In this episode, I share my opinions on the differences between hobbies, interests, exercise and work and why it’s important to separate the 4 out.
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The difference between your hobby, exercise, interests and work
Alot of people think that it’s one or the other with these things and I want to encourage you that you can fit all 4 into your days and you deserve to fit all 4 in.
In my opinion, these 4 areas of my life fill up different parts of us.
Hobbies fill up our souls and help relax and ground us. You probably cross stitch and that is very grounding and relaxing. It could also be reading, drawing, quilting, skating… there are so many hobbies!
Interests feed our mind and keep us learning new things all the time and expanding our knowledge. For example, my interests are learning more about hormones and how they work and impact our lives. And I love learning about spirituality and astrology; I’m even taking a diploma course in moon magic!
Exercise keeps our body healthy and working to the best of its capacity. It’s for our physical health. These 3 help connect the mind, soul, body connection and all 3 of these areas need taking care of.
Lots of us think that if we have 1 of these things, we can’t have the other 2. For example, if you go to the gym for an hour a day then you can’t then also do some of your hobbies later on or work on something outside of your job. You’ve already taken an hour for yourself, it’s selfish to take any more!
This is exactly how I would feel a few years ago but now I’ve realised that we need all 3. Yes, it probably won’t happen every single day but if we have the time, then maybe look at how you can keep all 3 areas balanced in your days.
It always come down to guilt; we feel guilty if we’re taking too much time for ourselves. But I want to encourage you that you deserve it all, time for it all, just because you do! It’s so hard to let go of that guilt. It took me years! But it does eventually get easier.
Work helps us afford to keep all these areas of our life in balance!
Of course, there can be cross overs. I love rollerskating and that is both a hobby and exercise. My work is very fulfilling to me and is much more than a job. And of course, I run a cross stitch business so I get to cross stitch for work.
But, work doesn’t have to do that for us. We can get joy and fulfilment outside of work. Even if your work is joyful and fulfilling I still encourage you to try and have hobbies and interests outside of work too.
If work isn’t very joyful and fulfilling to you then you can find it outside of work. You can have 100s of hobbies and interests that have nothing to do with your job.
We want to make sure we are happy and healthy at work as we spend so much time there but it doesn’t have to be a big purpose-filled job. I heard on Kathrin Zenkina’s podcast that our purpose isn’t what we’re doing, it’s who we’re being.
Filling ourselves with things we love is actually the opposite of selfish. The more we fill ourselves up the better we can show up for those who need and rely on us.
Links mentioned
- Manifestation Babe Academy (16 week programme)
- Kathrin Zenkina’s podcast episode on purpose
Extra cross stitch episodes and posts
- 5 tips to find time to cross stitch
- Cross stitch and motivation
- Cross stitch theme days
- Making cross stitch a habit
- My cross stitch and reading routine
- 12 tips for daily well-being
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