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Why Having Hobbies As An Entrepreneur Matters

When you’re an entrepreneur, the thought of doing anything outside of developing your business may seem absurd. The thing is, focusing on just business can burn you out. You may lose all sense of passion for life if you don’t do things you really enjoy doing. Having a hobby forces you to give yourself spare time which you really do need. In this day and age, you can outsource projects easily and for very little money. There is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to have a hobby. Richard Branson kite-skis in his spare time. If he makes time for a hobby, so can you. Here are the benefits you will gain.




It’s Good For Your Mental Health

If you’re honest, focusing on work and nothing else can lead you to feeling burnt out and perhaps even a little unhappy. If you lead an organization, you know you have to operate at your best. This doesn’t mean working yourself to the ground. It actually means the opposite. You should be doing the things you love as a recharge. Take time for yourself, and you will do just that. Spending time doing what you love will be highly effective in giving you extra energy.

Your mental health is at risk when you constantly work and don’t surround yourself with things you love. It’s not good for the people you work with and can reflect badly on your company when dealing with clients. You are only human and as part of a basic need, we really do need to explore hobbies. Hobbies can reduce stress levels, and you may even solve work problems when you relax into them.

You Become Better Connected to Friends and Family

If you’re not close to your loved ones because you are too busy working, you have to ask yourself what it’s all for. Having strong connections with people you love is important. Sharing interests with them is a great way to bond. Maybe you go golfing with your buddies once a week. Maybe you and your family go out boating or for bike rides on a Sunday afternoon. Your hobbies don’t have to be big deal events. They just have to be something you really enjoy doing.

Sharing personal interests with others helps you engage with each other. If you don’t have a lot of time, this is a great way to maximize moments. You can become very connected to loved ones, maintaining those very important relationships. When your personal relationships are solid, you have that extra support you need. Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of grit and energy. You need to be backed up by the people in your life to make it all easier. Even if your family doesn’t know the things you face in your business, they can still be supportive when you need it.

Hobbies in Lieu of Work Ambitions

It can be a bit of a trap, believing that your entrepreneurship is backed by personal passion. Some are lucky enough to be able to create a company based on their true passions. It’s rare though. Entrepreneurs often develop businesses that they know will make money. That just makes good business sense. It is driven by what customers want, as opposed to what you want.

When you’re honest with yourself about this fact, you can turn to your hobby as your personal passion. We would all love to turn our favorite hobby into a company that pays the bills, but that’s likely not going to happen. For an all-around experience in your life, do that hobby just for you. Work on your business as per what customers need. Work on yourself just for you. Your work life can be draining so let you hobby be the separate entity that brings you joy.

Let Your Hobby Be a Side Project

You may have a hobby that you love that could be made a side project. As it’s a labor of love, it won’t feel like work. You can continue being an entrepreneur to fund the side project. Maybe it’s a blog about something you know a lot about and love to talk about. Maybe you’ll build a Chinese sail boat from teak. Whatever your big love is in life, you can take your time and work on it. It could eventually be something that brings you extra money.

You get that time to work on something close to your heart. You can work on your creativity with no pressure or deadlines involved. Months or years down the road, it could bring in revenue. Even if it doesn’t work out that way, you will have enjoyed the process. It will bring you fulfillment as a personal project.

Don’t deny your personal passions. Instead, make them a part of your daily regime. It is highly rewarding and will bring meaning to your life. This is an important aspect to being an entrepreneur. When we have a job working for someone else, we easily check out when it’s time to go home. It’s not so easy for an entrepreneur. We often feel like we have to keep  on pushing forward, working harder, working more. If you don’t have a level of inner fulfillment, then what is all that hard work for anyway?

Take these thoughts into consideration and start doing something you once enjoyed doing. If you don’t have a hobby, it’s time to start trying new things to find out what it is you like. This should be an exciting venture so embrace it and learn something new about yourself. Don’t worry that it’s going to take away from your productivity. Chances are, it will improve it.

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Loraine Couturier
Staff writer: Loraine Couturier is a jet set writing chick from Canada that travels around the globe. Her writing and marketing skills are what keeps her eating exotic meals and jumping on planes. Loraine loves writing about pretty much anything and likes to pass on the knowledge she has to others. Visit her at https://www.facebook.com/jetsetwritingchick

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Staff writer: Loraine Couturier is a jet set writing chick from Canada that travels around the globe. Her writing and marketing skills are what keeps her eating exotic meals and jumping on planes. Loraine loves writing about pretty much anything and likes to pass on the knowledge she has to others. Visit her at https://www.facebook.com/jetsetwritingchick

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