When we talk about necessities in life hobbies don't seem to ever make the cut. When someone asks "What do you need?" the more common answers stem from the basics - food, sleep, a quiet moment. And while those are all the right answers at some point, there are levels to needs. And within those levels, hobbies are self-care too.
Hobbies are a necessity in life. You need to have an outlet beyond running "busy" errands and making sure your background is semi-decent for the next Zoom meeting. While having a certain level of productivity under your belt can feel great it isn't anything close to being a hobby. And eventually, it just isn't enough to sustain a sense of self-care.
Zoning in on your creative outlet will help you regularly de-stress and build your self-care resources to refocus and recharge. Don't know what your hobby is? Take some time to explore what it could be. What kinds of things interest you? Where do you like to be the most? There's a ton of information available online for beginner level just about anything. And right now pros and hobbyists alike are dying to share their creative skills with people who want to learn something new or jump back in where they left off.
Is there something you really love to do or have always wanted to try? What feeling are you hoping to achieve with your hobby? Start finding pathways to those things. I've listed some of the go-to hobbies that I love to regularly include as part of my self-care.
Nature & Photography
I've never been a city girl, minus that one time I lived in Houston, I love to pause and look up too much! I grew up cloud-watching and being in awe of the things that happen in nature whether we're looking or not. I try to take my cameras as many places as we're willing to carry them around. We went on a family nature walk a couple of weeks ago (our first in a while since everything happened last year) and I brought my camera with me to see what memories we could capture and bring back. Between the 5 of us, we had snapped over 100 pictures! I think over the two days we went we walked 5 miles and it was just the most freeing feeling.
Amateur Gardener
A couple of years ago I committed to learning how to take care of the plants my husband loves to grow and it grew into a love of gardening. This year I'm working on adding a tea garden that I can't wait to share.
Reading
So I think reading is a hobby because it isn't something you have to do and it can be so enjoyable. I joke with my family that one day I'm going to turn a library into our home, though I'm pretty serious about it. Currently reading through Plantopedia and Chakras & Self-Care.
Those are my go-to hobbies currently but yours could be anything and don't be afraid to switch it up when it's time to shift into something else. I've listed some ideas below to get things started. I'd love to hear more about what you decide on. Remember, the key to getting started is to decide the feeling you want to achieve.
