When you are not working or tied to other obligations and responsibilities, how do you spend your time? From my personal experiences, I have found that pursuing and dedicating time to hobbies or personal interests has a wide array of benefits. These include challenging or pushing yourself to new levels, meeting new people (which, in my experience, has led to great friendships), improving consistency, continued learning, and more.
In addition to all these benefits, something I truly love about dedicating time to hobbies is the simple pleasure of having something to look forward to. Hobbies bring joy to my life. This year, after moving back to my home state of Florida and reconnecting with family and friends, I have dedicated the most time to playing tennis and golf. While tennis has been something I have loved and played since I was young, golf was a new pursuit—something that stemmed from the persistence and convincing of my two older brothers. Had I not succumbed to their peer pressure, I might never have known how much I love the challenge of playing golf and learning all the intricacies and nuances of the game.
Nowadays, I find myself always looking for new hobbies to pursue or dedicating time to existing ones, which lately include reading more and fishing (not a bad place to fish either!). Sometimes, hobbies do not always stick. This is okay! I had the idea of learning to play the keyboard this year and bought a refurbished Yamaha keyboard based on a recommendation from my brother Isaiah. However, I haven’t made much progress because I found it doesn’t ignite much passion in me. This could definitely be a result of not dedicating enough time or not taking the right approach. I haven’t given up on it completely and will revisit it at some point. This ties back to the notion that you won’t always love every new hobby you try. But you will only know if you like it—or love it—if you try it.
An important facet of hobbies is that they are not a one-size-fits-all deal. Some hobbies are a better fit for certain people, and some individuals might excel at something that others might not. I also think it’s important to research the barriers to entry or the learning curve of the hobby you are pursuing. For example, if you want to learn to fly a plane, don’t expect to be able to do it in a week. Do your due diligence so you have realistic expectations and understand what you are getting into.
In my case, I learned this lesson with golf (the hard way). I went into it thinking I would be great because I have always been athletic and typically excel in sports I try. Golf quickly humbled me. After some lessons from the school of hard knocks, I realized it takes time to be “good” at golf. Once I accepted this, the game became much more enjoyable. I gained respect for the process and appreciated those really nice shots or shooting a personal best.
With all that being said, I encourage everyone in my life—whether it’s my partner, family, friends, or even random people I talk to in the grocery store—to try and pursue hobbies. Doing so can have tremendous benefits for personal development and overall mental well-being.