Hobbies For Guys

Hobbies For Guys

When I was in college I started playing in a band.  I played drums with a group of guys and we had a blast.  We wrote our own songs and basically tried our best to sound like the Cure or New Order or other new wave/goth/alternative groups at the time.  We had a blast.  As I finished college and started working I still played in the band.  I love music and to this day still go to numerous concerts every year.  But then a time came when I got a job offer and it involved moving a few hours away from the guys in the band.  And thus ended my drumming career.  To this day 25 years later my drum kit is still in my basement and it hasn’t been set up in over a decade.  I do have some new hobbies these days (such as this website!) but my story is very common.  Hobbies that feed your passion when you are younger tend to drift to the side as life takes over.  Here are some ideas for hobbies for guys.

Get a Life!

I strongly suggest you get at least one, if not several hobbies in your life that you enjoy doing on a regular basis.  In this spirit of much of this website it’s way too easy to fall into the pattern of dronesville.  In this day and age the norm is to fall into the habit of basically eating, working, and sleeping.  From time to time you toss in a little bit of romance, a weekend getaway, a drink or two, watching the game on tv, and potentially going on a week’s vacation once a year that’s more of a pain in the ass than it’s worth.  This is basic survival but as the days slip by one by one it can hardly be called living.  There are so many hobbies for guys out there, I urge you to pick up a few and try em on for size to see if you like them.  If you don’t that’s fine.  Guess what?  You’ve found something you don’t like, now go find something you do like.  Keep trying until you find a few you like.  You can thank me later.

 

Let’s Get Physical

Okay, one of your hobbies really should be something that has a physical aspect to it.  Now as you know I am a HUGE proponent of being physically fit.  Personally I ride a stationary bike most mornings right after I get up and I life weights between 3-5 times a week as well.  Now I don’t think I would call this a hobby per se, I’ve been active like this for 30 years.  It is super important to me to stay in shape physically.  I am not all about the mirror although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look for progress there.  For me at this stage of the game it’s more about being strong and being able to do everything I want to in life.  Being physically fit can lead you to physical hobbies.  For a few years I got into riding my bike outside on a regular basis and finding new trails to ride on and explore.  There are many activities you can do with other guys as well such as basketball, frisbee golf, softball, biking, hiking, mountain climbing, etc.  Being in shape lays the ground works and can open the door to many hobbies that are physical in nature.  I strongly suggest one physical hobby.

Creativity

There are so many awesome creative hobbies you can get into.  I actually received my Bachelor’s degree (many moons ago) in Fine Arts with a minor in Art History.  When I was in college I was the prototype “artsy” guy with a little goth thrown in for good measure.  I played drums in a band.  I was Mr. Creative.  Then I decided to grow up and do this whole adult thing.  And promptly dropped all parts of me that were creative other than my love of music and going to concerts.  About 5 years ago I blew the dust off my paint brushes and started painting again.  

No being very patient these days I moved on to collages and have recently begun incorporating the two.  You can draw, paint, photography, play guitar, do wood working, even building custom cars is creative.  The really cool thing about being creative is when you are able to focus on it, I mean really focus on it, this is when time slips away and you find yourself so immersed nothing else really matters.  You just are.  It’s very cool.   Here’s a recent collage I did.  ————

Giving Back

Volunteering is something everyone should do on an at least semi-regular basis.  I’m not saying it needs to be every week but if it feeds your soul, why not?  I’m fortunate enough to work for a company that heavily emphasizes giving back to the community so there is never a shortage of volunteer activities I can sign up for at work.  Outside of the work venue there are so many opportunities to volunteer.  You can also volunteer with others in your life to help build and strengthen a relationship as well.   One of my daughter loves animals.  She’d adopt enough to fill a zoo if I’d let her.  Several years ago when she was going though a tough time I asked her if she wanted to volunteer at a local animal shelter.  Of course she agreed to.  So for once a week for 3 hours in the evening we would volunteer at the animal shelter.  Besides volunteering our time to help out she was able to spend some time with what she loved most – animals.  And we were able to spend a nice evening together once a week and it became our time.  We continued this for 2.5 years and still talk about it on a regular basis.

Get Reflective

There are some great hobbies you can do if you want to spend some quality time with yourself.  Personally I have found journaling to be beneficial to me in many ways.   I picked this up about 6 years ago.  I don’t do it daily, it’s more about when I have something on my mind and I want to “talk to myself” about it.  It’s also been great for recognizing patterns in myself and others in my life, helps me see things from a more clear, outside perspective.  Meditation is something that many people find great benefits to.  I’ve tried some free app meditation and they have worked well.  I’ve never been able to get it to be a habit but I have found when I do it a few days in a row I am more calm and mellow in general and almost always sleep great that night.  If you want to be outdoors things such as fishing, riding a bike, or jogging are all good.  Fishing is very peaceful for the most part, especially if you get up bright and early and head out.  If you go biking or jogging not only do you get the quiet reflective time inside your own head but also the added benefit of a good workout in. Two birds with one stone!

Wrapping Up

As is typical of me I usually have too many things going at one time and hobbies are no different.  It’s important to have several hobbies in your life and do whatever makes you feel good.  Some you can do and it can accomplish a multitude of things.  You can do a group activity such as basketball and you are getting the physical benefits of it as well as time with other guys and friends.  If you do something on your own like photography you get to scratch that creative itch as well as spend some quality time with yourself and do some nice thinking or just simply existing and appreciating nature.  And that’s something that we can all benefit from.

If you are ever looking for ideas a great resource I suggest, other than Google, is Meetup.com.  It’s great when looking for both some new hobby ideas as well as potentially meeting some new people.  There’s a wide variety of activities and hobbies in there in your local area.

Please feel free to share any hobby ideas you have – I look forward to hearing them.

All my best!

Mat A.