(Exercising Your Mind) By Jennifer Scott

Sometimes life gets the best of you and you feel like you’re alone or you don’t have anything to look forward to. If you find yourself wandering around your house with no idea of what to do, get your head up and look around. There are plenty of fun activities just waiting for you. Here are a few to help you get started, courtesy of Wealth Attraction Research.

Group Painting Class

Gather a group of your friends, bring your favorite beverage – adult or otherwise – and head to a local art studio for a group painting class. You might be amazed at how well you can paint, thanks to step-by-step instructions from experienced, enthusiastic artists who want to share their love of painting with you. Not only will you have a great time with great friends, you’ll end up with a well-done piece of artwork to take home.

Gardening

Getting out into your yard is another way to spend your time. Whether you decide to primarily plant flowers or vegetables, getting your hands in the dirt can do wonders for your mood, reduce your risk of depression and dementia, relieve stress and help you get some moderate physical exercise. Even if you don’t have a large yard, you can build raised beds or container gardens that don’t take up much space. You can even invite your friends over to help you garden – maybe they’ll be willing to trade a little work for some of the fruits of the garden. Better Homes & Gardens shows us that getting started is easy, just think about what and where you want to plant first.

Yoga

With more than 36 million practitioners, it’s safe to say yoga is here to stay. Yoga increases the health of both your mind and body, making you more flexible, increasing your muscle strength and tone and even helping you lose weight. It will also center and calm you and give you a space to think clearly apart from the clamoring noise of the world. Very Well Fit notes there are plenty of online videos that will take you through a yoga class, or you can grab some friends for a live local class.

Music

You don’t have to be born with a “Beethoven gene” in order to learn how to play music. There are many instruments, such as the drums, violin, and piano, that sound more complicated than they are. Learning to play an instrument can relieve stress and open up for you a new network of positive influences.

Geocaching

Geocaching is like a giant treasure hunt. You use a GPS to look for containers (known as “geocaches” or “caches”) hidden at specific coordinates. Once you have found the cache, you sign and date the logbook that is usually included. The container may include a few small trinkets or toys that you can trade for something you brought. These are not high in monetary value, but will have more sentimental value. There are lots of geocaching websites and phone apps you can use to join in the hunt. This is a great activity to do with friends or with your kids. Remember, X marks the spot!

From Hobby to Business Venture David Frost said, “Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.” Many hobbyists consider whether they can earn a living with the hobby they love. If you’ve displayed your creative outlet to friends and family who then exclaimed they are in line for the next one, there may be a market for your creative outlet. A next step would be to conduct market research and once you’re comfortable, register with your state. And that means selecting a business structure.

Many a hobbyist-turned-entrepreneur has chosen to form an LLC due to the tax advantages, security, and flexibility this entity type has over others that are available. And while there are a few steps involved, if you’re looking for help with the process of setting up your LLC, a formation service is an inexpensive alternative to hiring an attorney.

These activities will give you a chance to try something new. Humans do well when we have purpose and meaning in our lives. If you’re looking for that, start with some fun activities — you never know how a new skill or activity can change your life.

Photo from Pixabay

Wealth Attraction Research offers free information on vocational and avocational motivation, as well as self-improvement through hypnosis, yoga, capoeira, and much more! If you have any questions, please email HAK@UniquilibriuM.com.