WELLNESS
Most New Year's resolutions feel a bit negative with a lot of "I'm going to cut out sugar, alcohol, and junk food" and "I'm going to spend less" and don't forget the "I'm going to stop wasting my gym membership and get in shape". Whilst they are all good in principal because whole foods, good investments and moving your body are great resolutions, there's still a hint of neggy vibes to the way they are phrased with most of the focus on output, optimisation, and correction. What rarely appears on resolution lists is nourishment and enjoyment. Sigh.
We're heading into a softer 2026, not in a Soft Girl Aesthetic way, but in a soothe our soul, enjoy life more, up our femininity kinda way. And that relates to how we spend our free time too, coming back to creativity for creativity's sake, taking our time and enjoying the scenery. There's a lot to be said about the lessons that come from growing, making, expressing, moving and getting a little bit closer to our roots.
If you're ready to be more aligned with your true self this year, the let's get to it.
The Groundwork
By doing a little bit of preparation, you'll choose hobbies that align with who you are and who you want to become rather than just filling time, or worse starting something you realise isn't you. You can be whoever you want to be and that's the beauty of it.
Ask yourself some questions:
- how do I want my day to look
- what do I want to learn this year
- what are my priorities
- what are my goals
Maybe you want a day that is outside as much as possible so an outdoor hobby is ideal for you, maybe a priority is to eat healthy, delicious food this year so learning new kitchen skills is for you or maybe you want to learn a new language for work, travel or culture.
What Nourishment Actually Means
Nourishment takes us from surviving to thriving, it's the difference between a McDonalds and a home cooked organic burger, between scraping through on 6 hours sleep or having a delicious 8-9 solid hours a night, or a relaxed and peaceful mind vs a stressed and rushed one. Nourish is to love ourselves and some of the highest form of selfcare.
Psychologically nourishing hobbies share core traits that contribute to our overall well-being and personal growth, helping us build a sense of belonging, satisfaction, and positivity.
Autonomy and Control
A sense of freedom and agency in our actions, rather than pressure or obligation, supporting our self-esteem and personal value.
Competence and Mastery
Hobbies that develop skills and balance challenge with ability, reinforcing our confidence through progress and achievement.
Relatedness and Connection
Opportunities to build supportive relationships, share experiences, and reduce isolation, whether through everyday interactions or acts of service.
Meaning and Purpose
Alignment with our personal values, creating a sense of purpose. Even routine actions can feel meaningful when viewed as care for oneself or others.
Mindfulness and Presence
Attention to the present moment, encouraging self-awareness and a fuller appreciation of life.
This is why doom scrolling, binge watching, and even some forms of exercise leave us feeling more depleted than before. They mess with our dopamine release and consume our energy rather than replenish it.
The Nourishing Hobby List
(And Why You Probably Need More Than One)
Most people benefit from a range of different hobbies, not just one single pursuit. Different activities nourish our different systems.
The Physical Hobbies - for your nervous system
These hobbies calm physiological stress and centre us without pushing us into competition or exhaustion.
Walking: without tracking, not steps for data. Walking just to walk, no headphones, no scrolling, no destination if you prefer it that way. Walking restores rhythm to our body and creates space for thought to settle naturally.
Swimming: There is something hugely grounding about water, no matter if its a pool, lake or sea. It's one of the few hobbies that is just you and the act, letting you fully surrender to your movement.
Yoga & Pilates: when practised without class competition, these disciplines reconnect you to alignment, breath, and internal awareness. The benefits are not only flexibility, posture alignment and strength but self connection, spiritual wellbeing and holistic well-being.
Other ideas: horse riding, kite surfing, paddle boarding, tennis, running, hiking.
The Creative Hobbies - for your emotions
These allow feelings to move, exit or come to the surface without needing to be articulated.
Journaling or reflective writing: writing for yourself, journaling, letters for future you, essays with no intention of publication. Writing clears our thoughts and helps us process emotion.
Drawing, painting or mixed media collage: from vision boards to landscapes, visual creativity engages a different part of our mind. Skill doesn't matter, let your intuition and creativity take over.
Cooking for enjoyment: not for meal prep or as a rushed job when you're tired on a Wednesday night. But instead, a dish that is nostalgic, or one you've always put off making because it's a little fiddly. Weekend pastries like the ones your grandmother used to make, beef bourguignon on a Sunday evening, a rose and pistachio cake, finally starting your sourdough journey. Cooking nourishes us in more ways than one.
Other ideas: quilting, woodworking, pottery, dancing, theatre classes.
The Intellectual Hobbies - for mental depth
These require commitment, attention and patience but the rewards are extensive.
Reading challenging books: reading is one of life's great pleasures, but this is not end of the day in bed reading. This is choosing books that that challenge your thinking and make you look at life differently. Literature, philosophy, history, biographies, pick up something you wouldn't usually.
Learn a language: learning a language reshapes how you think. It introduces humility, patience, and an interest in a new culture. Progress is slow, it requires commitment but the rewards are life long.
Studying a subject for pleasure: pick a subject that has no professional payoff. Art history, mythology, architecture, psychology. You're studying simply because you are interested in the subject.
Other ideas: chess, puzzles, sudoku, coding, debate clubs.
The Sensory Hobbies - reconnecting with the physical
Modern life dulls our senses and disconnects us from nature.
Gardening: caring for something living teaches huge amounts of patience and observation. A vegetable plot, window sill herbs, house plants or a full garden, it doesn't matter the size of what you grow. It will teach you that growth cannot be rushed and it's a good reminder each day.
Music: learning an instrument engages multiple senses and offers a wide array of cognitive, emotional, and physical benefits. It's a complex hobby that stimulates the brain and provides a multi-sensory experience.
Knitting, embroidery, sewing: a skill that will never not be needed (how many times have you rushed sewn a button or hem) but for enjoyment repetitive handwork steadies the nervous system and restores your tactile relationship with time, it's easy to get lost in the focus.
Other ideas: hiking, candle making, tea tasting.
The Solitary Hobbies - being alone without loneliness
Solitude is an untapped selfcare moment. They build inner stability and make other times spent alone feel rich rather than empty.
Solo Rituals: the hunt to find the perfect croissant, creating the perfect evening bath, art galleries, museums, people watching. Time to just be, no distractions, no clock watching, just enjoying a moment.
Photography: not the pressure of content creation. But taking pictures you find beautiful, wandering your city, a park, the beach and capturing anything you please.
Other ideas:(reading, meditation, biking, bouldering, solo sports.
A Different Kind of Resolution
Most people can't remember what they did from one year to the next. But finding hobbies that you love, that really add to your life, let you fully enjoy and experience everything you are meant to. It pours into your own cup and in turn allows you to pour into others because you are feeling truly alive and fulfilled.
So the only question is, what hobbies are you choosing this year?