31 Days {Day 6} – Change Your Hobbies

My kids are routinely trying out new activities. M. is playing soccer for the first time this year and she seems to really like it. B. is a first time cheerleader this year too but she has really struggled with it. While it seems to be getting better, I doubt that she’ll stick with it for the long term. D. began playing the saxophone in the school band last year. This year he still wanted to play in the band but decided to switch to trumpet instead. So far, he seems very happy to have made the switch.

As a kid, it seems like there are many opportunities to try out new activities and hobbies. And kids are encouraged to really take advantage of those opportunities. But when was the last time that you tried out a new activity? Personally, there are a few hobbies that I would love to try but still haven’t found the….time? money? confidence?…to try them. As adults, there are so many reasons why we stop trying new activities. Maybe we feel guilty about carving out time for ourselves. Maybe money is tight and we just can’t afford to spend any on optional activities. Or maybe we’re afraid that we’re just too old to learn something new.

I won’t argue against the money excuse. Sometimes we really don’t have the money to spend on something optional. And while I understand the time excuse (and have even used it myself), I often wonder if the time excuse is really a cover for that last excuse…we’re afraid. We’re afraid of looking silly. We’re afraid that we’ll try it and then hate it. We’re afraid of taking a class or joining a group where we know not one single person. And our fear stops us from trying.

But by giving into our fear, we are overlooking something very important…possibility. Every new opportunity brings with it possibility. The possibility to learn something new. The possibility to make new friends. The possibility to gain confidence in ourselves and our abilities. I want my kids to try new things because I want them have both the experience of the activity itself but also the experience of trying something new. Every time they try something new, it stretches them just a little bit. It puts them just slightly out of their comfort zone. And that area just outside their comfort zone is the place where they grow the most. And that area is the place where we grow the most too.

What new hobbies have you been thinking about trying?

This post is part of the 31 Days Series-Choose Your Change. Did you miss a day? Visit the 31 Days Welcome page for links to each day.