This is the first installment in an ongoing series on hobbies. I’ll spend the rest of ‘Part 0’ extolling the virtues of ‘the hobby’, and subsequent posts in the series will consist of short but thorough explorations of particular hobbies. Through this series, I hope that you will be energized to take up a new hobby or dust off an old one; it’s never too early or too late.
I’ve been a hobbyist my whole life. My first hobby was collecting. Some kids collected specific things like stamps, but my collecting habits weren’t as focused. I had a drawer dedicated to what I called ‘my collection’ which consisted of anything that caught my eye, like interesting rocks, pieces of metal, bottle caps, marbles, and everything in between. I’ve continued collecting throughout my life, but these days I collect hobbies. I’ve taken up fishing, camping, hiking, woodworking, building computers, drawing, golf, disc golf, sailing, guitar, singing, reading, swimming, skiing and that just scratches the surface.
In my 33 years as a hobbyist, I’ve learned a thing or two about the mind-altering advantages of having a hobby. I’ve also become proficient in a rather large number of them and I want to share what I know in the hopes of inspiring you to try something new.
7 Reasons You Should Get a Hobby
- Hobbies are fun! A good hobby is challenging but thoroughly enjoyable. And who couldn’t use more joy in their life?
- Hobbies are play. As kids, we knew how to play without being told, but as adults, many of us have forgotten. This is very unfortunate because it turns out that play is actually incredibly beneficial to our health. Play relieves stress, stimulates our minds and our creativity, heals emotional wounds, improves our physical health, and can even boost our productivity.
- A hobby fills your autonomy tank. We each have an autonomy tank and it gets emptied by the demands others place on us. The only way to fill it up is by meeting our own demands. A hobby is about YOU. Just you and whatever world you want to create. A hobby is not about your partner, kids, family, or boss, but it will make you a better partner, parent, family member, or colleague.
- Nearly 100% of interesting people you will ever meet in your life have hobbies. This is because interesting people find things interesting. Having a hobby is a necessary condition of interestingness.
- A hobby helps you connect with other people. There are online and in-person communities for every hobby, and many hobbies involve a social component. Hobbies are a point of connection in a conversation and can help you deepen relationships or even start new ones.
- Hobbies teach you about life. It doesn’t matter what the hobby is, there are universal truths to be learned from every interest. Hobbies teach you how to learn, develop skills, overcome challenges, and much more.
- Hobbies teach you about yourself. A hobby will teach you just as much about your abilities as it will your deficits. If you can be gentle with yourself, a hobby is an excellent place to begin to confront aspects of yourself that you would like to change. You’ll be the only one watching.
Hobbies are excellent tools for self-expression and exploration. They are completely voluntary and unfettered pursuits. They’re simply about you. Your interests. And how you want to explore them. There are very few things in life with these qualities that also come with such a long list of benefits to you and those around you.
So, for yourself and the good of those you love…get a hobby.
MW 
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