Top 5 New Healthy Hobby


Top 5 New HEALTHY Hobbies for YOU: 

Have you found yourself looking for a new hobby? How about new hobbies that would be good for your mental health? 

I have always been one to have creative interests and enjoy trying out a new hobby from time to time to see if it would stick. I imagine a lot of you reading this have probably said before that you don’t have time for one. 


Have you ever thought about how much time we waste just binging out on Netflix or scrolling through our social media feed? 


Lately I’ve been catching myself when I start to say, “I don’t have time for that” and reminding myself how much time in the past week I wasted watching re-runs of The Office. 


Yes we are all busy in our day to day movements through life but instead of coming up with excuses while you can’t do something fun or productive for yourself, lets figure out what the best new healthy hobby for you might be. 


I want to emphasize healthy because I want to help you find hobbies that are working to develop you in some aspect, primarily in line with my blog, something that helps you develop on a mental or physical level. 


I truly believe that addressing those areas of our lives and trying to find ways to build them up in a positive and productive manner, will help to create immense positive pressure that allows for us to live our best life and experience what the universe has to offer to us. With that being said let’s get to my list! 

PLAY A SPORT as a Healthy New Hobby

We all need those moments of Netflix and chill binge modes for decompression in our lives to be sure, but I have been evaluating my own time usage lately and have become more intent on utilizing that time effectively and part of my pursuit in doing so includes adopting new hobbies that I think I might enjoy and revisiting some of my older ones that I’ve allowed to gather dust. 

So with that in mind my first new healthy hobby of choice is to play a sport
My favorite sport hands down is basketball but I’m also a 6’5” guy so I imagine that plays into why I favor the sport. 

Beyond my own height advantages, I love playing the game because it has very little overhead at all associated with it. Start looking around your local town or city and I guarantee you there are tons of well maintained, public access parks that have basketball goals and courts busy with other people who have a love for the game. 


If you're lucky you may even have a recreation center or YMCA in your area where can play indoors for a small monthly fee. It doesn’t take you having the fitness of LeBron James to be able to play basketball but taking the time to put in the extra work to maintain or build up your cardio will surely help. 


The sport has changed a lot over the years and now shooting 3’s is all the rage for most of the kids coming up who play the sport (God that sentence makes me sound and feel so OLD). 


With so many elements to the game (defense, ball handling, passing, shooting, footwork, post-game, free throws) you will find yourself with plenty to work on and develop as you dive deeper into this as a new healthy hobby. While I would recommend getting a good indoor/outdoor ball

 
and a nice pair of Basketball Shoes. I recently picked up some Dame 5's that have that minty color to them and while I'm not super pumped about how b-ball shoes are now easily $110+ per pair, I will admit that they have better grip, more comfort, and more support than ever before. 

These bad boys not only look amazing but allow for harder cuts and give me that extra step that you need when you’re on the court running to get back on defense during transition. 

My 2nd favorite sport to spend time on that is also very little in the way of overhead costs in order to start playing, is Disc Golf! 

If you like the idea of playing golf but don’t want to have to pay the exorbitant costs associated with it, as well as lugging around a giant bag full of clubs, than Disc Golf is an extremely solid compromise. 


The rules are exactly the same as far as how you score the game except instead of hitting golf balls with clubs, you are throwing discs or Frisbees into baskets.  Much like basketball if you do a quick search on the ol’ google machine you’ll see that at most of your favorite local parks there are 9 or 18 hole disc golf courses built into the parks you love. 


Adopting disc golf as your new hobby is a great choice as it gives you a reason to step outside and enjoy the outdoors, is a valid source of exercise, and is easier on people who aren’t super athletic but want to play something competitive. 


Most starter kits for Disc Golf aren't too expensive and you probably would want to grab a bag as well to carry the discs in while you play. I’d definitely recommend utilizing one of these until you get more of a handle on how to throw. 


The one issue with playing Disc Golf for your new hobby is that if you have a bad throw, it can often be difficult to find your disc in the trees or brush surrounding the park you are playing at. So I recommend going with the starter kit first, learning the ropes a bit and then down the road you can consider buying more advanced discs that are optimized to your throw style and preferences. 


My weakness in the Disc Golf game is my ability to drive on the first throw of a hole. So I prefer a more reliable mid-range disc as I use that to make up for my less than fantastic driving ability. 


Typical courses have Par 3 holes with the occasional Par 4 or Par 5 thrown in on the longer distance holes. The other great thing about this hobby choice is you can play solo or in a group setting depending on what you are wanting to do. 


I sometimes play alone to get some practice in and then have a small group of guys that I play with 1-2 times a month for fun. 

LEARN AN INSTRUMENT as a Healthy New Hobby

I’ve got be up front on this one guys: I have an extreme bias towards this category. Why? I’ve been playing instruments for 17+ years. I came up learning cello through grade school all the way tohigh school, taught myself guitar, ukulele, and piano and love to sing. 

Not to mention that I spent 3 years in college studying for a Guitar Performance Major within to get my Liberal Studies degree. 


So that heavily shaped me over my years and of course one of my first recommendations when it comes to taking on a new hobby is to find yourself a good, local teacher and start taking some lessons on your instrument of choice. 


While learning an instrument is a long term commitment, I believe that is a great healthy hobby to explore as it can help you to become a more well-rounded person, help you to conger up that creative spark that I think we all need to exercise, and is just straight up fun (especially as your skills and interest grow). 
The two instruments that I think are the best to start learning music on and sharpening your skills on are the piano and guitar. Why? For piano I think it is the easiest to get rolling on but one of the more difficult instruments to master. 

Visually, looking at a piano and its keys, it just makes sense. You can almost immediately start learning little basic tunes and so as a beginner, it can be an extremely rewarding experience from the get go. 


To compare, guitar can be more challenging as you have to put in the practice time just to develop the calluses needed on your fingers to continue playing. I’ve often had students complain of their fingers hurting to which I remind them that the more they practice, the less it will start to hurt and in turn, the easier it will become to continue practicing and learning. 


While both a guitar and piano can be on the more expensive side as far as taking this up as a new hobby and getting going full speed, there are ways to do so on a budget as well. Pianos are heavy, hard to move, and bulky. 


Because of this, you can often find a decent piano that someone in your area may be trying to offload for “free” as long as you have the capacity to move it out for them. If you’ve got the time/vehicle/manpower to do so, then this is the best way to pick up a piano and get rolling with your new found hobby! 
As far as a guitar is concerned, I’ve found that some of my favorite acoustic guitars were only $200-300 and came with a mature, full and well-rounded sound. But if you are looking to go cheap in this arena to test out if you’ll fully embrace the new hobby, I’d search around on Facebook groups to see if anyone is trying to offload a decent used guitar for $50-100 dollars. 

Otherwise go after a new starter guitar. My personal favorite acoustic guitar without getting too costly (in terms of quality guitars) is the Taylor Academy Series Acoustic Electric. This guitar has exceptional quality of sound and tone for relative low cost. 


Most Taylor guitars will run you over $1300 as they are known to be the best when it comes to the aesthetic and the rich sound that you will produce. This guitar is a great value and I've been kicking butt with mine for 3 years now. 


I had always wanted to get this quality of guitar and it was worth the money as its lifted my sound as a musician and encourages me to play more often because it is truly more fun and better sounding. 



If you get your guitar and are then trying to find the best material to study with (whether you decide to have a teacher or be self-taught) I’d definitely recommend this super affordable book "Teach Yourself To Play Guitar" that walks you through your first step as a new and budding guitarist as it provides all of the basic tools and practice regiments that you will need to build up your foundation and become the next Steve Vai or Jimmy Hendrix.

COOK SOME FOOOOOOOOOOODD as a Healthy New Hobby

Do I have any Ratatouille fans in the building tonight? Personally that is one of if not my absolute favorite animation out there. I love the quote of the critic Anton Ego at the end of the film that states, “Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere.” I

ts pure inspiration for those of us who are looking to become empowered in pursuing a new healthy hobby is it not? In the same vein you may have told yourself in the past that you are no good at cooking. 


But guess what? Anyone can cook! Like any other hobby/habit/or pursuit, you’ve got to put in a little bit of time practicing. 
My wife and I tried Blue Apron several years back and were delighted to find that they made it extremely easy to prep, cook, and eat delicious meals that we would have never made ourselves without that service. 

The experience impressed upon me the idea that I had a stronger capacity and ability to cook than I realized, I just needed to do the prep work prior to making a meal to navigate it successfully and end the experience, full and satisfied. 


But you don’t need to spend a bunch of money on someone else buying the ingredients for you and shipping it to your place. Just do a little research online finding well rated recipes, and then get to work! 
We’ve made a strong push working to eat Keto for the last 6 weeks and have been cooking more in those last few weeks than we ever have. We are saving money on eating out, eating healthier and losing weight, and we are spending more time in the kitchen as a family. 

It is rewarding as we get better at the recipes, learn new ones, and are figuring out what we really like on a week to week basis. 


I’d say this hobby is a great one to adopt as it brings your family together, helps you work on your physical health, and is a solid way to decompress at the end of the day as you are staying active at home and working towards a positive end goal (your delicious meal)! 


We can’t all be great chefs in everything we cook but if you take the time and do the research, you can find some meals that you will be great at making. The final reason that I love this as a healthy hobby is that it creates a tradition of family time and bonding with your kids. 


Our daughter is only 2 but she loves to bake and help daddy stir/mix recipes in the kitchen. We are allocating more time to involve her and she grows up with this very normal and healthy hobby as a fixture of our lifestyle. That’s a WIN WIN in my book. 


So what are you waiting for? Pick up the wooden spoon or spatula and get in the kitchen! 


 

START READING REGULARLY as a Healthy New Hobby

This healthy hobby suggestion is where I struggle the most guys. Not because I don’t enjoy reading (I absolutely enjoy reading and have always been an avid consumer of books even as a young kid) but because I just don’t make the time. 

Books are the ultimate escape for your mind in such a busy and demanding world. We are constantly bombarded by texts, notifications, social media likes, comments, engagement, as well as all the issues we have to stay on top of with our family, friends, kids, and work life! 


It can be nauseating to really sit down and consider everything that we as functioning humans in modern society are expected to handle on a day to day basis. 


Considering all of this it makes reading even more important to adopt into your weekly routine. Whether you decide to read fiction, non-fiction, financial planning, self-improvement, scientific or short story, taking the time to read an actual book can be a life saver to allow yourself the mental break that so many of us put off. 


Getting lost in a good book, wrapped up in a cozy blanket, under the warm light of a lamp on a rainy day is my #dreamlife. 


Pulling my head out of the day to day chaos and enveloping it in a good read is such a therapeutic way to allow my stresses melt away and re-direct my thoughts towards something positive, fun, compelling, and engaging. 
I believe that you can’t just say “well I read likelyfiction, reddit, or scroll through (fill in your blank)” to get my daily reading in. 

You need to disconnect and actually dive into a REAL book that can pull your mind away from the busy-ness of online activity and obligations. I understand that some of you may not enjoy reading. 


But give it another try! My wife swore up and down that she just wasn’t a big fan of casual reading for herself. 


But she started checking out books directed towards women like Rachel Hollis' book, "Girl, Wash Your Face" and all of a sudden, I’d catch her spending extra time in the tub, on the lounge chair, or in bed before cutting out the lights for sleep, reading her newest book and contemplating the ideas within. 


It was a constructive hobby for her to take on and has shaped how she decompresses and operates on a week to week basis. It is an extremely healthy habit that we should all strive to add into our lives and is a great way to model to your kids and teach them how to positively utilize their time! 


For those of you who aren't old school and enjoy reading on a tablet or phone I definitely would look at utilizing Kindle's Unlimited service as an option to pursue your new healthy hobby. 


They are a great resource with an insane amount of books and Amazon even allows for a free trial in your first month to allow you to test the waters before paying any money. 
If you are trying to figure out which books you should start I always enjoy finding a good series to work my way through over time. 

Mainly because I always find myself hungry for more after finishing a single book or not wanting the book to be over. By reading a full series, I get more of that satisfaction of continuing onwards with a book after I get to the final page. 


My favorite series when I’m geeking out are Game of Thrones, a wide variety of Star Wars collections, a vast collection of Halo themed books from a variety of authors, and of course the classic that never stops giving, Lord Of The Rings. 

START WRITING as a Healthy New Hobby

I wanted to finish this article strong with one of my favorite new healthy hobbies that I think anyone can and should explore as a way to work on themselves. 

Writing! 


Whether you are a pen and paper kind of gal or enjoy hearing the sounds of your keyboard as you furiously type away, writing is an excellent hobby to take on to work on yourself in a manner of ways. 


In fact, writing is one of the primary tools that I utilize to keep myself on track with my own pursuit of self-improvement as sitting down and doing so helps to remind me why I am working so hard at becoming the best version of me. 


It forces me to collect my thoughts, organize them, and create a mental explanation of what I am attempting to do, why I’m doing it, and express it in a form that others can easily digest. 


This near daily reminder of my direction and the foundation that I’m trying to build up for myself and my family of positive habits, new healthy hobbies, and well utilized time throughout my week is making all the difference. I know you may be thinking: 
Can writing really be that beneficial or helpful?”  
The short answer is yes. Getting those creative juices flowing is so wonderful for your brain and I don’t think you have to write about personal mountains you are trying to climb in your life for it to be an effective, healthy hobby. 

You could do creative writing where you try to write to a specific prompt, much like we all probably did back in high school for our English classes. You could try to write poems or short stories! You could even write a screenplay. 


So many fun options that allow your brain to escape the day to day stresses and worries that we all contend with and refocus on something more constructive, imaginative, and enjoyable. WE don’t have to be kids to use our imagination. We only need to make time and have fun with it. 
If you enjoy writing but aren’t sure what you should write about then go over to the sub reddit /r/writingprompts and check it out for some fun ideas. 

People are constantly posting new prompt ideas and make writing to that prompt a competition for other users to have fun with. One of their latest, highly upvoted prompts from today is 


You are the most evil wizard in the land. Teams of people go on quests to find and kill you everyday. You disguise yourself as a regular wizard, and lead on of these teams in a quest to your home, because being an evil wizard is lonely business, and you just want some friends.” 
Sound goofy? Perhaps. But it’s a fun community and just one avenue where writing can become an extremely fun, interactive, and healthy hobby to add into your weekly routine. 
If you have suggestions for other fun new healthy hobbies that you’ve adopted in your life and would like to share with the likelyfiction community, share below via comment so we can all learn and grow together! 

Otherwise please subscribe to the site and share with your friends so we can keep the conversation going and growing! 



If you enjoyed reading this article then keep on reading more of the great content that we have at likelyfiction. I recently wrote a "fun piece" just discussing my picks for Top 10 Podcasts of 2019 as I am an avid podcast consumer and fan across a wide variety of genres, interests, and topics. 



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