Welcome to the Positive Pulse blog! Check in with us each month for tips on healthy living, right on our website. A short snippet will be featured in the NJSAP monthly newsletter as well, which you can sign up for here.
This month’s topic is hobbies! Cooking, sports, dancing, painting, traveling… the possibilities are endless when it comes to finding a hobby that suits you. January is National Hobby Month, so we encourage you to go beyond your regular routine and expand your list of hobbies and share the ones you love with others!
The word origin of “hobby” can be traced back to the 16th century word “hobyn” meaning “small horse and pony.” This lead to the term “hobby horse”or “to ride one’s hobby horse” meaning “to follow one’s favorite pastime.” The term “hobby” grew to be associated with recreation and leisure as it is still used today. With the technological advances our society has made over the centuries, more people have free time to follow their personal pursuits. What was once seen as unnecessary or a “hate of time”, is now a source of enjoyment, can be used to unwind, and sometimes can even provide a financial reward.
How can hobbies benefit us? Hobbies help you structure your time. If you have all day to get that work project done, you might procrastinate and work on and off. Chances are, if you had soccer practice or a book club meeting that night, you would get those tasks done much more quickly to ensure you have time. So, hobbies can seem to create more time by encouraging efficiency.
Hobbies promote flow. If you’ve ever lost yourself in a sport, art project, or other challenging, absorbing activity, you’ve experienced flow. You are fully immersed in the activity at hand and time passes impossibly quick. Hobbies, especially those that test our skills, foster this desirable state.
Hobbies can also foster new social connections. While some hobbies are done solo, many get us out in our communities, meeting people we otherwise wouldn’t. Countless studies have found that social connection is a key component of happiness and a meaningful life, and hobbies have the potential to create these relationships.
Hobbies make you interesting.They give you something to talk about while chatting with others, especially when meeting new people. They add layers to your identity and personality. People want to be around others with passion and stories to tell. You’ll feel inspired and you can inspire others in turn.
If you can designate an hour a day or even a few hours a week for something you that brings you joy, your sure to be living a healthier life!
REFERENCES: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-trails/201509/six-reasons-get-hobby
