this brings.
Final Thoughts
Nurturing a new hobby brings an array of benefits. So, if you’re looking to introduce more self care into your life using self help strategies, a new interest can be really advantageous.
Developing a hobby can help you reconnect with your values, build your resilience, and reduce your stress levels.
However, to enjoy these benefits, you need to choose the right hobby. Here’s a reminder of how you can choose the perfect pastime for you:
- Revisit your childhood interests for inspiration.
- Take a step out of your comfort zone and try something you’ve always wanted to do.
- Start a hobby that aligns with your values – choose an interest that’s meaningful to you.
- Make your new hobby a habit by setting aside time each week for your new interest.
Starting a new hobby can form part of a wider journey to reconnect with yourself and improve your wellbeing. If you would like further support on this journey, we can help. We offer coaching and counselling sessions to help you evaluate your life and guidance to help you make the positive changes you crave.
Summary
Do you ever feel like your life revolves around the things you need to do rather than the things you would like to do? With busy careers and lifestyles, so many people feel this way. But that doesn’t mean you need to maintain this status quo.
Developing a hobby is an excellent way to remedy this situation. When you have an interest that you’re passionate about, you can reconnect with your values, reduce stress, and even improve your health. But choosing the right hobby for you is essential.
If you haven’t had a hobby since you were a kid, choosing the right one for you can be tough. Looking back at your childhood can be an excellent place to start.
What did you enjoy doing as a kid? How did you occupy your time? Revisiting childhood interests can help you to reignite your passion for a hobby.
Next, think about something you would love to do if there were no limitations. Would you salsa dance, perform in a choir, or take up rollerskating? Stepping out of your comfort zone and doing things you’ve always wanted to try can build resilience and show you can achieve anything.
What matters to you? Thinking about your values is an excellent way to find a hobby that you love. When you’re passionate about something and truly believe in it, you will have a hobby that brings you joy and helps you feel connected to your authentic self.
Finally, make your new interest a habit. Habits aren’t always bad news. A habit that enriches you can bring huge benefits to your daily life. So, why not set aside some regular time in your schedule and dedicate it to your new interest? Your hobby will soon become the highlight of your week.