Hobbies provide us with physical and mental health benefits, like reduced stress, increased self-esteem, enhanced focus, and improved cardiovascular health. They sometimes even provide a social outlet, contributing even further to these health benefits. These benefits make hobbies well worth our time and energy to pursue and prioritize in our personal lives.
Pursuing hobbies is easier than ever with access to the internet because it makes it simple to find instructions, inspiration, and like-minded people to keep you engaged, learning, and interested in a hobby. But with this ease of access comes a conundrum: how do you choose the right hobby for yourself? This article will help you choose a hobby and provide ideas to help you find an activity that will deliver entertainment, enjoyment, and health benefits.
How to Choose a Hobby
With access to remote courses, blogs, YouTube, and other online platforms, there are many ways to explore our hobbies and learn new ones. The sheer number of options can cause decision paralysis, leaving us too overwhelmed to choose. However, breaking the process of choosing a hobby into small steps makes it exciting and interesting instead of overwhelming. The first step is to consider your interests and goals.
1. Consider Your Interests and Goals
Take time to list and review the activities that you enjoy and have always wanted to try. This can provide a basic framework of your creative, intellectual, and physical interests to guide your decision-making.
You may also want to consider your goals, whether they’re personal or professional, as this allows you to find options that will help you achieve them faster. Maybe you’d love to expand your language skills and employment options by learning a second language. In this case, learning a new language could be the perfect fit by giving you something fulfilling for your personal life that enhances your resume. Maybe you want to earn extra income to reach your financial goals, so consider a monetizable hobby. Or perhaps you want to feel stronger and more confident in your own skin. If that’s the case, exploring physical hobbies like yoga, dance, or weightlifting could help you achieve this feeling.
Beyond your goals, take a moment to ask yourself why you want to start a new hobby? This will help you find motivation to stick to a new activity and point you toward activities that align with your purpose. For instance, if you want to add relaxation into your usual routine, challenging hobbies like language learning or rock climbing likely won’t be the best fit.
2. Research and Explore
Once you know your interests and goals, start researching available options. Visit websites and blogs, watch videos, and ask friends and family for recommendations. Doing these things will reveal different avenues for pursuing goals and provide insight into what to expect from the hobby.
In your research, you might come across online platforms like Coursera and MasterClass to learn a new language or how to cook. You may realize that YouTube has everything you need to learn knitting or drawing. You may even find review sites that provide insights into the quality of different platforms so you’re not spending time on ones that won’t align with you. For instance, gamers may turn to sites that have tested hundreds of slots websites or video game apps before dedicating time and money to options they may not enjoy.
The insight from others who have already tried and fallen in love with a hobby can help you determine whether it aligns with your needs. For instance, if a friend recommends a virtual book club because it fosters reading and social connection, you might find the social aspect doesn’t align with what you’re looking for. You may simply want to read more without any added social pressure. In this case, you might refine your research to look for solo reading options, like apps that track your reading habits and progress, such as Bookly, and sites that provide reading materials like Audible and Libby.
3. Evaluate Practical Considerations
As you research and narrow down options, you’ll want to assess a few important elements that will impact how practical a hobby is for you. Consider the time commitment a hobby requires and whether it fits your schedule. If you were to take virtual music lessons, can you commit to it every week and practice daily between lessons? Or do you need a hobby to pick up and set aside whenever you have time? In that case, something you can do at your own pace, like painting and embroidery, might be a better fit. Consider how you’ll fit your hobby into your daily and weekly routine to assess whether it’s a practical fit for your lifestyle.
Some hobbies, such as photography and learning an instrument, can be costly and require specialized equipment. As you research, you’ll want to consider the costs of a hobby and whether you have room in you activerain for it. You can look for opportunities to minimize these costs with free trials and rentals and see if you can borrow equipment from friends or family if the costs currently exceed your budget. If you’re uncertain about a hobby, these options are also useful before making a financial commitment.
4. Explore Through Trial and Error
Once you’ve explored your options and the practical factors of a hobby, you can experiment with new hobbies and online platforms to pursue them. If you’re using YouTube to learn to dance, try a few different YouTubers to see which teaching styles resonate the best with you. If you’re pursuing a more structured and formal class, use free trials to see if you like the instructors and class structures. By experimenting with the different options at your disposal, you’ll find the best one for you. This will keep you engaged in a new activity so you can enjoy the benefits of having a hobby that stimulates your mind and body in the exact ways you need.
