Importance of having a hobby

What’s a hobby? A hobby is any task that you perform in your leisure time for pleasure. It could be reading, knitting, baking, coloring, art or anything that gives you mental relaxation and satisfaction.

Doesn’t sound like anything special, right? But did you know that having a hobby is one of the most recommended things to do by doctors, psychologists and therapists around the world? Want to know what the hype is all about? Here are 7 good reasons why having a hobby is more important than you think.

Lets your mind unwind.

The most basic reason is relaxation and pleasure. There is no better way to spend your free time than doing something that relaxes you, helps your mind unwind and calms you down.

Self confidence and self esteem.

A hobby is a task that you like doing and do it repeatedly. Naturally, it is a task that you think you are good at or something that you want to improve in. Doing this task before you start your day, in your free time or at the end of your long schedule boosts your self confidence and self esteem and helps you either take on the long day ahead or feel motivated for the next day.

Healthy for the mind.

Indulging in a good hobby makes sure you are occupied and busy in your free time. Now being busy doesn’t mean you start doing your assignments in your free time (Although if that’s what makes you happy, go right ahead! Who am I to judge?). It basically means that you invest your attention into something that keeps your mind occupied yet relaxed, if that makes sense. Like crosswords, cooking, puzzles, reading literature, watching movies. This prevents sitting idly and over thinking, thus preventing a lot of mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

Learning new skills.

Changing hobbies or improving in them helps you gain more information and experience in a particular subject or field. The more you want to get better at your hobby, the more knowledge you ultimately gain. Who doesn’t want that?

Teaches you patience.

Whatever hobby you select, let’s be real, you’re going to suck at it when you start. You start a hobby simply because it attracts you or seems interesting to you but it takes time while you learn it and eventually get better at it. This subconsciously teaches you patience. A hobby is the best way to do that because you will never want to continue doing something you’re not good at, if it doesn’t attract you, right?

Prevents wastage of time.

Having a good hobby will obviously prevent you from adopting bad habits and wasting your time with useless things that are not good for you.

Develops you as a person.

Having a hobby is not only good for your brain and your body but is also an essential part of your personality development. The kind of hobbies you have ultimately decides what kind of likes and dislikes you have and what your company is going to be like. It decides how you spend your free time and what your thought process is.

Having a hobby is underrated in our society and that’s sad. There should be better ways of spending free time than being a couch potato. What’s your favorite hobby? We’d love to know.