How Hobbies Beat Boredom: Feel Excited About Life Again

Every afternoon used to feel the same. Doom scrolling, binge-watching TV or playing video games. Day after day. Hours would disappear, but at the end of each night, I felt like I just wasted another afternoon.

I kept thinking that life was going to get exciting on its own. But I’ve learnt that it doesn’t, at least not for me.

What I really needed was something meaningful to look forward to.

The Day I Found a Passion

When I was 19, I was at a low point. I was depressed, addicted to weed and video games. I didn’t exercise, I didn’t create anything and I didn’t have a passion. Then one day, I met someone who inspired me in a way I’ll never forget.

My housemate’s best friend was visiting from New Zealand and was staying with us. He was a few years older than me and I quickly started to look up to him because of his confidence, kindness and honesty.

But what truly inspired me wasn’t his character; it was how passionate he was about Muay Thai. I remember we were all talking about our hobbies and he showed my housemate and me videos of his fights and training sessions. Instantly I knew that this was something I had to try.

After he left, my housemate and I started Muay Thai. It was honestly really scary to sign up and it took several weeks to build up the confidence to do it. But after the first session, I was hooked.

The benefits of hobbies

Not only was this new hobby exciting, it also changed my life in ways I did not expect:

• I had something to look forward to every day

This made my days feel so much easier to get through. Even on the harder days, it helped knowing that I had something to look forward to.

• My existing hobbies became more exciting

Muay Thai had given me something new to focus on, and my old hobbies started to feel fun again. Now when I had the time to sit down and play video games, it didn’t feel like just another way to fill time. It felt intentional.

• New community and social connection

Before joining Muay Thai, I didn’t really have many opportunities to meet new people. But now I was surrounded by people who shared the same hobby. I made new friends and it started to become easier for me to talk to new people in other areas of my life too.

So if hobbies can benefit our lives in so many ways, how do we actually find the right ones?

How to Find a Hobby You Actually Enjoy

I was lucky enough to stumble across a passion by chance. Before that, I had no idea what type of hobbies I would like.

But over the years of trying new things, I have learnt two simple ways to make finding hobbies I actually enjoy, much easier.

Don’t Overthink It

The thought, “What if I don’t like it?” kept me from trying new hobbies more times than I would like to admit. I had this belief that there was some type of risk involved. Like wasting my time or feeling dumb because I didn’t end up enjoying the hobby.

But the reality is that most hobbies are relatively low risk and easy to start. So if you don’t like one, just move on to something new. Over the past few years I have tried futsal, YouTube, this blog, skateboarding, drawing, reading and many other hobbies. Most didn’t stick, so I would just try something else.

If you also struggle with a similar mentality, then my advice is to keep trying out as many new hobbies as you can until you find something you enjoy. Eventually you might even find a new passion.

Choose Hobbies Based on What You Want From Them

But maybe you don’t like the idea of trying everything and anything. If you would prefer a more targeted way to narrow down your options, choose hobbies based on the benefits you want.

These are the four categories that I personally look for in a hobby. But you can choose by any type of benefit you want:

• To stay creative
  
  – All of my hobbies used to be consuming media in one way or another. Finding a hobby that let me express myself has made me more creative in other areas of my life too. My favourite way to do this is through writing. But there are so many good hobbies that get you creating rather than consuming, like painting, filming and editing videos, music production and more.
  
  
• To stay healthy
  
  – Before Muay Thai, I rarely did any physical activity. Having a hobby that is fun and gets me moving has helped me stay fit and healthy. Recently, I have started skateboarding, which is a lot more exhausting than it looks! Some other good examples are weightlifting, community sport, running, cycling and surfing.
  
  
• To rest and relax
  
  – Not every hobby needs to be productive. Sometimes it feels really good to unwind with something that is simply enjoyable. When I need to shut my brain off for a bit, I make time for gaming. There are plenty of good ways to do this, like watching TV, movies or reading.
  
  
• For self-development
  
  – For years I felt like I was going nowhere because I wasn’t learning anything new that would help me grow as a person. I thought self-development meant journaling for hours, studying or meditating every day. But the simple act of going for walks while listening to self-development audiobooks has really helped me continue to grow as a person.
  

But why choose just one? You don’t need a hobby from every category, but having a few helps keep everything fresh and exciting. The only real limit to the number of hobbies you can have is your time and energy. Other than that, the more the merrier!

Conclusion

Finding new hobbies has made me realise that I never needed to wait for life to get exciting. I was the one who needed to create things to look forward to. Now, none of my days feel like the same boring cycle. Each hour feels intentionally lived, rather than wasted away from boredom.

Hobbies haven’t just been a way to pass time; they have become the foundation for a life I am genuinely excited for.