Remember back when we are kids, we explore everything. We have so many hobbies that we look forward to every school semester break to do all those fun stuff. Ahh, the joy of youth.
Then we grew older. We start to leave the activities, the hobby that we used to love in pursuit of doing something more ‘important’. We tell ourselves that we don’t have time, we have to do works or just simply, we grew out of it.
Does it have to be like that?
Making time to be creative is important. Various scientific evidence has shown the benefit of exploring our creative potential. We don’t have to spend hours or thousands of dollars, in a matter of fact. We just need to engage even on the smallest scale any hobbies or activities that can tap our inner creative side.
Here are 5 reasons why we need to explore creative hobbies as we grow older.
Let’s dive right in…
Working is part of adulting. And particularly those working 9-5 pm, trapped in a mundane life cycle is inevitable. It’s crazy when you start working in the early 20s and suddenly you turn 30, and we feel like there’s nothing else that we do aside from working.
9 am clocking in-working, 5 pm -clock out, reach home, flipping Netflix choosing the series we want to watch while eating yesterday reheat lasagna. Sounds familiar? Yes, basically this is the normal routine of the majority of working adults.
By introducing creative hobbies into our life, we are able to break this mundane cycle. Just imagine, reaching home after work means we can spend time exploring our hobbies, and getting better at them.
Rather than work the Netflix-sleep-work cycle, we intervene in this mundane life cycle by incorporating creative hobbies each night. It can be from different activities or even the same one we tried on a different aspect each night.
This, will create a sense of achievement and fulfilment of life and take out the mundane feeling of repeating the same cycle each night.
2. Creating an outlet for creative expression
Sometimes at work, we use mainly our left side of the brain, analysing information or making tough decisions. We barely need to be creative and end up being too robotic in how we manage our life.
By having creative hobbies, we are able to engage a different part of the brain. This way, we help create different sort of neural pathways inside our brain that sparks new ways of thinking.
“Hobbies are an important form of creative expression. Just as exercise releases and increases energy in the body, creative energy also needs a form of expression”
“Whatever hobby we choose, it is an important aspect of our wellbeing. It can enhance our ability to relax, rest our brain and recharge our spirit.”
-Claire Hall, the principal life coach at Authentic Empowerment
If you feel stuck at work, maybe try to express it creatively. Take the brush or pencil and sketch away, build that Lego or whatever you feel like doing. Maybe somehow, it will help.
3. Helps increase the impact on workplace performance
Kevin Eschleman, an assistant psychology professor at San Francisco State University, led a study on the association between hobbies and job performance back in 2014. The team found that people with creative hobbies outside work performed 15-30% better when they are working compared to those without any hobbies.
Interestingly, the lesser the hobbies related to their job, the greater the effects were seen in the work performed.
“It gives you a sense of mastery. You’re developing new skills, new thought processes and really challenging yourself to learn something new and develop your skillset.”
“Whatever the activity is that you’re doing in your free time, it becomes incredibly more valuable if it is different from what you’ve been doing most recently in your work environment.”
Having creative hobbies allow our brain a chance to recharge which allows better performance when resuming back to work.
4. Explore our long-lost interest or discover a new hobby
When the COVID-19 pandemic hits and forced most of us to do home quarantine, I rediscover my interest in sketching and watercolour illustration. No, I am not good at all, it is just the act of sketching and painting that brings out the sense of joy.
That’s when I realize, I haven’t expressed my creative side for so long. It feels so good, and it helps me release the tension that I feel inside.
If you don’t know what hobby or activity that you want to explore, you can try Domestika. Domestika is an online platform that provides an incredible range of high-quality courses on creative topics like Watercolour techniques, creative writing, storytelling, and even adobe illustrator.
Each course offered is thought by the professionals and you can learn it in the comfort of your home! Perfect for an introvert (like me) who is the awkward potato when meeting new people but can talk for hours when talking with someone with similar interests.
Recently, I bought 4 courses from Domestika on the illustration on Procreate, creative writing for the content creator, Adobe Illustration, and time management course. For 4 courses, it’s only 50 USD (Noted that the price differs for each course and the discount given at that time). It’s affordable even for a student.
Oh, and did I tell you, you will have unlimited access FOREVER once you bought the course? This is great for busy people as they can learn at their own pace anytime they want.
5. Help shape and build our identity
I always think that our identity had been shaped and formed since childhood and nothing much we can do about it. Well, I am wrong.
Identity though not as much as personality, but is quite fluid. It can change from time to time based on the stimulation, environment, or even our actions.
“We don’t create or absorb art out of the need for survival, although it may sometimes feel like it—we do it because it helps us become more connected to the people around us and most importantly, our true identities.”
Having able to express ourselves, creatively will help us discover something about ourselves. By discovering ourselves, we help shape our identity.
6. Improves mental health and happiness
Creative hobbies or being creative have healing properties. Therapies using music, dance, poetry, and art have been established as part of mental health management. Some people are still sceptical of the idea of using these creative therapies but several studies have proven that these therapies work.
Let say, creative writing. Creative writing helps in expressing self in a situation where it is difficult to verbally do it. The same goes with painting, where you at a situation where it’s even difficult to find the right words to say.
If you’re familiar with the movie Freedom Writer (based on real stories), the teacher has used creative writing to help the students control their inner conflict and anger. The overall outcome helps them reduce their anger and express themselves more positively.
By integrating creative hobbies into our everyday life, we are improving overall mental wellness. It also provides an escape from stress and something to look forward to after a long day
“Some research shows that those who are in stressful jobs that normally contribute to burnout (low-control, high-demand jobs, for example) feel less of a need to “recover” from their day at bedtime if they have more physical or social leisure activities that aren’t work-related—or in other words, more hobbies.”
…hobbies can help buffer the effects of a stressful job and mitigate factors that contribute to burnout”- Elizabeth Scott
7. Limit the time spend mindlessly scrolling the phone. It is a part of self-care activity
Our downtime habits, really shape us as a people. Long hours, scrolling phone aimlessly daily can affect our productivity. But sometimes, it is the most common thing to do as it is the easiest form of activity. But bear in mind, these activities will drain your energy a lot. You will not feel rested even if you think you are resting.
Having a creative hobby can help us reframe and replace the bad habits of scrolling with something much more beneficial. Our time will be utilised better, and we also feel better as a person.
Catherine Cunningham, Founder of The Career Consultancy have very interesting views on hobbies:
“Whatever hobby we choose, it is an important aspect of our wellbeing. It can enhance our ability to relax, rest our brain and recharge our spirit.”
“It’s about recharging, effectiveness, and time management. My philosophy is, and it’s a bit corny, but our body is the vessel that holds who we are, so make sure you look after your vessel.”
She emphasises the importance of looking after ourselves – no matter how busy we are. And having creative hobbies is a form of self-care.
By incorporating self-care in our daily routine through creative hobbies, we minimize the risk of burnout and help us enjoy positive pleasure.
“Pleasures includes activities that bring fun to life which can be wonderful for relaxation and enjoyment of the moment.”
8. Socialising and building a connection
Spending most of our time at the office and meeting the same people every day can be quite boring. By having a creative hobby, we are expanding our circle spending time with people with the same interest, practising and enjoying the same hobbies together.
Socialising over hobbies is a great way to feel like belonging to certain communities. It will also help polish our communication and socialising skills that might be indirectly contributing to our performance at work.
It doesn’t have to be directly meeting face to face though. Many platforms have provided a medium for the member to interact and share ideas even situated across the world.
There you have it. 8 reasons why we need to explore creative hobbies as we grow older.
Which reason resonant well with you?
Share with us your creative hobbies and how they impacted your life.
