Welcome Wednesday: New Skills, Experiences & Hobbies

[Jimmy Seddon]

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I have never been a fan of "New Year's Resolutions".  I think that stems from the negative stigma around the fact that you are going to try to fix a bad habit or make an improvement without the desire or motivation to actually follow through on that change.

What I am a fan of is trying new things, gaining new skills and picking up hobbies that help me relax and unwind.

As I have shared many times here in the Community, I have quite the ever growing vegetable garden in my backyard,  It started as a couple of raspberry canes that now cover our entire back fence in the summer.  Around the pandemic time, we added a couple of garden beds and expanded that last season.

All of this was so that my kids would have the opportunity to learn about growing things from seeds.  Understand how they grow, and what you would gain in the end when you properly take care of them.

This year, I'm starting earlier and in true Canadian fashion, we are collecting sap to make maple syrup.  The city I live in has an "Urban Sugar Bush" project which allows us for a small fee to borrow the equipment to tap and twice a week we will be dropping sap we have collected off at the collection location.  At the end of the season, we will be given a quantity of maple syrup made from everyone's contributions based on how much we contributed.

I thought this was a great way to learn something new and to expose my kids to yet another thing they can learn about.

My question to all of you this week - Are you looking to try or learn anything new this year?  Maybe you picked up a new hobby to help you unwind in the evening? Or maybe you are looking to expand your skills like speaking in public? (you should check out the Speakers Bench in this case).  Or maybe you are planning a trip to somewhere you have never been before?

I'd love to hear all about it in the comments!

Have a great rest of the week!

[Amanda Barber]

I love the idea of the Urban Sugar Bush project! We try to make it to the local nature center for their Maple Tapping days each year. 

I started this goal at the end of 2022, but I've been trying to learn to jump rope. I knew the basic hop from my childhood, but not much else. It's been a fun challenge and a new way to get some cardio in that isn't running. I'm looking forward to warmer weather when I can do it outside in my backyard rather than in my garage! 🤪

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's awesome @Amanda Barber!  I think I would need to "re-learn" to jump rope again if I tried it today as well.

[Kristin Lyons]

I'd love to learn something new, just not sure what at this time.  However, I would definitely like to get back into cross-stitching!

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Kristin Lyons my wife picked up cross stich just before our little girl was born and she found it quite relaxing to work on in the evenings.

[Andy Gladstone]

For me its not so much about the new, its about reinforcing the old. I had a BHAG going in to 2023 to do over 3000 miles on my bike this year. Should be pretty attainable - less than 300 a month - but an early 2023 setback has me way off track. I am working on getting back on track. I know I am a better person when I get my exercise in. 

In the meantime, I have picked up some long overdue reading and I am working through some books I had on the shelf to keep my mind sharp.

I guess the new habit I am trying to build is to look at the opportunities that present themselves when things don't go according to plan.

[Jimmy Seddon]

Good for you @Andy Gladstone!  I have learned to be a tad flexible in my goals and to be open to new opportunities that present themselves.

[Trudy Claspill]

The new skills I'm developing (to help me unwind) are new but within an existing hobby.

I have been studying ballet for decades. I took dance classes as a child but wasn't focused on ballet. When I was about 30 years old, I restarted dance with ballet classes focused on classical Cecchetti method training.

Over the years my body has become less agile at the execution, but I continue to work at improving my technique and artistic quality to the extent that I'm physically capable.

So, I'm working on learning new steps, trying to increase my physical capabilities (flexibility, strength, and artistry) as well as remembering the proper French spelling for the terminology.

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's really cool!  I don't think I could even begin to try ballet.

[James Schwab]

Great post Jimmy! - I want to learn a whole bunch of technical skills this year!

[Jimmy Seddon]

I like learning one that are transferable between my work and my hobbies.  It makes me feel like I twice as productive!

[Tomislav Tobijas]

Apart from all the new experiences I've had this year (and there's been plenty so far 😄), one thing that I wanted to try out was dancing. A few weeks ago, I came across this free salsa session/course that was sponsored on social media and I said "why not". Despite the fact the last time I actually danced was like 15 years ago, it actually was quite okay 😅
I'm thinking of continuing this (not necessarily this specific dance), but I just need to fit it into my weekly schedule.

Anyhow, for me, this was not that much of a new year's resolution as it just came up that I have some extra time for it.

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's really cool!  I completely understand your statement "I just need to fit it into my weekly schedule"... I come across that issue all the time ;)

[Jan]

I've been relearning or regaining skills for work. Although, it's been quite a few years so it feels like I'm learning new things. 

[Tushar Mathur]

Perseverance will pay off!

[Brandon Raymaekers]

Awesome idea! I'd love to learn how to drive a motorcycle and rebuild my defender to a camper for traveling. Always happy to get to know new people with the same interests. 

[Dave Mathijs]

Something like this @Brandon Raymaekers ?

[Brandon Raymaekers]

Definitely! @Dave Mathijs