Whether you enjoy shooting some hoops on the basketball court or learning new songs on the piano, hobbies in moderation are highly beneficial to a professional’s well-being in more ways than you think. In addition to acting as a tension reliever, as one article in HealthGuidance.org indicates, hobbies also fuel an overall sense of balance and fulfillment—and this is likely to transfer to your 9-6 work-life.
Think about it—after a hard day’s work, going home and being lethargic around the couch offers less opportunities of fueling your self-confidence and livelihood than if you practice a new skill, like playing the guitar, photography, dancing, or anything that strikes your curiosity.
Hobbies can not only develop and better your overall wellbeing but also boost your professional career by:
#1 Building Self-Confidence
Doing something for yourself—something that you enjoy—is essential in sustaining mental health and self-esteem. In fact, experts say that hobbies act as “mentally healthy outlets for overall wellbeing,” according to doctors at Joy Miller and Associates, a counseling and wellness services company. Consistently practicing and improving on your hobby for a small portion of your day will fuel self-confidence in your ability to successfully accomplish a variety of tasks.
#2 Balancing Work-Life:
Picking up a hobby is a great way to develop a personal life outside of the responsibilities of work and family. It gives you a chance to temporarily take your mind off of your day-to-day tasks and focus on the bigger picture.
Of course, your employer should allow sufficient work-life balance in order to allocate some amount of time after work to practice your hobby. If you’re considering a new job, you can research what employees are saying about their work-life happiness at various companies by reading company reviews
#3 Fueling Your Drive:
WebMD study looks at the correlation between patients with and without hobbies prior to surgery, and finds “the participants with hobbies tended to have more drive and interest in things and other people.” In fact, C. David Jenkins, PhD, author of Building Better Health: A Handbook of Behavioral Change told WebMD that, “It was a more active orientation to life.” This means that motivation to practice and accomplish your hobbies is likely to transfer into other parts of your life as well, including your career.
#4 Reducing Stress
Stress is an inevitable consequence for working professionals—what with deadlines, meetings, and performance reviews. However, hobbies are proven to reduce the stress that comes with work, which in-turn helps you improve your attitude at work. In fact, one study in the Journal of Postgraduate Medicine studies stress in medical students at Seth G.S. Medical College, and they found that “hobbies was the most common stress relieving factor.”
#5 Expanding your Network:
Learning new skills and diving into new niches is likely to increase connectivity to new social circles. With your new hobby as a shared interest, you can expand your personal network, which is always good for your professional life in the long run. With your new hobby, you can join groups, clubs, and forums to discuss your progress and further explore your shared interest with likeminded people. If you don’t already know of social groups that center around your hobby, consider taking a look at such social networking sites as Meetup.com
All of the above are positive ways in which hobbies can indirectly improve your success in your career. No matter which hobby you choose, dedicating yourself to an enjoyable interest will likely fuel your self-esteem, help you become well-rounded, harness motivation, manage stress, and meet new people. All of these positive characteristics can leverage your professional life as well.
This article was contributed by Copywriter Ritika Trikha from CareerBliss.com, a career community dedicated to helping people find happiness in the workplace.