Anyone else enjoy learning in general as a "hobby"?
It might sound strange, but it's true! I love the challenge of learning new things. Putting the knowledge to work by taking action, however, is not always so easy!
I'm currently learning about discipline, willpower, and (as always, it seems) struggling to put the knowledge to use by creating better habits. It's amazing how much of this boils down to self-care.
For example, I just learned that glucose levels effect your decision making and willpower by nourishing (or depleting) the part of your brain called the ACC (anterior
cingulate cortex). Meaning, if you don't stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day, and don't maintain your bloodsugar levels with regular, healthy meals...you will be more likely to give into temptations.
Even if this kind of research isn't a hobby per se, it effects your creative output tremendously. Why? Well, willpower is a limited resource. I personally struggle often to make time for my hobbies because the temptation to spend my free time playing games or binging on Netflix is too tempting, and I give in.
SO!
What are the hobbies you wish you spent more time on?
What do you do to make time for your hobbies?
If you enjoy learning as a hobby, what research do you do, and where's your favorite places to learn new things?
@ThadSterling
I'll go first!
What are the hobbies you wish you spent more time on?
Reading, drawing, writing and photography
What do you do to make time for your hobbies?
Plan amounts of time to spend each day on them flexibly so that I can try to do them whenever the time feels right, but the key here is trying to put the time in consistently each day. As of today, I am also getting more serious about eating more fruit and drinking more water each day to have the willpower to put the time in!
If you enjoy learning as a hobby, what research do you do, and where's your favorite places to learn new things?
Besides researching self-help and psychology to better understand myself and manage anxiety and depression, I enjoy researching people that I find inspiring or interesting. I also enjoy researching various groups and movements that intrigue me, and history.
@ThadSterling I have always loved learning, and I used to joke that I wish someone would pay me to learn. With my current job as a proofreader/editor, I do get paid to learn in that I learn about a lot of different topics in my daily reading 🙂
The hobby I wish I had more time for, and that I intend to make more time for, is painting. I love painting seascapes and experimenting with color.
@ReadBooks7
Oohh, that is so cool! I have dreamed of being a proofreader from time to time! My editing skills aren't quite as dialed in as my eye for typos, but sometimes I still think about going back to college with that in mind. I imagine reading more wouldn't hurt my odds! I'll make more time for reading hopefully, and hopefully you'll find more time for painting <3
@ThadSterling thank you 😊I got my degree in English but had not used it in any official capacity for many years, so in preparation for my career change, I visited grammar sites that have quizzes and more extensive tests for grammar and punctuation; I also practiced editing by reading samples and seeing what I might add or change. There are a lot of jobs for proofreading and editing--more than I would have thought! Some can be hard to get (many want a 90% or even 100% on the accompanying application tests!) but some are a bit more flexible, with the understanding that on-the-job training will occur, too. I think going back to school for that or something else is a great goal!
This is a great post. Thank you! I actually just starting with painting again yesterday, and it was really nice 😊I hope you are having a good week!
*just started
I do not always proofread my own work before sending lol😊
@ThadSterling
I have often said my hobby is "learning a new hobby", because I often enjoy the process of learning most of all.
In evidence of this love of learning, the other day I randomly ended up learning how to make your own casebound hardcover books, from folding each page and sewing each 'signature' to making your own book cloth. It looked like a very fun process, I have no idea what kind of book I would even make but I certainly seem to want to make one now.
I am a quick study so I don't find it hard to make time for learning. When it comes to actually engaging in my hobbies I've had less time for my hobbies in the last year than I used to which is somewhat disappointing but, if something is worth doing I'll find the time. Thankfully the learning often happens on a whim, and in very little time I'll have learned a new hobby.
Good luck with your learning, I hope you find more fun things to try!
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
@ThadSterling- I love that you love learning! So do I.
I often read non-fiction books, and my family finds this strange :)
I also like to watch Tedtalks about various topics, and instructional videos on YouTube.
@purplelady568 I read nonfiction as well sometimes. I find anything about situations that involve unknown elements or mysteries to be fascinating. I also read about true crime sometimes and the investigative tactics used.
@purplelady568
Ugh I LOVE Ted talks! I feel this very much. Although most of my nonfic reading falls under spirituality and self-help, It's been too long since I have picked up a good biography or nature book. Come to think of it, it's been too long since I've read a nonfic book on science...gah too many things to read haha
@ThadSterling Yes, my want-to-read list is probably longer than what I can read in a lifetime.
However, that wont stop me from trying! ;) Cheers to learning new things!
@ThadSterling
What are the hobbies you wish you spent more time on? Learning to play native flute, pyrography, basketball, photography, painting, puzzles, maintaining a routine workout
What do you do to make time for your hobbies? I am currently not working so I have had plenty of free time to alternate between activities but when I am working full time I usually do hobbies on my days off. I'm still a novice on the flute and it does make my hands sore so I only practice in short sessions of 10 min or so when I get the urge.
If you enjoy learning as a hobby, what research do you do, and where's your favorite places to learn new things?
I have enjoyed researching psychology and self-help topics since I was in high school.
I also enjoy fishing and am self-taught so I will research bodies of water, species, lures, bait and other useful tips.
Hiking trails, plants, animals, history, the list is endless.
Favorite places to learn are the internet, outside, the library
@ThadSterling
This is so relatable to me! I love learning for the sake of learning, regardless of what it is. Especially if it's in the humanities domain.
As for your questions, I don't think there are any hobbies I wish I spent more time on, to be completely honest. I've tried to incorporate little habits into my daily routine to make sure I'm always spending some time on my hobbies everyday, like reading/exercising. That's really how I make time for them too -- just starting small with a habit and then building from there (or not, if it's something I don't want to spend lots of time on).
As far as the type of research I do and places I learn, I tend to focus a lot on history/literature/art-related topics. For example, I've been learning a lot more about classical music and music theory recently. I don't actually play any instruments, but it's still incredibly fascinating and has really sparked a passion for classical music. I didn't realize how much I was missing out! I think the best place to learn is usually the library or a quiet room where I can read without any distractions. Getting away from distraction in our modern world is always so, so relaxing.
@ThadSterling i truly love learning new things, its kind of a hobby for me too. today, i started with the huge thematic of paganism, especially slavic paganism, and also just looked into some national clothes in eastern europe (they were truly stunning). i wish i would have been researching more these days, but i oftentimes feel way too drained for that.
also, while we're on the theme of the brain, i have a story to share that i once read in a book. so, there was this once 60 year old guy that was diagnosed with cancer & all his friends and family were really upset (his family lives in italy, he lived somewhere else, i don't remember where). after his diagnsis he decides to move back to italy, to his family, where he has grown up and spent so much time of his life. he basically wanted to die on a land that was familiar to him.
so, he moves. he drinks wine every day, enjoys life, dances a lot, while celebrating festivals and things like that. and he beats the cancer. he then lives for another 40 years, which is literally almost half as much as he had lived before. i was stunned at this story because he supposedly did not bother dying that much and just continued enjoying life. i later found out that the city he was born in was a 'blue spot', thats what scientists call it. in that area/region, people live longer, due to the fact that they're mostly isolated from the globalisation of society and continue to live in 'their own world', with people they have known their whole life.
also, i remembered something else. i suppose, everyone knows the placebo effect (and if not, thats alright—its when you believe something, that would positively affect you, so much, that it comes true). there is however a counter effect to that—the nocebo effect. its basically the same, but mirrored. people, who believe in something negative that is related to them will make it come true. for example, i heard of a case where someone literally 'believed' themselves till cancer and later on death. thats a spooky thought, to be honest, so please remember to take care of yourself and remember how your thoughts affect you!! i wish everyone a nice day/night!!
@lana222blueberries- It sounds like you love learning new things, thats great!
Thanks for sharing that story. I so know about the placebo effect. I have never heard the word nocebo, but it makes total sense! A mentor likes to tell me "what goes in, also comes out" - meaning, whatever you fill your brain with, tell yourself, or surround your body with, that is what you will reap, and eventually, that is who you will become.
Does reading history count? If so then yes, learning is a "hobby" of mine. My main foci are military & religious history, particularly of the Near East--both ancient & Islamic eras--& until recently, western Europe from the Protestant Reformation up to WW1. (I don't look at WW2 as it's been done by just about everybody) More recently I've been turning toward China. Since it aims to be the next global hegemon by knocking us down a few pegs, it only makes sense to know why it acts the way it does. And that's what history does best: explain why today's world is as it is. Also, China has a ton of history behind it!...really makes you realize the US hasn't been around for very long at all.
I caught the history bug a little over a decade ago, in late 2010.
The hobby I wish I had more time for is woodworking. Unfortunately between my chronic ailments & the weather (I do it outside), I don't have a lot of time to build stuff.
I enjoy the fruits of learning. Finding things that really matter and make a practical difference in life.
One true teaching is to overhaul the entire human mechanism from acquired cyclical patterns of faulty conditioning of what isn't a person (not-self behavior), and move that person towards its ultimate possibility of unique individual expression.
My current source is God.
@ThadSterling I google everything that comes to mind, so I’m constantly learning new things! I like knowing things. One day something might come up, and I’ll have the knowledge to answer.
@22Mimi I'm interested to have what important things you might have learned over time.
