Why Hobbies Are Important

Hobbies aren’t a waste of time—they’re fuel for balance, joy, and a better life.

The day after I graduated high school, a friend of mine and I were sitting on the back of my pickup truck, talking about our futures.

My friend turned to me and asked, “So what are you going to do now…go work for your dad?”

My dad at the time owned a finance company that made small loans to people in our community. It was assumed that I would follow in his footsteps and join the business.

I answered, “Eh maybe…we’ll see what happens.”

“Will you end up calling it Brockner & Son?” he replied.

“No, we’ll call it Brockner & Father,” I quipped.

See, I always knew - even then - that I would own my own company one day. I was driven, ambitious, and entrepreneurial.

After college at Boise State, I started my very first company and have essentially worked for myself ever since then. Along the way, I somehow forgot that there is more to life. Much more.

I neglected my health, my relationships, and any “fun” things that I used to enjoy. My thought process was that I had to solely focus on my business. That seemed like a good idea, but was actually terrible advice.

Over the years I realized that those other things were as important (if not more so) than building a business. One thing I particularly underrated was my hobbies.

Hobbies just seemed like a waste of time. After all, if I spent that time working, then I could accomplish so much more. Besides, I would naively tell myself, working is my hobby. What a bunch of crap.

Taking time for yourself to simply decompress and do things that are enjoyable not only make you a more well-rounded human, but also keep you sane. You need that mental break from different activities to engage other parts of your brain and body. Like sleep, the more of these types of things you can fit into your life, the better.

Now obviously I am cautioning against overdoing it. But, let’s face it, if you are an entrepreneur or business owner you are most likely working or thinking about working every spare second you have.

Again, too much of this can be detrimental and hold you back. You need fun and diversion in your life. You need hobbies that you can do alone, with your family, or with friends.

So, what kind of hobbies should you have? Well, that’s a very personal choice, but here are a few of mine…

• reading (both fiction and non-fiction)

• scuba diving

• whiskey and other spirits

• cigar smoking

• working out

• traveling

• photography and videography (although I’m not very good at either haha)

These are things that are currently on my list. I have more that I want to explore and this list will evolve and change over time I’m sure. The important thing to keep in mind is that it doesn’t really matter what the hobby is, but that you have some. (Unless your hobby is serial killing…then it matters a lot)

I would encourage you to fit fun into your every day life. Plan it, schedule it, then actively do it. See how you feel afterwards. I bet it makes a difference in your life. I know it has in mine.

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