A hobby is any activity you do regularly in your leisure time for the sheer pleasure of it.
Of course, this doesn’t include binge-watching your favorite shows on Netflix – that’s one of the common digital addictions designed to keep your eyeballs hooked to the screen.
So, How Do You Find A Hobby When Nothing Really Interests You?
Try out one or several of these 16 methods:
1. Start By Reflecting On When Your Feelings Began
The best way to deal with your declining interest in a hobby and pretty anything else is by reflecting on the first time you lost interest in it.
“Why” – you’d ask.
See, reflecting on your recent development allows you to visualize your previous state of mind and the emotions you felt.
So, by understanding those old emotions you will understand why the hobby suddenly started to bore you or why you lost inspiration.
Nonetheless, if you often go through periods of high and low interest then you should probably equip yourself with mindfulness skills.
These skills are integral in rationalizing and questioning your thoughts.
2. Get Back To The Basics
By going back to basics we mean, instead of working against your strengths, you strive to work with them.
You really don’t need to rewrite each and every aspect of your life regarding your natural talent or skills, otherwise, you will be scaling a wall when you are already trying to motivate yourself.
Here is a good example – if you are physically endowed or you used to be an athlete, try to find a new path in fitness instead of trying to make it in gardening.
This won’t turn you away from attempting new things as you might think but helps you work with your existing strengths.
3. Make New Friends
Most of the time, lack of hobbies is an indicator of a lack of company or a group of busy friends that would have inspired you into new things.
Contrary to what you might think, making friends is easy as ABC especially now that we have social media.
There are tons of forums on the internet as well as social networks like Discord where anyone can set up a community with many like-minded individuals distributed across the world.
If you are a Reddit user then you are probably familiar with the “MakeNewFrindsHere” subreddit.
Friends will get you out of that comfort zone and introduce you to new things, some of which might end up being your hobbies.
4. Isn’t It Time To Be A Kid Again?
It may come across as odd but being a child again (literally) is one of the genius ways to discover a hobby.
Kids are daring and always willing to try out new things.
That’s because their brain has not fully developed yet at that level.
However, the only thing you can borrow from kids – as far as hobby discovery is concerned – is intuition.
Children are driven by intuition instead of logic.
If you do the same, you will be more inclined to attempt things that you identify with and/or match up with your strengths.
This can be a great start when figuring out new hobbies.
Try out that not-so-sophisticated stuff you loved in your childhood years. While at it, work with your strength and trust your guts.
5. Utilize The Resources At Hand
In some cases, it isn’t that you are not interested in anything but rather, you don’t see the opportunities provided by your environment.
If you look around deeply enough, something will certainly arrest your interests.
Just so you get a rough idea of how to get you started, take a glance at this endless list of potential hobbies in your environment.
And that’s just the tip of an enormous iceberg, you will be surprised with the number of extra options you will come up with if you brainstorm with your friends.
And speaking of “hands”, here are some hobbies that require no hands and a single hand!
6. Flip Your Bad Habits Into Great Hobbies
There’s a list of basic things we all need to survive then there’s indulgence!
For example, when you order tons of takeout every day or watch every show on Netflix the entire weekend, that’s more of an indulgence than a necessity.
Interestingly, you may have realized that these bad habits are the reason why you lost interest in most of the things you loved doing in the past.
You don’t really need to drop the bad habits.
We’ve all heard of couch potatoes that turned their Netflix addiction into a movie reviewing hobby and eventually into a side hustle.
If you enjoy the entertainment that comes with it, you can turn it into a movie-making or videography hobby.
Let’s say you are into drinking culture and you can’t miss a moment out with friends to grab several drinks. This too can be turned into a hobby: why not become the guy who prepares the cocktails?
Bottom line: look on the bright side of those little bad habits and make a hobby out of them.
7. Force Your Hand
What if the only barrier to finding a hobby is yourself?
More often than not, people have themselves to blame for not soaring to greater heights in life, and this extends to finding a hobby.
This means you must get to terms with yourself and challenge yourself out.
Evaluate yourself:
- Do you think you’ve become too lazy lately?
- Do you think you lack the motivation to pursue what you have been doing?
- Do you find yourself procrastinating even the minutest events in your life?
- Do you get bored easily and this has gotten in the way of pursuing your hobbies?
You can get motivational tips from books, YouTube videos, paid courses, paid courses, e-books, and blogs.
It is normal to throw doubts or excuses in your plans to avoid attempting something new and eventually avoid trying out your passions. This is often driven by fear of failure.
Doubt and fear can be easily mistaken for no interest in hobbies.
However, once you realize the obstacles, you will understand the challenges standing between you and your passions, plus a way to overcome them.
8. Understand The Difference Between A Hobby And A Pastime
Maybe you can’t distinguish a hobby from a pastime, and that’s perhaps why you have no interest in the former or both.
What do you usually do when you are at home, bored, or traveling home on a bus?
You probably play Candy Crush, log on to Instagram, or just look out of the window.
You need to ask yourself whether you like doing those activities.
Do you find them fulfilling?
The likely answer is no.
The next obvious question to ask yourself should be, “why do I keep doing them?”
They are not interesting or fun. You would not do them if, say, you had other more fulfilling activities to do.
But why do you keep doing them anyway?
The drive is to pass time. So those are not hobbies but pastimes no matter how deep you are into them.
Basically, interests are things that fascinate you.
You can gladly spend several hours engaging and learning more about such activities.
You listen to podcasts, read books, and watch documentaries about your interests.
Hobbies, on another hand, are any activities that genuinely make you tick, activities that interest you.
They are activities you always look forward to doing.
You learn different techniques and skills for your hobbies and practice often to perfect them.
If you are too much into astronomy, yoga, or astrology, you are pursuing a hobby not a pastime.
9. Free Up More Time
Chances are you don’t have enough time for your hobbies and have completely ignored them for years.
When you are overstretched by all the responsibilities that come with life, any thought of pastimes or hobbies is easily pushed aside in favor of more important or urgent matters.
So think about your average day – is there anything you can do to free up a few hours from your schedule?
You can spare 2 to 3 hours regardless of how busy your day is.
The trick to freeing more time for your hobbies is to balance your tasks.
No matter the number of commitments you have, you can set aside a few hours if you balance them properly.
How?
10. Try Out Lots Of Things
You probably read through a long list of possible hobbies, but nothing came close to spark an interest, so you closed the tab and threw in the towel.
One thing you need to understand about hobbies is that no one really knows their hobby until they try.
You don’t know how much you like photography until you actually try it. Once you discover your line of interest, like photography, you embark on the practice until your perfect it.
Never discard an idea just because you dislike the sheer sound of it, or with the common pretext of “I’ve never liked that.” Start by giving it a shot, then decide.
11. Cut Out The Excuses!
Chances are you keep coming up with excuses to avoid a hobby that’s worth pursuing.
The answer to the excuse problem is straightforward – find out why you keep making excuses.
Alternatively, figure out what’s hindering you from going after the hobby.
No friends to accompany or support you? Not enough money? No gear?
Those are probably the things you normally tell yourself whenever you feel like pursuing something worthwhile. All of those excuses are nonsense if your hobby means more than an interest to you.
You come with these excuses probably because you are lazy and perhaps need to make changes to your mindset.
Most hobbies don’t require a hefty investment.
If you have a decent smartphone, for example, you don’t need to buy expensive equipment to pursue a hobby in videography.
You might need a drone though, but those aren’t all costly either.
If your excuse is friends, you can tap into the magic of social networking and meet millions of like-minded people who cherish the same hobbies you do.
12. Get Yourself A Mentor
Mentors are powerful figures when it comes to rekindling your passion for certain things.
You certainly have a fistful of mentors in your neighborhood, family, or circle of friends.
Your job here is to make a comprehensive list of individuals close to you who have hobbies complete with their respective hobbies.
You can proceed to ask those who aren’t on the list if they are pursuing anything worth your interest.
They probably have 1 or 2 hobbies you don’t know anything about.
Once you are done preparing your list, rate each person’s hobby.
Those with the highest ratings are your mentors.
Next, approach the highly-rated individuals and tell them about your interest in their hobbies.
Also, ask them if they are willing to offer mentorship.
13. Keep Track Of Where You Spend Your Money
Some of the things you buy often can point you to a fun-filled hobby.
Everyone has something that they can’t resist purchasing — even if they can’t afford it most of the time.
If you are into video games, for example, you are likely to have a soft spot for the latest gaming hardware, games, and tournaments.
It can as well be jewelry, music, or comics.
If it is music, you can focus on a certain instrument such as a piano, and learn how to play it.
In the case of comics, you can make your comics or pursue creative writing. If you like to buy jewelry, you can turn it into a hobby by pursuing jewelry-making.
The best thing about items you like to buy is that you already have an interest in them and probably have deep knowledge about them.
14. Aim A Bit Higher
Could it be that you aren’t aiming high enough?
Regardless of what you want to achieve in life, it is how hard you go at your goals that determines if you will fulfill them.
Unfortunately, many people often aim lower or simply convince themselves they don’t need an incredible breakthrough.
When you put a low-hanging target on your aspirations, you severely restrict the extent you can go to reach achieve them whether they involve your hobbies or general life.
The 10X Rule
There’s a solution to the above-mentioned problem: The 10X Rule.
This rule encourages you to set a target that is 10 times what you want to accomplish before working 10 times harder to hit it.
Some people will tell you how setting high goals destroys motivation and that it is better to adhere to the cliché – “underpromise and overdeliver,”.
However, setting 10X-targets (often called stretch goals) pushes you to work a bit harder.
Besides, even if you fall short of hitting your 10X-level ambitions, is it not better to fall short of hitting a higher target than just hitting a lower one?
Nonetheless, setting high targets is one thing. Committing yourself to those targets with the right discipline is a whole different thing.
15. Go Window Shopping
Did you know you can figure out a hobby from your window shopping sprees?
If you aren’t a window shopper yet, think of items that excite you, then go walking in stores admiring them.
Take a visit to your local sports stores, crafts store, and music stores.
If anything arrests your attention, settle on it and figure out how to turn it into a hobby.
If you like to visit your local motor showroom, you can decide to specialize in reviewing the machines on display.
Someday in the future when your clout has grown, you might find yourself in a partnership with the local showrooms or manufacturers, reviewing their products to a much larger audience.
16. Give Stoicism A Shot
If you have tried everything we have mentioned above and you still haven’t hacked your way through, you should probably try out stoicism.
In case you are new to stoicism, it is the endurance of hardship or pain without showing feelings or complaining.
But, “why wouldn’t I complain about anything, more so hardship and pain, when they cause suffering?” you might ask.
It’s perfectly OK to be bothered by pretty anything that afflicts your being.
However, it would be better if you found a philosophy that assists you to understand effective ways to stand up to them or work with them.
Not all people were destined to have major interests or passions, and you perhaps aren’t as well.
The Top Twelve Hobbies You Probably Haven’t Tried Yet
Have you tried any of these:
1. Collecting things
Coins and stamps are a classic in this segment, there are numerous other things you can collect.
If you like sports, you can start to collect your favorite teams’ jerseys (sport shirts).
If are a fashionista, you can collect perfumes and similar items.
2. Music
Turn your passion for music into a hobby by collecting musical instruments and/or records.
3. Exercise
Exercise doesn’t have to be always about fitness.
Choose one type of exercise, say, biking or running or yoga, put all your heart into it, and enjoy.
4. DIY projects
There’s an appropriate DIY project for you regardless of your skill level.
Whether you like to re-tile your bathroom, change the configuration of your garage, paint rooms, or make furniture, all you need to turn it into a fun-filled hobby is to pursue it with the seriousness it deserves.
5. Gardening
Such tasks as weeding, trimming, harvesting, and even could end up being your lifetime hobby.
Proceed to join your local gardening club and help beautify your community.
6. Cooking and Baking
These two are some of the most often pursued “foodie” hobbies because of their simplicity compared to stuff to do with motorsports and aviation.
7. Learn A New Language
Isn’t it fun to learn a new language?
It can easily help furnish your CV and even open ways to learn more about other cultures.
This is one of the most recommended hobbies for people with disabilities, especially mobility-related disabilities.
8. Traveling
Travel blogging is as old as the internet.
With enough resources, this is one of the easiest hobbies to like, and also one of the most lucrative.
9. Product reviews
Many people like to pursue this as a side hustle but it can make a great hobby as well especially if you have a rich supply of the necessary items as mentioned above.
10. Golf
Golfing is an excellent hobby for retirees or seniors with a lot of time in their hands.
Golfing can also prove useful to singles looking for something they can pursue actively without having to pair themselves with a significant other.
11. Computer Programming, Calligraphy, Snowboarding, Skiing-Related Hobbies
These are collectively perfect for students or teenagers that are eager to put their minds on something exciting.
12. Pets
Dog Training, dog walking, operating a pet rescue are a few examples.
Conclusion
It is often said that being creative is not a hobby but a way of life.
You will be surprised by the number of hobbies you will come up with if you think creatively.
For areas considered to be uninteresting – like farming and architecture – parents can provide the needed mentorship required by teenagers need to explore them.
Related
References
29 Hobbies For People Who Really Want A Hobby But Have No Idea Where To Start
How to Find a Hobby – Smarter Living Guides – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Understanding the Five Core Skills of Mindfulness
The Biggest Informational List of Hobbies on the Internet: 300+ Hobbies to Ignite Your Passion