National Hobby Month

Weird and Surprising Facts

National Hobby Month - Ep22 - Show Notes
Today’s featured holiday is,. National Hobby Month…
In a 2015 post entitled, “Six Reasons to Get a Hobby”, published in “Psychology Today”, Jaime L. Kurtz, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Psychology at James Madison University, points to these six reasons to spend time pursuing a hobby:
* Hobbies help you structure your time.
* Hobbies promote flow.
* Hobbies can foster new social connections.
* Hobbies can make you interesting.
* Hobbies can help you cope with stress.
For benefit #6, Dr. Kurtz added, “And the benefits can spill over into other aspects of your life. If you can designate an hour a day or even a few hours a week for something you feel truly inspired and enlivened by, don’t be surprised if some of that newfound zest carries over into your work and family life!”
Dr. Kurtz in right on target. Here’s the paradox: typically, the more you look outside of your job and find activities you enjoy for no reason other than they create a sense of satisfaction and fun, the more professional success you’ll enjoy.
In my role as a success and anti-stress coach for Stress Solutions, LLC, I see many clients who are focused only on professional pursuits. “If I can get that promotion”, they say, “then I can be happy.” “If I can make another $20,000 a year, then I can breathe more easily”.
My first task is to teach clients stress and emotional first aid. NO ONE can achieve peak performance when when their stress engine is running at top speed. We’re simply not wired for long-tern chronic stress. Chronic stress sets us up for physical illness and unhappiness.
After clients learn, apply, and benefit from those self-care stress mastery tools, it’s then time to let them discover that long-term happiness and success begins with looking at and dealing with their lives in a holistic way.
Helping them identify and engage in hobbies that give them a sense of emotional satisfaction is an important part of my client coaching work.
How You Can Discover the Perfect Hobby
So how can you identify at least one pastime, one hobby, that you’ll enjoy?
First, think about what you enjoyed in middle and high school. Did you play a musical instrument? Where you in chorus? Did you act in school plays? Did you enjoy camping, rock climbing, hiking, or other outdoor activities?
How about building model cars or planes? Did you enjoy model railroading? This can be a wonderful pastime to share with your children or grandchildren.
To often as we move into our adult lives, we get too busy to participate in activities we enjoyed when we were young. Recall how you felt when doing these activities so many years ago. Really get into the memories. How do you feel when thinking about those activities now? Is there a sense of excitement or anticipation about revisiting those activities?
What magazines or online publications do you read? I’m not talking about professional publications. Are you drawn to outdoor magazines, boating, golf? Have you ever wanted to paint, but thought, “I don’t have any talent”. How do you know? Try it and see what happens.
Are you keen to learn about your family’s genealogy? This can be a great pastime and a good way to engage with other extended family members beyond Thanksgiving dinner.
Is there something you’ve wanted to learn, but never have? Martial arts training is physically and emotionally rewarding for many people. Adult or even regular community college courses can be a great way explore a topic to see if it fires your interest.
Many years ago I took a six week TV and video production course at D.C. University. That lead to me taking additional training to become a volunteer TV producer for my County’s public access cable station. It was great fun, and I still use the skills I learned those many years ago in my audio, podcasting and video production work.
This is a great time to explore hobby options. You’ll feel happier and you may even become healthier. Your sense of purpose, fun, and well-being will grow exponentially.
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This is your host, Stephen Carter, reminding you, this day is special, and so are you. Have fun, smile, and enjoy your special day.