Tuesday, 30 July 2013 16:36

How Hobbies Lead to Happiness at Work and in Life

Written by   Rachael Pontillo, owner of Holistically hauteTM, LLC

Aestheticians play a significant role in helping their clients remember the importance of prioritizing self-care. While self-care most certainly refers to relaxing spa treatments and taking time at home for a high quality at-home skin care regimen, the true meaning of self-care goes beyond that. My definition of self-care encompasses the care of one’s whole self – not only the physical self, but also the mental, emotional and creative aspects of the self. When all of these aspects of the self are well tended to, one is much more likely to approach each day with a more positive outlook. More importantly, one will also have the ability to more effectively care for others and tend to responsibilities without feeling drained.

Human Beings Need to Create

While we may not all possess the ability to paint the Mona Lisa, compose like Mozart, cook like Julia Child, or write like Hemingway, every human being is born with a special talent. Some people are able to find and learn to express their talents early on while others might discover them later in life.
We are all creative beings, and creative beings need to create as much as we need to eat, breathe and sleep. Creativity has a different meaning for different people and unfortunately, due to many factors (one’s upbringing, religion, busy schedule, et cetera), that creativity is often stifled. Its importance is not valued as much as it should be, which can have a powerful effect on one’s overall ability to achieve true happiness and success in life. If we stifle our creativity or discount its importance, we create blockages in other aspects of life, which can hinder our ability to move forward in different areas like health, work and personal relationships.

Hobbies are a Great Way to Discover Hidden Talents

No matter how busy one’s schedule is, it is very important to schedule time for self-care, specifically for expressing creativity. Trying out different hobbies is a great way to explore one’s creativity because it can be very enjoyable. Some people find one hobby and fall in love with it so much it becomes their passion. For example, I love to play with natural ingredients and blend essential oils. Making all-natural, organic skin care products and teaching the recipes in my community workshops is one of my passions. Some people prefer to try different hobbies for shorter periods of time, or change them up each season to stay interested and keep trying
different things.
One great thing about hobbies is that there are no set rules. Each person gets to decide how often they want to do it and whether they want to stick with it for a long time or move on to something else after trying it for a few weeks or months.

Hobbies Can Be Enjoyed Alone or Socially

Another valuable aspect of hobbies is that one can enjoy them quietly when enjoying some downtime alone, or as a way to become involved with a community. Book clubs, art or cooking classes, writers’ workshops, knitting circles, gardening clubs – nearly every type of hobby presents an opportunity to meet with other likeminded individuals and build relationships. This could be beneficial on both a personal and professional level.
In any business, especially the salon and spa business, teamwork is vital to success. Hobbies can be a great way to create a community among co-workers either in or outside of the spa. Sometimes if co-workers are not getting along, having them participate in a seemingly non-work related hobby, where all participants are novices, can be great for creating common ground.
Oftentimes, the simple act of providing an opportunity for a person to find and express his or her own inherent creative talents produces significant positive changes. When people experience something as simple and profound as creating something beautiful from seemingly nothing, they begin to view the world – and daily environments – in a fresh, new way.

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