“To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.”
–Winston Churchill
Early in my career when I operated my own solo accounting practice, I remember coming home from the office during busy season very late one evening. It must have been after 11:00 p.m. It was dark and quiet in the neighborhood. My key didn’t work in the lock. I was locked out of my own house.
I checked the house. Yes, I was at the right front door. Did my new wife suddenly become fed up with my late working hours and change the locks on the house?
After a brief fatigue induced panic, I realized that I was trying to open the house lock with my office key.
Once I used the right key, I opened the door to the realization that I was working too hard and needed a hobby.
The year was 1996. I remember the lock struggles and the insight very clearly. It was time for me to shift from accounting to consulting. And it was time to get serious about a hobby or two.
A hobby is: “An activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation; to concern oneself excessively with a favorite notion or activity,” as defined by my four-pound Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (yes, a book, not google). I love the “excessive” part!
We need hobbies to recharge and energize us, to connect us with nature and other people, and to get us moving, especially if we work with computers or at a desk.
My hobbies include:
- photography
- astronomy
- kayaking: the entire family on the water
- skiing
- our dogs
- travel
- camping (well, glamping, actually).
“A hobby will help your brain and your heart much more effectively than television or surfing the web.”
–Phil Symchych
And now, a word from our sponsor…
To access free articles and information on business growth, supply chain, crisis management, succession planning, and more, go to the free public section on my new Global Business Advisors Forums here.
An Offer!
If you’d like to subscribe to our upcoming monthly newsletter called “The Global SME Business Advisor,” normally at $295 USD value and temporarily offered for free, let me know by email.
What are your hobbies and favorite things to do excessively where you can lose yourself for hours? What did you enjoy years ago that you gave up due to work and other obligations?
