Landing on just the right hobby

‘In our leisure, we reveal what kind of people we are’-Ovid          

           How many of us have a burning desire to utilize our free time in a productive and constructive way! This article is intended to act as a guide in choosing a perfect and refreshing hobby, in case you have not landed on any, depending on one’s personality trait.

According to leading psychologists, personality traits can be broadly classified in to 5 categories as follows: (a) Openness (b) Conscientiousness (c) Extraversion (d) Agreeableness and (e) Neuroticism

            People who are high on ‘openness’  are those who are highly imaginative, absorbing new ideas like a sponge and being artistic and highly intellectual. Some of the appropriate hobbies for these people are:

Reading: Ernest Hemingway once rightly remarked, ‘There is no friend as loyal as a book.’ A good book can take you to places where your mind can explore the unexplored.

Being a prerequisite to writing, reading can go a long way in improving your vocabulary and communication skills. So next time you feel bored, reading can be a wonderful option to utilize your time. 

Writing: This can be a wonderful hobby as penning down one’s thoughts is a nice outlet for the underlying dormant feelings. Even a little bit of inclination to writing may open doors to a wholly new world of imagination and fantasy. The World Wide Web can also act as a medium with which one can showcase one’s talents and skills in writing. Sometimes it feels good to leave the real world and enter the imaginary world of creative thoughts and put them down on a piece of paper. Who knows, if you discover that you have a way with words then you might even earn a few extra bucks along the way.

Arts and Crafts: Since people who have openness as their personality trait are highly imaginative and artistic, they should seriously consider taking arts and crafts as their hobby. They can try their hands in fields like candle making, knitting, painting, creating a scrapbook, etc. A sense of satisfaction that one gains out of this hobby has no bounds. Starting from scratch and trying to develop the art or craft you are working on into a masterpiece is truly a rewarding experience.

Higher Studies: Age is no bar for pursuing higher studies. With distance learning programs, one can sharpen their skill sets from the comfort of their home. Name any educational field and one can find innumerable in depth study materials, ranging from scratch to advanced levels, in the internet. A laptop, broadband connection, interest and dedication are all you need to master any skill set.

        People, who are high on ‘conscientiousness’, have the tendency to be organized, highly efficient, patient and cautious. Some apt hobbies for such people are:

Rearranging one’s own abode: Though this may sound silly, rearranging one’s home and making it orderly is an excellent and engaging hobby. Believe it or not, time just flies for those who would love to see their house arranged in a neat and organized fashion. Giving a new look to your home is always a visual treat. Also, altering the arrangements frequently may yield great satisfaction and newness to your home.

Course on interior decoration: Doing a course on interior decoration is exciting as well as satisfying. What with a number of free online interior decorating courses available, you can add a creative touch in decorating your house.

Home tutoring: Being organized, skilled and efficient in one’s own domain is a prerequisite for home tutoring. By imparting your knowledge to others, you will not only be putting your knowledge to good use, but also be giving a helping hand to others who are in dire need of it. Irrespective of the level you may choose, you will just enjoy this.

Building a website: This is a very interesting hobby. If you have a little computer knowledge, you can do a quick internet research as to what platform you would use to build a website with. The user friendly WordPress might be the best option. If you get the hang of it, there is no other hobby as engrossing as this one.

          People who are high on ‘agreeableness’ are usually warm and helpful. Such people can consider the following volunteering activities:

• Senior citizens usually feel lonely in old age homes and in hospitals. If you can befriend at least one of them and take an hour of yours to read to them or just call on them to enquire about their health, it would be a great gesture on your part for having helped a soul, while at the same time spending your vacant time usefully.
• Tutoring the children of your domestic help free of cost would indeed be a very satisfying hobby.
• If you are good at cooking then consider providing a free lunch to the homeless.
• If you love taking care of kids then you can consider volunteering in your child’s school activities.

If you decide on helping others as your hobby, then sky is the limit of your satisfaction and fulfillment.

            People who have ‘extraversion’ as their personality trait usually like socializing. They tend to be more comfortable in gatherings and social events. They are usually assertive and possess good conversational skills. These people can consider the following activities:

• The first thing which pops up in my mind for these people is to throw kitty parties. Organizing a party requires a lot of planning, skill and hard work. The planning includes your budget, deciding a venue and the menu, choosing a theme and so on. Seeing all your friends together at the same place and enjoying with them will be a refreshing and welcome change from the daily routine.
• Travel is another option. Travelling not only helps you widen your knowledge about other parts of the world but also helps you to develop interpersonal skills. It boosts your confidence level and gives you a lot of exposure to people belonging to different culture and background.
• Visiting friends and calling them over to your place for a small chitchat can go a long way in unwinding yourself from your stressful routine.
• If you have the inclination, you can opt for trekking. Trekking can keep your body fit and is a wonderful form of exercise. You can join different trekking groups which undertake treks to different places at any time of the year. By doing so you not only get to meet different people but can also make friends with those who have similar interests as yours.   

        People having ‘neuroticism’ as their personality trait are generally sad and tend to get irritated very often. Such people can opt for the following hobbies-

Gardening: Gardening is an excellent hobby for unwinding and relaxing oneself. The task of making a plant grow can make you ponder about the miracles of life. Nurturing plants is a wonderful way of connecting with nature. Knowing the intricacies of growing plants can make this hobby a very interesting and engrossing one. To pursue this hobby, one need not have any extra land space around their house; even in small flats, with a little bit of sneaking sunshine or a balcony, one can grow in pots and enjoy the nature’s beauty of fledgling plants.

Listening to Music: Music is food for the soul. It undoubtedly soothes the nerves and recharges the mind. Researchers have found out that listening to your favorite music for at least 30 minutes a day can reduce high blood pressure. No need of mentioning, music can be the ideal companion for replenishing that much needed energy.

Exercise: Keeping yourself healthy can go a long way in improving your self confidence.

A 30 minute morning walk a day around your locality or in a park, can keep you refreshed throughout the day. You can also enroll yourself into a gym to stay fit and keep all kinds of diseases at bay. Doctors assure that even a 30 minute workout can do a lot of wonders to your mind and body. 

                         These hobbies are just a few suggestions from my side for you to choose the perfect one. There is no harm in trying out different kinds of stuff, until you land on the one that makes you happy. Wish you a joyous exploration!