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Hobbies Are More Than Just Activities

Hobbies Are More Than Just Activities

Jan 9, 2022 | 0 comments

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This past week, I began to read a little again. I had always loved to read but somewhere in the pandemic with increased screen time, I had stopped reading. But of course, it was still there on my hobbies resumè. 

The book I had picked up was ‘The Book Thief’. I must have not read barely two pages when I felt this wave of joy inside me. It felt like being reunited with an old friend.  It was a hug of good ol’ familiarity. I realized how much I loved reading and what I was missing when I had stopped reading.

Interestingly, I wasn’t the only one to rekindle my love for my hobby. My aunt who was visiting us over the holidays also rediscovered her love for crochet. I was showing her some of the crochet stuff I had made and she asked if she could have a crochet hook too. It took her some time to recall her way through but she was at it in basically no time.

What got me thinking amidst all the hobby rediscovering was, how do we forget about the love we have for our hobbies?

Hobbies afterall, are more than activities you do in your spare time.  They are a part of who you are. You spend time on them because you enjoy them, they make you happy. It is not just about the activity but also about the process and the way it makes you feel inside.

Hobbies give us a sense of identity. They show our personality to others and allow people to understand what we are made of and what we stand for.

They help to relieve stress by keeping you engaged in something you enjoy. A hobby can also relieve boredom by keeping you busy.

Having a hobby helps you meet new people, expand your network and keep your social skills active. They are all part of self-care. Not only do they help to keep us healthy both physically and mentally, they also instill patience, discipline, concentration and confidence.

It’s no wonder that hobbies can boost your self-assurance and confidence. They give you something to be passionate about, which in turn makes the world seem less scary!

Investing your time in a hobby makes you develop new skills and increase your knowledge in the said field.

Loving something gives you an unseen perspective on life and things and challenges you to think beyond your daily routine.

Most importantly, hobbies prevent you from wasting your time and getting into bad habits.

What are your hobbies?

Make The Most Of Your Good Days

Make The Most Of Your Good Days

Jan 2, 2022 | 2 comments

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First things first – HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳🥳🥳

I’d like to start with how the theme of this post came up.

Up until yesterday, I had nothing written down and I thought to myself I’ll get it done on 1st because I had no plans for that day (I still did that but not the way I thought it’d happen).

Unfortunately, I fell ill on New Year’s Eve and wrote this post after 13 hours of sleep and a cold and flu tablet.

The takeaway here is simply that utilize the good days well. You don’t know what comes next and neither do you have control over it.

That’s all from me today, hope you have a wonderful year ahead. I’d love to know about your New Year resolutions in the comments.

 

How To Change Your Life With Perspective

How To Change Your Life With Perspective

Dec 26, 2021 | 0 comments

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Every year, as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, people all over the world are making promises to improve themselves, to live a better life, to be an exceptional version of themselves.

Some are saying goodbye to bad habits while others are making resolutions about sticking to good habits. For some, it’s a promise to attain that goal they’ve been striving for with all their heart and soul. For others, it might mean a promise to finally let go of the demons from their past.

All of these are attempts at living a life full of happiness.

However, life won’t change for the better unless the lens viewing it changes. If we don’t bring a change in how we see our life, if we don’t shift our perspective, our life will continue to go by unappreciated.

Perspective is simply what you choose to focus on. You have a choice in how you perceive your life and your reality. You are the filter for how you interpret your reality.

You can change your reality by choosing how to shape your perspective. It can affect how you feel about the world as well as yourself.

Here are a few shifts that can make a difference in your way of thinking:

What I lack → What I have

If you focus on what you don’t have, then there’s no room for appreciation of the blessings right in front of your eyes. By shifting focus on what you have, you can create gratitude for the things around you.

 

What’s going wrong in my life → What’s going right in my life

Instead of focusing on the things that are going wrong in your life, start looking at the good things that happen to you on a daily basis. This can give you peace and contentment with what’s happening right now instead of everything that could’ve worked out your way but didn’t.

 

Every day is the same or boring → Finding something beautiful in everyday

The more you choose to see something, the more that thing will be seen. When you’ll be looking for beautiful things in your day, your world will become more alive and vibrant.

 

I’m not where I wanna be → Look how far I’ve come

Even if you have a long road ahead of you, remember to look back and acknowledge the milestones you’ve already crossed. You can be happy that you’re now better than where you were before while striving to be your best.

 

What I can’t control → What I can control

There are some things you can’t control, but there are things you do have power over. By shifting your focus on the things that you can control, you’ll be able to exert more control over your life and grow into an empowered version of yourself.

 

Recap for memory:

  1. You have a choice in how you perceive your life and your reality.
  2. Shifting your perspective can change how you feel about yourself and the world.
  3. The more you choose to see something, the more that thing will be seen.

P. S. This post was inspired by a video from Lavendaire.

Start With Your New Year Resolutions Now

Start With Your New Year Resolutions Now

Dec 19, 2021 | 0 comments

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As we all know, New Year is right around the corner. Well, I mean Christmas is six days away and New Year is just a week after that, so New Year is really close.

And with the New Year comes fresh enthusiasm. You wanna change the world, become a better person, eat right, exercise, improve your habits and work towards great goals.

As soon as the calendar shows Jan 1, we expect ourselves to stick to our resolutions. However, many of us struggle to keep those promises to ourselves after barely a month. We are either caught in the daily grind, do not enjoy the things we have chosen to do or simply take up too much on our plates at once.

This is why you should start with your resolutions right now.

Let me explain this in more detail.

No marathon runner has ever run in his big race without his practice miles. They practice for months, if not years before they run in the actual race; and you can do the same with your New Year’s resolutions. It’ll make it easier for you to stick to it if you know what’s coming.

Consider these ten days as your trial period. There’s nothing to lose during this period because the challenge starts on Jan 1. So there’s literally no way that you can fail.

In a way, you also have a return policy in this trial period. 

If you don’t enjoy working for your resolutions (which does have a considerable chance), you have the option to discard them. There’s no point in dragging on with them just for the sake of it without considering how you feel towards it.

If you start now, you’ll understand what it is like to actually take up those goals. You can resolve the challenges you face, right now, instead of maybe January end. You might realize that working out every single day is a little too optimistic for you right. You can start with maybe 3 days a week and increase it gradually.

You can prepare for your resolutions. If you want to learn a skill this year, you can start looking for resources and ways to teach yourself. If you want to read more books, set a goal to read at least 5 pages every day.

 

Recap for memory:

  1. Start with your New Year resolutions now
  2. You literally can’t fail in them and you get to know what you’re up against
  3. You have a return and/or exchange policy so you can change your goals as you wish

    How To Take A Break

    How To Take A Break

    Dec 12, 2021 | 0 comments

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    Now that we have established that it’s not possible to be productive 24×7, it’s only appropriate to discuss in detail why you can’t be productive 24×7, why you need breaks and what kind of breaks you need.

    Why you can’t be in action 24×7

    When you go on working for long periods of time, you can begin to get distracted and aren’t as focused as in the beginning. As a result, your productivity can go downhill.

    Also, the longer you work the longer you have to decide things, determine the answers, and find solutions. This means that you are using your limited resource of willpower, which would lead to decision fatigue at one point or another. (Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making.)

    Why it’s important to take breaks

    Taking regular breaks from your work will help you think more clearly and make better decisions. Breaks will also help you stay focused and increase your productivity.

    In addition, breaks will help you refresh your mind and body. They can help spark creative ideas and new solutions. This is especially important if you’ve been sitting in one place for a long time.

    A break can also help relieve stress and tension.

    Retention of content also tends to get better after taking breaks since it gives your mind time to get absorbed in the new idea.

    Finally, a break can allow you to do something different.

    How to take a good break

    This one might seem a little useless because everyone knows how to take a break – Stop your work, go on your phone, scroll a little till your break’s over and go on with your work. Right?

    Try again.

    The central idea is to disengage your brain from your work and give it some rest.

    So even though scrolling on your phone is disengaging from your work, it isn’t the most recommended form of a break because going on social media increases your stress and tires your eyes. So it’s better to stay away from screens during the break.

    Now that screens are out the way, what other things can you do in breaks?

    Here are my top picks:

    • Go for short walk – a stroll in your room counts too
    • Go outdoors
    • Stretch
    • Take a nap
    • Clean your desk or room
    • Doodle
    • Stare into nothigness
    • Talk to people
    • Meditate
    • Do a couple of jumping jacks/push ups/any other movement you’re comfortable with
    • Have a snack – even better if you make it yourself in the break

    Essentially, you just want to do an activity that rests your eyes, detaches you from your work and get you moving a bit.

     

    Recap for memory:

    1. Going on without breaks decreases productivity, leads to brain fog and a lack of motivation.
    2. Taking breaks can boost creativity, help in better retention and decision making.
    3. A good break is one includes disconnecting from your work and  truly resting.

    Can You Be Productive All The Time?

    Can You Be Productive All The Time?

    Dec 5, 2021 | 1 comment

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    As we were returning from our hometown after Diwali, the fields seemed to stretch out forever (as one would expect from a road trip in northern India).

    Looking at the fields my thoughts traced back to our fields back in our hometown. When we were still there, my Mumma had asked my grandmother why the fields weren’t looking as lush and healthy as they are shown to be.

    She gave quite a sensible answer – They are lush, just not right now. The fields have just been harvested and are left fallow so that they regain their fertility and can yield just as much the next time around.

    Looking at the fields for a  whole lot of time (8 hours to be precise) just made me think about aimlessly.

    I realized, “Heck when even the Earth can’t be productive 24x7x365, how and why do we expect ourselves to be on the run every second? Are we so much better than the complex system we live in?”

    Brain-dump aside, the fields gave me a new perspective on life. You don’t have to be productive every second of your life. Just like how the Earth has downtime during which it is left fallow and given time to regain its fertility, you too need downtime to recharge your batteries and get ready for the next round of productivity.

    When you try to be productive all the time, you are doing more harm than good. While you think you are being productive, it’s actually the opposite because working without a break decreases your efficiency.

    Being on the go every second can cause you to drain out your energy and lead to burnout.

    Simply put that time would be better utilized in the long term if you take a break instead of working.

    That’s it for this time (I had to prepare for my exam so that’s all I could write about). Don’t worry though, next week I’ll continue a little more on this topic, so stay tuned😃