Can Hobbies Actually Make You a Better Person? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 21, 2026 · 12 MIN

Can Hobbies Actually Make You a Better Person?

from Harvard Business Review · host HBR

Can Hobbies Actually Make You a Better Person? 29 Oct 2021 --- 𝙎𝙪𝙗𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮! ✨ https://www.youtube.com/c/HBRAscend ✨ Rumor has it that having hobbies can actually make you happier, less stressed, and more creative. But is it actually true? Subscribe to the Ascend newsletter:https://hbr.org/email-newsletters?movetile_hbpascendnl&hideIntromercial=true 00:00 Can hobbies make you a better person? 1:06 Hiking can lower your stress levels 2:21 Cooking can help you build self-esteem 3:53 Journaling can help you be happier 5:39 Coloring can make you more creative 7:22 My favorite hobby How much time do you spend on your hobbies? Odds are, it’s not as much time as you’d like. When life gets busy, our hobbies are one of the first things to go out the window. But research shows that taking part in leisure activities can actually have a positive impact on our overall happiness and health. Ascend editor Kelsey Alpaio puts this research to the test by trying out four new hobbies: hiking, cooking, coloring, and journaling. Follow along to find out which hobby worked best for her — and which might work for you. Links to research: Hobbies: https://www.ucmerced.edu/sites/ucmerced.edu/files/documents/zawadzki-paper-2015.pdf Hiking: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/walking/index.htm Cooking: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-road-to-mental-health-through-the-kitchen-1418059204 Journaling: https://hbr.org/2020/10/use-gratitude-to-counter-stress-and-uncertainty Coloring:https://newsblog.drexel.edu/2016/09/16/study-just-45-minutes-of-art-making-improves-self-confidence/ #hobbies #journaling #creativity Produced by Kelsey Alpaio & Andy Robinson Video by Kelsey Alpaio & Andy Robinson Editing by Kelsey Alpaio Animation and Design by Riko Cribbs and Karen Player Follow us: https://hbr.org/ascend https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/hbrascend https://www.facebook.com/hbrascend/ https://twitter.com/HBRAscend https://www.instagram.com/hbrascend/ Copyright © 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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