In defense of hobbies

I have friends who have exited businesses for large amounts of money, resulting in an instant retirement with no financial care in the world. Suddenly, they have tons of free time and can do anything they want to do.

That might sound enviable, but be careful what you wish for. In transparent moments, those friends will often admit that their new life has been challenging. They talk about loss of purpose, loss of identity, restlessness, and boredom.

Here’s why: Humans are designed to be busy, and we are happiest when we are busy and have tension in our lives. When we get bored, for better or worse, we tend to find a way to generate some excitement. In fact, if you stop and think about it, that is the role that sports plays in society. Sports provide humans with busyness and tension.

I bring this up because many of us are retired or thinking about retiring, and others are in jobs that are either not fulfilling or demanding. Some of us are now empty-nesters without the time demands of parenting. As a result, a lot of us probably face (or will soon face) the same restlessness and boredom that my wealthy friends face.

If you find the idea of doing nothing unappetizing, that is normal. There is simply not much fun or meaning in “killing time.”

If you are dealing with what I am talking about, I want to encourage you to be intentional about finding solutions. And, while hobbies are often denigrated in society as non-important, they are one of those solutions.

Hobbies are beneficial in many ways, including emotional and physical health, especially when aging. Here are just a few of the proven ways that hobbies improve your life during aging.

• Increased brain function
• Increased creativity
• Decreased stress
• Increased happiness
• Better relationships and more social connections
• Increased self-esteem
• Increased physical health

The benefits of hobbies have been widely studied, as discussed here in this article from Harvard. In fact, you can find enormous amounts of data about this topic on health websites across the web.

I get that there is a perception about hobbies as being unimportant. I get it: building furniture in the garage may not be as important as the work you used to do. But, don’t underestimate the importance of having that hobby, not just for yourself but for the people around you. Hobbies make the world a better place for all of us.

Give yourself permission to find some.

Photo by Nik on Unsplash