Hobbies (including chess) play a crucial role in enhancing one’s overall quality of life. They provide an outlet for stress-relief, improve mental well-being, and encourage personal balance, creativity, and a sense of purpose.

 

While hobbies can most definitely be a source of joy and fulfillment, it’s common to struggle with maintaining that initial passion over time. Some common challenges for maintaining hobbies include:

 

•         Lack of progress
•         Time constraints
•         Lack of variety
•         External or internal pressure
•         Burnout
•         Too much time spent focusing on defeats

 

Maintaining a passion for a hobby over a long period of time requires commitment and a proactive approach, so how can someone continue loving a hobby in spite of the challenges above?

 

Set meaningful goals

Sometimes progress is slow – painfully slow. And its easy to quit something that you feel like isn’t amounting to quick results and growth. Setting small but meaningful (and realistic) goals can be a huge help in tracking progress while maintaining effort.

 

Schedule it in

Life gets busy – just as you would schedule in appointments or work obligations on your calendar, schedule in dedicated time to spend on your hobby.

 

Mix it up

It’s okay to explore different avenues of your hobby. Maybe you want to spend some time playing blitz style chess, or maybe you decide you don’t need to be a Grandmaster, but would instead be happy to teach young kids the basics of how to play. If you’re feeling burnt out, a new approach can be incredibly refreshing.

 

Join a community

Connect with other individuals who share your hobby. By connecting with others through clubs, online forums, or local meet-up groups you can find support, inspiration, friendship, and hopefully, long-lasting passion for the activity.

 

Learn continuously

Be a lifelong learner. Stay up-to-date on new techniques and trends, and study successful players. You can attend workshops, enter tournaments, or read books to help deepen your knowledge and skills.

 

Challenge yourself

Don’t shy away from challenges. Overcoming obstacles and learning from defeat can be incredibly rewarding and just the push you need to continue trying.

 

Celebrate successes

Sometimes failures stick out so much more than successes. But if you are experiencing more negative emotions than positive ones you will eventually lose your supply of passion for the activity. You will never get away from stressful or disappointing moments, so you have to balance them out with joyful moments too. When you win a game or match with a friend take time to enjoy how good it feels, and praise yourself for your success. There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to a celebratory ice-cream either