Why You Should Challenge Yourself With A New Hobby

A sentence or two from a book I was reading nearly six years ago still stays with me today.  Why?  Because it metaphorically punched me in the stomach.  It suggested that by living a life I wasn't content with and not pushing myself to the best of my abilities, I was 'diminishing' and 'dying on the vine'.  Cruel, but true.  Somewhere deep down in all of us, we hate the idea of sitting still.  We don't like to stagnate.  Advocates of change offer a simple solution: do this, do that and pretty much do everything that scares you.  Quit your job, drop your friends and shave your head.  Uh, no thanks.  Thankfully, there's an easier route to shaking that pesky feeling of stagnating, and it comes in the form of opting in to a new hobby.  Factually speaking, it takes two months (sixty-six days to be exact) before a new behaviour becomes automatic.  Apply this same rule to a new hobby and it would suggest that within two months, you will have unlocked an entirely new part of yourself - and most importantly, become familiar with it.  Pretty exciting.  So, what have I challenged myself to try?

Drum roll please... acting!  I've been going to acting classes in London lately and will be doing so for the foreseeable future.  It's something I've always been curious about and have since fallen completely in love with.  Was it daunting at first?  Of course.  Did I question whether it was too much of a challenge?  A little.  And yet, I did it.  I did it and I adored it.  Fast forward to present day and it's become the highlight of my week, and entirely separate from every other aspect of my life - both professionally and socially.  By doing something so utterly new, it's challenged my belief of what I'm capable of, as well as unlocking an entirely new part of my personality I had always wondered about.  My advice?  Try that hobby.  That thing you've always been curious about, but for one reason or another, never tried.  If it doesn't live up to your expectations, chalk it down to experience.  And if it does?  The sky is the limit.  

I'd love to hear whether you've started any new hobbies lately?  Is there something you'd love to try?  Let me know in the comments below!

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With love,

Gabrielle x