Find Your Passion: Making Room for Hobbies
Summer is coming and that means it’s time to dust off your favorite hobbies, or start new ones – and no, we’re not talking about binge-watching the latest season of a guilty-pleasure TV series! Instead, why not put down the remote and pick up a knitting needle, a fishing pole, a glue-gun, or maybe dust off the fancy cookware under the counter and get busy on some hobby fun?
Hobbies help make our lives more fulfilling, so let’s first take a look at the many reasons how our passions lead to our hobbies, and how best to make maximum time and room for what we love. Some of these reasons include:
- Creativity: It is part of our human nature to convey our inner being through outward expression. Our unique originality, inventiveness, resourcefulness, and vision come through in our hobbies;
- Community: Our hobbies bring us into communities of other people that share our passions. Whether it is painting, or building models, or helping children find their passions, hobbies become a way to share enriching and enjoyable time with others;
- Self-Esteem Building: Spending time doing what we are interested in and what we love grows our inner happy place. Hobbies bring us towards a greater understanding of who we are, puts contented smiles on our faces and helps us to hone useful skills;
- Stress Reduction: Our hobbies take us away from life-stressors like work, health issues, or other life changes that bring stress. Spending time with what we have a passion for helps to make a stress/happiness balance;
- Fulfillment: Feeling like our lives are fulfilling is what we strive towards. Hobbies create a space where we can enrich our lives and the lives of others.
Our passions in life can become our rewarding hobbies. Finding fulfilling hobbies start with determining what you love, enjoy, and value. Some creative techniques on how to discover your new hobby include:
- Remember what you loved when you were a child. Was it painting, or building with blocks, or maybe creating sand castles? Perhaps it was playing with toy airplanes or communing with nature. Did you love to dance? Did you sing out loud or play an instrument? Children naturally gravitate towards what fulfills their hearts. Taking a walk down memory lane will open up many hobby avenues you can explore. It is just the right time to find your inner child and bring back the fulfillment!
- Explore different hobby opportunities that are in alignment with your passions. Gather ideas by taking field trips to hobby stores, craft centers, or community events to get your hobby juices flowing. If you enjoyed coloring or painting as a child, take the family to your local art gallery.
Did you love your time in Boy or Girl Scouts? Then take your badges out and remember what you excelled in. Maybe it was cooking or building bird houses. Take a trip to a cooking store or nature center to rekindle lost loves. Every city has a community paper that list events, new stores or happenings about town. Gather up your family and friends and use these free guides to explore!
- Dedicate yourself to the time, resources, and space you need to bring your passions to life. Invest in your hobby life without guilt. Hobbies you add value to your life and are worth every penny. You and your family benefit from your new found dedication to your hobby life.
- Create with abandon and bliss. Summer is a great time to find you and your family’s hobby life. The possibilities are endless, time to get started. Let your inner child soar!
Now that you’ve explored ways to discover hobbies, get ready to remember, explore, dedicate and create! Here are some tips to get started and keep going:
- Develop your hobby goals. Goal-setting includes committing to hobby time and dedicating space in your home. Schedule time for you and your family’s hobby exploration. Next, take a look around at your space and determine if you need to clear away physical workspaces for yourself and supplies.
You may need to clean out closets or garage spaces to make way for new hobby supplies. Decluttering areas in your home to make way for fun family hobbies is a great way to let in inspiration! Set a goal to donate useable items that you no longer need to worthy organizations, such as the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). How to schedule a donation pickup with the VVA is located at the end of this blog. Its quick and easy!
- Now that you’ve prepped a little corner of your world for your hobbies, the next step is to assess the supplies that make your hobby come to life. If it’s cooking you’re in to, check your spices for sell-by dates and toss out any stale ones. If painting’s your jam, maybe new brushes are in order. Gardening? Treat yourself to new gardening how-to book. Remember that hobbies are supposed to be rewarding escapes from the day-to-day grind…so don’t hesitate to find ways to augment your collection of supplies, which will in turn augment your hobby life!
Regardless of the hobby you’re nourishing, remember that through time your hobby life will change and welcome these changes by celebrating the opportunity to explore another aspect of who you are and what you love. Perhaps your now inspired to develop a brand new hobby. If so, you probably have hobby supplies that you no longer use, so be sure to pass the equipment and supplies on to someone who might love it as much as you did! Hobby supplies like sports equipment, hand tools, and kitchenware can be donated to the VVA! What a great way to give to others and create space for your new passions.
Life is an amazing, fulfilling place. Creating time and space for your interests and passions makes the journey that much sweeter. Now you’re ready to make a hobby out of living a fun life. Just remember that when it is time to develop a hobby life or refresh the one you have, make space by donating your unused items to the VVA! Give others the opportunity to find their passions and creativity while you develop your own.
America’s Best Donation Pickup Program
