Life can get pretty busy at times. In fact, that’s a pretty serious understatement. There are days when life can feel like a complete nightmare! Between work, family, relationships, and keeping up some semblance of a social life it can often feel like you’re being pulled in all kinds of different directions. It can be, to put it bluntly, exhausting. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being around people or giving your time to the people in your life, but even the most enthusiastic extrovert can’t deal with giving their attention to everyone else all of the time. There’s nothing wrong with needing to take a little time away from the rest of the world and just enjoy being by yourself for a little while. With that in mind, here are a few of the very best hobbies for anyone who want’s to enjoy a little bit of “me time.”
Golfing
Golfing is pretty unique among many sports because it tends to be just as much, if not more, of a workout for your mind as it is for your body. Sure, you’re going to build up some muscles swinging your clubs on the green, but the main joy of golf is the sheer focus that it involves. Thinking heavily about which clubs you’re going to use, where to aim your shot, which way the wind is blowing and the thousands of other little details that can impact the direction of the ball will focus your mind so much that you’ll often enter an almost meditative state. When you’re that focused there’s simply no room for the stress of everyday life to invade your mind. And if you’re really in need of a break, you could even take a little getaway to some CGE golfing resorts for a few days. It’s the perfect way to de-stress when keeping both your mind and body engaged and you’ll come back ready to take on whatever life can throw at you.
Swimming
Of course, almost any activity can still leave you open to other people hassling you and trying to drag you back into the stress of your everyday life. That’s not possible when you’re swimming. Not only is it one of the best workouts available by far, but swimming allows you to completely engross yourself in what you’re doing and escape the world outside, at least for a little while. With your head under the water and nothing but the sound of it rushing around your ears, it’s a great way to completely separate yourself from the world around you for a short period. Not only that but the workout that it will give you will leave you feeling healthy and positive which will make dealing with life’s little causes of stress much easier.
Knitting
That’s right fellas that means you as well! You might think that knitting is purely the preserve of your elderly grandmother who forced you to wear itchy sweaters all year round but it’s actually a fantastic hobby for anyone who needs to take some time to just relax. Sure, it doesn’t offer the physical workout that other activities might, but it’s surprisingly good at engaging your mind. It might be a little bit tricky at first, but over time you’ll get more and more familiar with the patterns, and you may even find something strangely soothing and zen-like about the repetitive movement of the needles and the yarn. Plus, how many other hobbies can you think of where you actually have something real to show for it at the end?
Hiking
Solo hiking trips are the perfect way to go out into nature without having to coordinate with anyone else. If you live near a local national park, go out exploring and immerse yourself in the wilderness for a few hours as a great distraction from the outside world. Before you go out into the woods alone, make sure you’re prepared with a compass, map, water, snacks, and all your essentials. Many nature reserves have different routes to choose, like novice paths for beginners with more ‘extreme’ routes for the experienced hiker. If you’re interested in being in the great outdoors with a little more focus than hiking, you might want to consider hunting as a sport. You might have to expand your group to a couple more people for safety. It’s the perfect way to enjoy the company of others in silence, still satisfying the “me time” component.
Fishing
Of course, if you really want to relax then there are few hobbies for meditative than fishing. As anyone will tell you, the majority of your time fishing is spent doing… well doing not very much! However, far from being boring like you might expect, the time you spend waiting for a bit often leads you to simply sitting there and enjoying the world around you. The sound of the wind in the trees, the gentle movement of the water in front of you. Not only that but the time spent waiting hugely increases the thrill that you feel when you finally get a bite. Then it’s hard not to feel like you’re in a pitched one-on-one battle! The rise and fall of tension and release when you’re fishing is something that few other activities can compete with, and it’s often down to the sheer amount of time you spend simply waiting.
