When we were kids, we had hobbies. Hobbies continued to play a part in our lives well into our youth. Then responsibilities, jobs, work pressure, deadlines, deliverables, and targets, took over and our own personal interests took a back seat or rather were thrown off the back seat…if I may say so…they were flung out of the window.

Isn’t there more to you than your job and your designation? The hobbies that you follow are your passion and it is your passion that keeps you young and energised.My boss, an intrepid entrepreneur, has a passion for skiing. While he is extremely focused and hungry to drive the company on growth path; he makes it a point to take out time to pursue the sport. Agreed, not everybody has an appetite for such offbeat passions.  It could be a basic art form like dancing, painting, learning to sing or play a musical instrument or a sport like golf or badminton or it could be cooking or gardening or travelling. Whatever it is, it adds value to your life and makes you a happier person and thus a better person.

Also Read: Choosing that Cup of Tea over the big promotion

Find a hobby or passion to pursue. It could be something that you go back to – a talent that that you have had in you since your childhood or you could challenge yourself and learn something completely new. Learning a new skill gives you a sense of accomplishment. My ex-boss, a celebrated entrepreneur who is frequently invited to speak at several industry events, once shared his mantra – Challenge yourself with something new every year; so one year he resolved to write a book and he did. The next year he learnt to play the piano and he grasped it so well that he was the star performer at the annual office party.

Who is responsible for your ‘well’?

Think of your life and the resources available as a well full of water. For every duty we discharge and every job we perform, we draw out water and take away from this well. As time goes by, the monotony and routine of daily life gradually dips the water level which roughly translates to a dip in our energy and levels of enthusiasm. 

Over the years, if left untended, this well dries up. We find ourselves frustrated, unhappy, and caught in the sands of time. This well needs to be refilled and whose responsibility is that?  We need to take a call and decide to do this for ourselves. When we pursue our passion, the fact that we are doing something for self-actualization, actually supplements this well. This is the recharge which gives us that extra edge or drive for achievement in other spheres of life. Not to forget the fun quotient it adds.

A hobby/passion means so many things: