How to discover a hobby or passion?

Lately, when I say “Create the time for what you truly love doing, for your favourite hobby or passion.”, I often hear: “I’m not sure what my hobby or passion is or how to discover it”. There are 3 important questions and 3 scenarios which you find in this article which I use not only in my workshops or in conversations with loved ones but also for myself, to put things into perspective.

First of all: Our hobbies and passions can (and will most likely) change. At least mine have changed over time and they keep changing. If they stay the same in your case, that’s great too. Let’s quickly talk about the difference between hobbies and passions: Hobbies are based on enjoyment and usually something we do in our “spare time” and passions are something bigger as in certain ideas, beliefs or values, that you could even turn into a career. A hobby can of course become a passion, if we think about it all the time and want to develop it further, get better at it etc. In this blog, the difference isn’t so important though. The goals is to discover an activity that brings you joy.

Here are 3 BASIC QUESTIONS I invite you to answer for yourself. If you can: write questions & answers down:

1. What did you love to do (as a child/teenager/young adult/adult) before you had so many responsibilities, when you still had more time for yourself? Which moment of the day/week/month/year were you most excited about/looking forward to?
   
   
2. During what activity do you forget about time? (Something you start doing and then hours and hours go by and you don’t even notice it, you (almost) don’t look at your phone, it’s as if time stood still.) That (activity/place/person/…) that makes everything else seem completely irrelevant?
   
   
3. During/after what activity do you feel really good? What activity/place/person gives you a complete sense of wellbeing? A sense of feeling at peace with yourself, a sense of happiness, enjoyment and/or satisfaction?
   
   Going through these questions, there are 3 SCENARIOS:

1. Was it easy for you to answer these questions?
   If you were able to answer quickly with a certain hobby/passion: Amazing. Create the time in your calendar for that activity and just try it out to see if it is still something you enjoy doing – especially if it’s something you haven’t done in a while. Give it a go.
   (If it’s hard for you to create the time, I recommend you this article: https://littlehealthyhabits.com/taking-the-time-for-your-priorities/)
   
   
2. Are you exhausted and can only think of covering “basic needs”?
   Yes, that’s human and very normal too. Don’t worry. We have many responsibilities as adults and there are many people who answer they just feel like sleeping or eating or they just want a day for themselves doing nothing. That’s completely fine. Listen to your body. Cover your physical/mental/emotional/spiritual needs first and then think about these questions again in another moment, when you feel you have the energy for it.
   
   
3. Do you feel ready but just have a really hard time discovering an activity you enjoy?
   This is really exciting! Dare to explore and try different things.
   Maybe you haven’t had (m)any hobbies when you were younger/before all your responsibilities or maybe you have just changed or your lifestyle hasn’t really allowed you to keep going with the hobbies you liked. That’s all OK. The past is the past. Let’s focus on the now and ask yourself: What am I most curious about? What did I see or hear over the last weeks (eg. during a conversation, in the news(paper), on social media etc.) where I thought: “I wish I’d knew how to do that.” Or “I would love to try that one day.”? Now is the moment to try exactly that. And if you feel comfortable with them: Share the idea with your friends/family/partner/kids. Ask them for help if it’s necessary.
   If you still don’t know what to try then I recommend to inspire yourself in your loved ones. What are your friends’/family’s/kids’ hobbies? Have you ever gone with them? Have you ever told your closest people that you would like to find a new hobby? They usually know you well so they might have some great ideas?
   Or just think about your loved ones’ hobbies or your work colleagues’ hobbies and if one of those could be potentially interesting for you.
   And whatever idea you come up with: It’s all about taking the first step. Get out of your comfort zone. If you don’t like it, you just try something else.
   
   To sum up: Take the time to reflect on what you feel like doing and trying and if you feel you need help, ask for help. That’s the beauty of human connections and I’m sure you have people in your environment (at work and/or at home) who are happy to share their input and help you come up with a new idea. And the moment is perfect: Summer is a great time to try something new as the longer days and exposure to sunlight can boost our mood and energy levels.
   If you want to know more about my personal story changing my hobbies/passions etc. over the years, you can read this article: https://littlehealthyhabits.com/how-to-reach-your-goals/
   
   If you still need help or if you want to try Yoga or Meditation then please send me an E-Mail to julia@littlehealthyhabits.com with the subject: “Blog – hobby or passion”. If we get together a little group, I’m happy to organize a free online session to talk about this in detail and guide you through some Yoga / Meditation techniques.