Leadership of Self Development through Hobbies

Leadership of Self extends outside of the workplace, the classroom, or the field. One of the ways people can enhance their lives, while also learning how to be a better leader, is through identifying and fostering hobbies. Most importantly, finding & making time for your hobbies is the key to personal growth.

Simply defined, a hobby is an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. There are two major challenges that a lot of people face when it comes to hobbies. The first is feeling like you don’t have any hobbies and the second is struggling to find the time to dedicate to them.

Finding a Hobby

Finding a hobby that truly resonates with you and provides a level of fulfillment is challenging for everyone. When we’re young, it’s easy. We get encouraged to try different sports, or musical instruments, or art classes. As we grow up and mature, these hobbies thrust upon as children can often start to fall to the wayside, being replaced by “real” responsibilities.

In addition to these responsibilities, our interests shift and change. As adults, the things that we derive enjoyment from can be dramatically different than when we were kids. When looking for a new hobby, start by taking stock of what you already know and love. It could be anything from fitness & sports, to art or creative writing, to training your wonderful dog to be a therapy animal. Maybe as a child, you participated in some activity that brought you joy then, but haven’t had a chance to do it as an adult. Revisit these youthful hobbies to see if they still bring you joy.

Still not sure where to go with a new hobby? Here are a few websites to help you explore new hobbies!

Finding the Time

Whether you already have a hobby, or are in the process of identifying what you want to tackle next, finding the time can often be a challenge. We all have so many responsibilities that we need to manage on a day-to-day basis, so working in some time to dedicate to a hobby or two may seem like a daunting task.

Start with taking an inventory of how you spend your time. In the same way that you set aside time for routine, yet infrequent, tasks like a doctor appointment or a spa reservation, you can set aside time for hobbies. When looking at how you currently spend your time – what are the non-productive ways you can cut into?

Whether it’s mindlessly watching TV or unnecessarily scrolling through social media on your phone, there’s a solid chance that you can reallocate some time to personal development through hobbies. While there’s nothing wrong with these “time wasting” tasks, or taking mental breaks from time to time, there’s always room for improvement. Utilizing these moments that are unproductive to invest time into yourself will only help develop your Leadership of Self.

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