Thirty One Days Of Happiness Tips Day 16

By -
                                                      Image:Free-Photos from Pixabay

Wikipedia says a hobby is 'an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.' Cambridge Dictionary gives the definition of pleasure as 'enjoyment, happiness, or satisfaction or something that gives this.' Today's happiness tip is to spend time enjoying a hobby.
Do you enjoy spending time on a hobby? You have probably noticed having a hobby can make you happier. Involvement in a hobby can also make you healthier. Research has shown a hobby can reduce stress, lower heart rate and make a person happier not just while they are actively involved with the hobby but hours later. A hobby also gives one something to look forward to.
When a person is very involved with paid work, a career, bringing up children or caring for a family member who is frail aged or has a disability they may feel they don’t have time for a hobby. Years ago I found myself in this position. When I was asked what I did in my spare time I would answer that I used to enjoy creative writing, taking photos, pottery, gardening and creating recipes.

I am fortunate to once again have time to enjoy hobbies.
Hobbies can take many forms. What one person may consider a hobby another may regard as 'work'. For some a hobby becomes a way of making money either as a side hustle or as their main source of income. These factors may have an influence on whether a hobby increases happiness or not, I don't know but it's a possibility.
Examples of hobbies
There are many hobbies and just a few are -
  • quilting
  • pottery
  • ceramics
  • knitting
  • writing poetry
  • writing short stories
  • gardening
  • reading
  • sketching
  • oil painting
  • mosaics
  • embroidery
  • team sports such as basketball,cricket etc
  • swimming
  • cooking
  • playing the piano
  • playing guitar
  • photography
  • blogging
  • chess
  • woodwork
  • restoring furniture
  • word puzzles
  • hiking
What happens when you are absorbed in your hobby?
When you are concentrating on your hobby and not being distracted you get into a state of 'flow', sometimes called 'in the zone'. Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard University carried out research which showed people who had experienced this state of flow reported feeling happier for as many as three days afterwards. They also felt a higher level of creativity and were more productive for the same amount of time.
Other ways hobbies can contribute to happiness
Some hobbies are done with a group of people and connecting socially with others is known to be a factor in happiness. http://simpleselfimprovement.blogspot.com/2020/03/thirty-one-days-of-happiness-tips-day-13.html Having a hobby gives you something interesting to talk about with others. You may make new friends through your hobby. I belong to a writers' group where I have made new friends and we sometimes get together for a meal or coffee in addition to meetings.
Some hobbies involve getting exercise and being active contributes to happiness. http://simpleselfimprovement.blogspot.com/2020/03/thirty-one-days-of-happiness-tips-day-3.html Perhaps your hobby is an activity known to boost happiness such as gardening.

A hobby is fun and having fun increases your happiness. For further information about the benefits of hobbies, take a look at -

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Personal Growth, Changing my Mind, Learning, Growing as a person

By -
Image
  Image by Marie Vonow   Hi there, I haven't blogged here for about a year because I had intended to abandon this blog. Recently I noticed people are still reading some of my posts so decided to do a weekly blog post and see how things go. When I am full of inspiration I may post more often, perhaps. This blog will be more about Personal Growth rather than strictly on the topic of Self Improvement. I was heading in this direction when I updated my goals a couple of years ago. As time goes by I find I want to keep changing and growing as a person but I am no longer interested in constantly chasing self improvement.
Read more

Thirty One Days Of Happiness Tips Day 22

By -
Image
                                                                                                           Image:Marie Vonow Today's happiness tip is be willing to adapt. This is particularly relevant as I write this post because the coronavirus is forcing us to change how we carry out our daily lives. We don't ever know what the future will bring but sometimes unexpected events can turn our lives upside down. Being willing to adapt is more likely to make one happy than mourning the need to make changes. Psychologist and author Guy Winch, Ph.D. says, 'Our ability to have life satisfaction, to be happy [and] to have good relationships really depends on our ability to adapt.' This ability to adapt comes more easily to some than others.  Some people are organisers and will plan their life in great detail but find it difficult to cope with major changes which are out of their control. There are those who simply like things to stay the same. For oth
Read more

Sometimes I Don't Want To Be Mindful

By -
Image
                                                                                                    Image:Marie Vonow These days we are provided with much information and many opinions on the topic of how to live a happier life. Hey, the topic of this blog is simple ways to live a happier life. Some of the ideas I read or hear about are ones I basically agree with or support most of the time, but not all the time. An example of this is the concept of living in the moment or being mindful. Yes, I do believe in living in the moment rather than reflecting extensively on the past or concentrating on the future. Some of my blog posts give suggestions for ways to live in the moment, the benefits of doing so and some quotes relating to mindfulness. However, this post is about why there are times I most definitely don't want to be mindful. I think the best way to make my point is to share a poem I wrote recently. Sometimes I Don't Want To Live In The Moment
Read more