If you’re an entrepreneur, sleepovers at the office, late-night snacking and back-to-back appointments are inevitable, but in the midst of all the chaos an entrepreneur needs to have some hobbies to keep his/her sanity.
Dance, music, sports or fine arts, basically any hobby that helps them rest and recharge and more importantly gets them to be more innovative and creative is important.
How can hobbies help an entrepreneur’s professional life?
Build New Perspectives: Hobbies have the capacity to put us in out-of-control situations or vulnerable positions and that helps entrepreneurs a lot. One is forced to look at the world differently, one’s patience and determination are tested and one’s relationship building skills too, are put to test. For eg, outdoor sports or activities really push us to explore our physical strength which requires us to be mentally strong. We learn more about ourselves and realise the importance to push ourselves.
Help De-stress: Entrepreneurs always have a lot going on their minds and that’s natural. But when a stressed mind begins taking control over you, things might get difficult, personally and professionally. Hobbies are great stress relievers, in fact they promote Eustress or beneficial stress which abates the negative stress and makes one feel calm and motivated. Like for eg, a good game of tennis or any sport where there is the eustress of playing well and winning the game. Eustress serves as a great outlet for the negative stress.
Fuel Creativity: Thinking out of the box is not just another characteristic of an entrepreneur is the very essence of his/her personality that makes him/her an entrepreneur in the first place. But at times day-to-day work can set a mechanical tone to the way one thinks or acts and that’s when hobbies come to the rescue. Hobbies open one up to a whole new set of experiences that channelise creativity and build unique problem solving skills.
Help Stay Fit: Entrepreneurs need to be in ship shape physically and mentally. They’re under a lot of pressure on a day-to-day basis. Lack of sleep and long working hours can cause too much stress and anxiety leading to depression and hypertension. All of this can be avoided is there’s an effective outlet. Mark Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce is an avid Yoga & meditation practitioner and organises yoga classes for his employees too.
Unearth Hidden Talents: One cannot work all his/her life and retirement can get tough for those who didn’t have any hobbies when young. They thus find themselves lost, frustrated and vulnerable to bad habits. Hobbies help locate one’s interests and talents. If they’re pursued, there’s a chance that he/she can continue and master the same once they’re retired. They’ll be occupied and always have something to look forward too.Talents also unleash another dimension of the entrepreneur’s identity, which gives them more confidence.
