Here’s how to find a hobby you’re passionate about

Life is all about balance. Balance and progress. When we are experiencing both – life is good. Finding balance seems to be a universal challenge for most adults. Between work, family and friends, there seems to be very little time for anything else. Not to mention any energy. However, time and energy don’t seem to be the only challenges. Another major obstacle people face is not knowing what they are passionate about. What hobbies or activities would they actually enjoy if they took one up? This confusion often leads to a lack of motivation - and evenings and weekends sitting on the sofa, binge-watching box sets on Netflix.

If you would like to discover a hobby you are passionate about, here are some tips to help you get started:

1) What is the purpose of the hobby?

Answering this question will allow you to create a list of criteria for the hobby. Helping you to narrow down the options. Is the purpose to help you grow as a person? To push you out of your comfort zone? Have time alone? Relax? Have fun? Make friends? Build relationships with like-minded people? To figure out a potential career?

After this also consider what time and budget you want to allocate to it. This will again narrow down your options.

2) Where do you currently spend your time and money?

If you spend your time reading home décor magazines, then maybe doing an interior design course might be a good way to pass the time. If you spend your money on healthy food and supplements, then perhaps choosing a hobby or educational programme around health and fitness could be a solid option. Have a look for clues already in your life and think about what you could turn into a hobby!

3) Say yes – to every opportunity

Have you seen the Jim Carey film ‘Yes Man’? Essentially, he plays a man that challenges himself to say yes to everything for an entire year. Why not do the same? The more experiences you have and the more things you do, the more likely you will find something you are passionate about!

4) Get out of your comfort zone

Last year, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and did a charity skydive and tried snowboarding for the first time. Needless to say, skydiving probably isn’t going to become a hobby of mine any time soon. However, the snowboarding I loved and plan to turn into a monthly hobby this year. You might think you’re going to be scared of something but until you actually try it, you’ll never know. Go on. Take a chance.

5) Look for inspiration

People often have a misconception that inspiration is something that just hits you. Like a lightening bolt. While you’re sitting on the sofa binge watching box sets on Netflix. Unfortunately, in most cases, inspiration doesn’t happen that way. To find out what inspires you, you have to go out and look for it. Browse the sections in a bookstore. Read a variety of magazines. Google ‘popular hobbies’. Talk to friends and ask them what they do with their time. As the saying goes – seek and ye shall find.

6) Go back to your childhood

Quite often we spend time searching for our passion outside of us - when it’s actually already inside of us. We’ve just forgotten about it. Think about what you enjoyed as a kid. When you were happiest. What was present. The things you enjoyed reading about. What you found interesting. What you loved talking about with your friends.

I knew I had a calling to help people from a very young age. I was the one that comforted the kid crying in the playground. It’s why I did my degree in Psychology. I got off track after university, choosing a different job for the wrong reasons. But eventually I did a full circle and came back to where I am meant to be. In a career that I am truly passionate about.

7) Be persistent

The key thing is to keep trying new things until you find something you enjoy. You might not find something the first time. But keep at it. The law of probability is on your side.