17 Tips to Becoming a Hobby Diva

Hobbies keep your mind active. Having an active mind will keep you feeling young, energized, and happy. Being an alert, creative, critical thinker is a goal worth pursuing. Becoming a hobby diva will help you reach that goal.

The process is simple and enjoyable. Here are 17 easy steps:

Make a list of all the things you ever wanted to know how to do. If you're interested in crafts or interior decorating consider making the list on strips of colored paper, fabric, or small cards. You can then display them in an interesting container.

Undo your past scripts about what you're not good at and what you don't have time for. Research the benefits of exercising your brain. The slight, initial discomfort caused by doing something new will quickly disappear as you learn about the ways your mind is being enriched.

Literally close your eyes and pick one item from your list. Closing your eyes is very important. It will evoke that childhood ritual of wish making. It will also help insure that randomness becomes part of the process.

Take a happy hour break and go to a library, a bookstore, or a plethora of web sites to explore the one thing you picked. Find out the basics of who,what, when, where, why, and how. Load your subconscious with images, quotes, and ideas. Peep into all the books or websites you can find during your one hour of exploration. Be sure and write down any ideas or questions that come up.

Invite a friend or two to join you in a 12-week hobby adventure. If you want a true adventure skip the old friends and find out where people who are already involved in the hobby hang out. Go there and see what's offered for novices.

Pick a project to start working on. Open your mind. The "project" doesn't have to be an object that you labor over. Your project could be a series of interviews, journal entries, a compilation of related sounds or smells, a small starter collection of paraphernalia associated with the hobby. Let the reason you're interested in whatever it is guide you to the right size and shape project. The goal is to experience something that interests you in a way that you enjoy.