We all have that one thing which we always put off; that thing we know will be great once we start, but we don’t. For some, it’s to start painting and for others it’s to finally learn playing an instrument. Everyone has that one thing they want to do; they know they will do;wait for the perfect time, knowing it will be perfectly perfect they know it will be great once they do, but they never actually get around to do.
We love the idea of it, romanticise it, wait for the perfect time, knowing it will be perfectly perfect. We even feed off of the happiness we get from the simple idea of doing it. And it is perfectly understandable since thinking about it is much safer than actually attempting it. No chance to fail, no struggle to get better and definitely no stage of inevitable incompetency in the beginning.
But, the things we fear in the beginning are usually the things we are most happy to have done in the end. And there’s no quite feeling like starting from scratch and becoming actually good at something. Not necessarily great, but just good. The learning curve is usually a reward itself once you reach a certain point.
In order to get that reward, you need two things: courage to attempt and time to spend.
As a silver lining of the Covid-19 lockdowns and isolation, we have more time in our hands than we ever did before, and this can be the perfect opportunity to spend some of that time on yourself and that one thing you never found the right moment to start. You just need to muster enough courage, and your isolation days can turn into a period of self-growth and the beginning of a new hobby.
And if you’re not sure about what would be the best thing to start and improve yourself on, here are a couple of ideas to inspire you:
PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT
We all have a favourite instrument that we always wanted to play. This is a great chance to start working on your skills. Thanks to YouTube and online courses, you can start learning your favourite songs without an instructor. And if you have friends who are also interested, you can even lay the foundations of a band. This way, you can rehearse for the songs you will play together once the pandemic is over!
WRITING
Isolation and time spent by yourself can become a great source of insight and inspiration, many of the famous artists are known to self-isolate in their creative process. If writing is your passion, this period can become a huge opportunity to dig out some real emotion and put them on paper with a poem or a short story.
PAINTING
Painting is one of the most relaxing hobbies known out there. Oil and acrylic provide a safe space with thick and dense materials that can cover any mistakes and allow you to start over anytime you want with a fresh coat of background. Watercolour, on the other hand, frees up your spirit with its flowing and liquid form, allowing you to improvise and create with a touch of serendipity.
KNITTING
Far from the stereotypical granny-hobby that it’s made out to be, knitting is actually a very fun and creative hobby. If you have a sense of fashion, you can learn the basics in no time and knit scarves, hats, gloves and even shirts. These would also make a wonderful gift for your loved ones once the pandemic is over.
LEARNING A LANGUAGE
Almost all of us are mesmerised by the phonetic beauty of at least one foreign language. Even though you don’t know the meaning of the words, the songs just flow better in that language and speeches are more to the heart. Well, it is a great time to learn a new language and it’s relatively easy thanks to the many linguistic apps that provide tutorials. Just imagine: the pandemic is over, you’re at your favourite pub with your friends, your favourite French song starts playing and you sing along!
You can write your own history
Covid-19 has unquestionably changed our lives, created hardships that we couldn’t imagine in a lifetime and caused suffering for countless people. These days will be written in the pages of history as a grim era. But don’t forget, they will pass. So why not create your own history, and instead of remembering these days as what they are, reminisce them as the beginning of that thing you always wanted to do. A good start, the beginning of the curve, that perfect moment.
#StayHome #StayPositive