In my apartment, I have a wall of paintings that is slowly continuing to grow.
It’s one hobby that I’ve picked up that is only for me.
I’ve thought about selling them, but then it becomes work, and I don’t want that to be a thing.
Painting, when I do it, is one of my releases–a way for me to leave work behind and create.
It’s been said there are 5 hobbies you should develop in your life, so let’s talk about them briefly.
1. A hobby to expand your social circle.
You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
I saw this in my life when I started at my current institution.
It took all of two months before I started to use a similar language as others around me.
How you use this reality to your advantage makes all the difference.
Find a hobby to expand your circle of friends and grow into an even better person.
2. A hobby to practice your creativity.
As I talked about earlier, I picked up painting about a year and a half ago.
And while I could have monetized it by selling paintings, it’s just for me.
It’s just so that I can be creative.
And very well may be some gifts for holidays and birthdays going forward.
But at its core, it’s there for me to just create from nothing.
You need that to have something that you can just relax and enjoy.
3. A hobby to grow your knowledge.
A hobby that I’ve picked up to grow my knowledge happens to be Sudoku puzzles.
And not the kind that my grandmother would do in her chair on Sunday afternoons.
I watch a channel on YouTube called Cracking the Cryptic where the solvers tackle insane puzzles (to me, at least).
And I’ve found that my skills have gotten better.
Growing your knowledge is not just learning new facts, but new ways to tackle problems before you.
4. A hobby to keep you in shape.
Right now, if you haven’t seen me talk about it before, I’m rowing to complete a challenge that’s 2,183 miles long.
After I finish this challenge, rowing will likely remain a part of my daily routine at half the current distance.
I’ve found that I want to look into taking a martial arts or boxing class of some type.
You deserve to be as healthy as you can and to honor your body the way it deserves.
5. A hobby to earn money.
Until the world changes drastically and we go back to bartering, money will be a thing.
So, for me, my hobby is this.
Writing.
And eventually coaching.
The goal is to build a sustainable hobby that also provides you with enough money to become work-optional.