Hobbies for calming your mind

Day 133 / 365

I read today that some of the greatest Japan’s military generals throughout history were also masters of ‘Ikebana’, which is the ancient art of arranging flowers. According to them, this hobby helped them calm their minds which in turn helped them to take better decisions on the battlefield.

Now we are no generals, and we don’t have to face the stress of war. But the stress of a 9 to 5 job in a busy metro city can get tiring as well. So I guess we can all benefit from having such hobbies. Few minutes of some calming activity at the start or the end of your day can go a long way.

So what hobby should you choose?

• It should be something that you enjoy doing. It could be listening to music, reading, drawing, playing the guitar. Just make a list of things that make you happy and pick the top 3 out of those.
• It shouldn’t take up much of your time. Most of us have a lot on our plate anyway. So pick something that can fit easily into your schedule.
• The whole point of this is to have something that calms you down. So make sure the thing you choose doesn’t start feeling like a chore. It should be something you look forward to doing each day.

And remember, everyone’s different. I enjoy reading a nice book for hours at end, but you might find it tiring. So don’t go by what others think is good. Choose something that makes you happy. And make sure you take time out of every day to treat yourself with that little dose of happiness.

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog —What could have been