Sometimes, when you get a new job or start a new career path, it may seem like all you should think about is your job. This way of thinking isn’t always beneficial to you or your career. The reality is that you must build and maintain interests outside of your work.
Why Have Interests?
You may be wondering why it’s so important to have interests outside of your career. It is important because having a hobby, and doing things you are passionate about, has profound effects on your life and who you are as a person.
Having a passion or hobby, you engage in helps broaden your horizons and make you more interesting to other people. Not only that, but it also helps boost your creativity and ability to solve problems when they arise. By having interests outside of work, you become a more well-rounded individual and a better employee.
Interests Can Also Be Self Care Time
Another reason you need to have interests outside of work is that you need self-care time. When you are working on a hobby that makes you happy, this is self-care.
People who don’t have enough time to pursue the things they enjoy often report being overworked and overly stressed. These symptoms can spiral and lead to a dangerous condition known as burnout. It can often take weeks, months, and maybe even years to improve when you have burnout.
Interests Give You A New Perspective
Pursuing your interests also does something else, which doesn’t often happen while you are at work. It gives you an opportunity and the time to develop a new perspective.
When you are at work all day, you are often being told what to do and are at the whim of someone else’s perspective. When you pursue interests important to you, your mind is free to play and develop new, creative ideas. This new perspective can help spur positive change in both your personal and professional goals.
In conclusion, while it can sometimes be difficult to have the energy to pursue your interests outside of work, it is important that you do so. Embracing your interests helps to make you a better person and a better employee. So next time you are tempted to take your work home with you on the weekend, remind yourself of the importance of having time for your interests!
