How hobbies can craft your mindset

Sometimes we struggle to prioritise our hobbies, especially when things get busy with work and other commitments. We shouldn’t have to justify wanting to spend our downtime doing things we enjoy. But all too often, we feel that time spent on hobbies is frivolous or unproductive when compared to more ‘serious’ pursuits. 

I hope this article gives you all the justification you need to spend time on the things you love. Whether you’re into sports, video gaming, cooking, or stamp collecting, by spending time on your hobby, you could be crafting a resilient and positive mindset without even realising it.

Right now, my main hobbies are yoga, fitness classes, and sewing. I’m going to use these to explain three ways in which hobbies can craft your mindset. 

Breaking down big goals

Knowing that achieving a big vision just means breaking it down into small, manageable steps is a game-changing mindset. When I first got my sewing machine out of the box, I didn’t even know how to turn it on, let alone make anything useful. Just today, I’ve used my sewing machine to make myself a bag to carry my yoga mat in! How did I get from zero to sewing hero? By breaking it down. Into tiny steps. By spending an afternoon just learning how to set up the machine. Another afternoon spent just practising sewing in a straight line. Over time, I built up the skills I needed and put them together to create my vision. 

We’ve all had that sinking feeling when you get landed with a new work project which feels impossibly huge. Practice taking on big, scary challenges through your hobbies. Teach yourself that big challenges are far less scary when you break them down, step by step. It’s better to take a tiny step forward than make no progress at all. 

Resilience

Whenever you do something challenging, you’re going to experience setbacks. When I take on a new sewing project, things inevitably go wrong at some point. I might sew the wrong sides of the material together, or cut through a stitch that was holding the whole piece together. It’s super frustrating, and sometimes I feel like giving up. But when you’ve got an end goal in mind (like completing my yoga bag), you pick yourself up and try again. It’s the same in a fitness class. Sometimes I just can’t manage five minutes of core exercises. But I don’t give up. I take a short rest if I need one, and then I try again. 

Hobbies are the perfect place to develop this kind of resilience in a safe, low-stakes environment. And, the resilience you develop will serve you well in much more serious work-related situations, too. You’ll know how to keep calm and carry on when things get tough. 

Confidence

There’s no better feeling than having overcome challenges to reach your goal. Whether it’s finally being able to do Malasana (Hindi squat) posture in yoga, or sewing my own yoga bag, my hobbies give me cause to celebrate! It’s a massive confidence boost when you finally achieve something which previously felt impossible. When you finally get there, you realise that you’re more capable than you thought and you can take on the next challenge with enthusiasm. 

Through hobbies, you can prove to yourself that you’re capable of doing whatever you set your mind to. Take this confidence with you into work and you’ll feel much less daunted by taking on new projects, roles and responsibilities. 

Give that neglected hobby some time

If you’ve got a neglected hobby, I hope you’ll consider giving it a bit more time. Spending time doing things you love needs no justification at all. But if you struggle to give yourself permission to do things ‘just for fun’, remember that building a resilient mindset will bring huge personal and professional benefits.