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What are some of your favorite hobbies or interests that you enjoy doing in your free time?

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When we think about reading, there is so much that comes to mind: it's an essential learning tool, a great pastime activity, a form of entertainment, or simply something we tend to do whenever we get in the mood to do it. But is reading a hobby? Or is it something else, more important and more deeply seeded in our DNA?

Humans have been reading for close to 5,000 years, can we say that our species has had a hobby for almost five millennia? Our team at Basmo is dedicated to learning everything there is to know about reading in general, so here is what our research comes down to when we discuss reading as a hobby.

Is reading a hobby?

Yes, generally speaking, reading can be a hobby. If we look at the definition of a hobby - "an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure" - we can't help but notice that reading does check pretty much all the boxes in what constitutes a hobby.

We do read regularly, we tend to do it in our spare time, and it brings us pleasure. So if we look at it strictly from a technical standpoint, yes, reading is definitely a hobby.

The interesting thing about reading is that unlike any other hobbies we usually think of, it is a lot more complex and has a lot more implications in our lives. Unlike any other pastime activity we can think of, reading is limitless.

Reading is an amazing learning tool, a relaxation tool, it has healing powers, and it can extend our life expectancy. While reading is, for some, just a hobby, or something to do when they have some time on their hands, for others, reading is a powerful tool meant to help them achieve whatever they feel is missing from their lives.

Is reading a good hobby?

Yes. Having reading as a hobby is pretty great. There is quite a lot to gain from having good reading habits and a clear intent to use reading for your own benefit.

Nowadays, with stress being a constantly growing global issue, having any hobby is a pretty great idea. Hobbies are generally good for our mental health, they can help reduce stress, and even alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. Whether it's reading, collecting stamps, driving go-karts, or listening to music, hobbies are going to help you get through the most stressful times.

Reading is the best hobby if you ask us. Every single one of us on the team at Basmo has dedicated a lot of time and resources to find out just how amazing reading is and our product proudly displays our passion for this amazing hobby. More on that later below.

Why is reading a good hobby?

What exactly makes reading a good hobby? Well, let's see what a good hobby means in general. For a hobby to be good for you, it needs to check a couple of boxes: does it relax you, do you enjoy spending time cultivating this hobby, can you afford it, and is it bringing any extra benefits to your life?

What I mean by that is that for a hobby to be good for you, you need to try it out and make sure it really is exactly as you think it is. For example, you may think yachting will be a great hobby for you: you love boats, you enjoy spending time at sea, in the open air letting the sun and win cuddle your whole body. You decide to buy a boat and start going out at sea, only to later find out that boat maintenance and every trip are a lot more expensive than you initially thought. Even though the activity in itself is bringing you joy, it can lead to an additional stress factor (financial) in your life.

Similarly, you may think building models may seem appealing only to later find out that you are actually pretty bad at it and you can't seem to make your models look the way you want. This can lead to frustration, basically voiding all the benefits of having a hobby.

Now, let's take a look at reading as a hobby. Can it really ever become a stressor or a frustrating thing in your life? Not really. Books are relatively cheap, they come with no hidden, additional expenses. Reading is an activity that requires little to no effort, so there is no chance for you to ever become too old to be able to enjoy it.

Moreover, reading can never get boring. Considering the huge number of books out there, your chances of ever really ending up with "nothing to read" are practically zero. There are countless genres and authors for you to explore and find your favorites. As time passes, if you outgrow a specific genre or simply get bored with it, there is always something else for you to move on to.

On top of this, there is a lot for you to gain regardless of the type of reading you decide to do. Whether you prefer to read fiction or non-fiction, the huge number of reading benefits you can enjoy is certainly making it a more attractive hobby than collecting timestamps. There is a lot you can learn through reading, it can make you happier, more empathetic, and it can even prolong your life. It can hardly get any better than this when it comes to hobbies.

How to make reading a hobby?

If you're thinking of starting a new hobby and feel like reading might be the right one for you, that is a great first step towards making it happen. If you are not used to having healthy reading habits or you are just not that into reading at the moment, do not worry. There are ways this can get changed and there is a whole lot for you to gain from making a couple of small tweaks.

First of all, you need to understand that making reading a hobby has to start with a change in your mindset. Unless you are already an avid reader, chances are you are unfortunately struggling with moving on past the idea that reading feels like a chore.

Very few have a natural ability to see reading as a form of entertainment and not as something "they need to do" or a boring activity. The sooner you realize how fun, entertaining, and healthy it is to read, the sooner you will see that reading has nothing to do with chores.

If you want your reading to become a hobby, you will need to find ways to make it as enjoyable as possible. Find a comfortable place to do your reading, find some of the books that are best suited for you to get yourself started, and do everything in your power to make the experience as fun and pleasurable as possible.

Engaging in mindful reading can make a huge difference in how you experience it. Forcing yourself to always be in the moment, to enjoy every word, every sentence, every page you read, and understanding how the reading is impacting your life and way of thinking, is almost guaranteed to get you hooked on having the best hobby in the world: reading.

Since we love reading so much, our app shows it. Basmo, the best reading tracking app out there, is designed to meet all the needs of a modern reader, including the ones you will definitely need if you want to make reading your hobby.

Here's what's in store for you if you choose to use Basmo:

Final thoughts

Is reading a hobby? Well, it can be if you want it to. But reading is so much more than just a hobby, something we do when we have some free time to unwind. Reading can be a healthy hobby, it will fill a lot of evenings with joy, interesting adventures, and wholesome experiences.

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Is Reading a Hobby? (Reading as a Pastime Activity) - Basmo

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When we think about reading, there is so much that comes to mind: it's an essential learning tool, a great pastime activity, a form of entertainment, or simply something we tend to do whenever we get in the mood to do it. But is reading a hobby?

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Is there anything that you are afraid of? How do you usually deal with your fears?

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By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ethical leaders create fear-free work environments, which are foundational in building and maintaining ethical culture and protecting reputation and ethical brand value. This week let's build on research previously shared in a popular post and explore additional insights about the negative impact of fear-inducing leadership on individuals and organizations.

Fear Interferes With Reason

According to the University of Lausanne video, Unethical Decision Making in Organizations, "Fear is an emotion that works at high speed without involving reason." "Fear... may ultimately lead to ethical blindness." Fear-induced ethical blindness can be compared to snow blindness, when you can only see snow in all directions and lose your sense of direction.

When their dominant emotion is fear, people lose their ethical grounding and may quickly wander away from the organization's values. It's not a conscious choice, since their brains have automatically switched to lower-level decision making to protect them from real or perceived harm. Fear creates a blindness that blocks our ability to see long-term consequences as we deal with an immediate threat.

Fear Restricts Learning, Performance and Ethics

Fear interferes with people's learning and performance, which harms individuals, teams, and organizations. It also interferes directly with people's ability to make ethical choices. So we could say that leader behavior that generates fear acts as a "kill switch" for ethical thinking.

"Fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues and other information presented to us, reflect before acting, and act ethically."
Impact of Fear and Anxiety, University of Minnesota

When we experience fear, our brains switch on the lower-level processor - which makes decisions based on a Fight-or-Flight response. The decision-making power of that part of our brain is extremely limited, turning our thoughts to lower level responses like "Run!" or "Hit Them First." Obviously, ethical decisions have to be grounded in better and more complex thinking than "Run!" and "Hit Them First!"

Fear Leads to Self-Protection

Our fear response takes us into Protect and Defend Mode, causing us to shelter in place, retrench, and protect our own interests. It drastically restricts the breadth and depth of our thinking and doesn't leave us much energy to think about our impact - what our choices will do to others.

Fear may also generate feelings of anger toward others as we turn our energy to "protect and defend." Anger, like fear, is a poor advisor that pulls us away from ethical choices.

"Anger results in systematic processing of anger-related information and selective use of heuristics to evaluate information... This kind of processing is less than optimal for making ethical decisions because it induces biased, risky, and retaliatory thinking (Moons & Mackie, 2007). This type of encoding and use of social information results in a limited, self-focused interpretation of the situation, which has the potential to result in retaliatory or self-serving behaviors." (Lenhart & Rabiner, 1995).
Kligyte, Connelly, Thiel & Devenport, The Influence of Anger, Fear, and Emotion Regulation on Ethical Decision Making, Human Performance, Vol. 26, Iss. 4, 2013

Fear Interferes With Human Development

Experiencing long-term fear early in life negatively impacts human development. According to the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard, persistent fear and anxiety can affect young children's learning and development, and it is important to intervene to "prevent enduring impairment that can lead to a lifetime of poor mental and physical health, diminished economic productivity, and antisocial behavior."

"Science shows that exposure to circumstances that produce persistent fear and chronic anxiety can have lifelong consequences by disrupting the developing architecture of the brain." Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

This negative impact on human development is not just limited to children. Adult development also requires moving past fear. Soren Eilertsen writes about individual and leader development in his Chief Learning Officer article Debunking the Major Myth of Engagement: "Level 5 capacity, or 'purpose,' corresponds to Maslow's self-actualization need. Here the mindset is 'life is great' and there is a sense of living in passionate pursuit of purpose while also in service to others. While the first four stages are primarily fear driven, the individual crosses the fear barrier with a sense of inspiring purpose at level 5."

Creating a Fear-Free Zone

Fear disrupts learning, concentration, emotional regulation, information processing, and decision making. No amount of good pay and benefits can compensate for working in a fearful culture. Fearful people can't give their best ethical performance, and even repeated organizational efforts to improve trust and build an ethical culture will fall flat in a fear-based environment.

Fear can cause ethical blindness, reducing our ability to think about ethical consequences. To make sure it doesn't happen in your organization, take time to talk with your team. Ask "Are we working in a fear-free zone?" "How well do we apply our stated organizational values?" "Where could we improve leader behavior and communication?" "How well are we creating a fear-free zone?"

Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership LeadinginContext.com
© 2009-2024 Leading in Context LLC

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Fear Disrupts Human Development (And Ethics)

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By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leaders create fear-free work environments, which are foundational in building and maintaining ethical culture and protecting reputation and ethical brand value. This week let's build on research previously shared in a popular post, and look at additional insights about the negative impact of fear-inducing leadership on individuals and organizations.

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Can you describe a situation where you felt really worried or anxious? How did you manage to overcome it?

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Our “WHAT IF” Concerns.............. Called *ANXIETIES*

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What are some of your biggest dreams or goals in life? How do you plan to achieve them?

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Фонд Викимедиа

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Dreams (игра) — Википедия

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У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Dreams.

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Do you ever worry about the future? If so, what are some things that concern you the most?

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As tech enthusiasts, we're right on the threshold of new inventions and pioneering breakthroughs, constantly stepping forth into the pulsating world of the unseen and the unknown. Each passing day we piece together the future's riveting journey, exploring what the next big thing might be. The world of technology seems eager to constantly surprise us; novel gadgets and cutting-edge tech inventions which seem like they might have sprouted right out of a sci-fi novel sometimes feel just around the corner!

The Hidden Majesty of Invisible Tech Innovations

Right off the bat, we must mention artificial intelligence. Everyone's ears have perked up to this growing influence upon an ecosystem where machines learn from past scenarios for predicting, recommending, and making future decisions. From satellite navigation and machine learning recommending shows on Netflix to speech recognition apps like Siri and Alexa, AI capabilities have truly reinvented and broadened our outlook. Looping it therefore as a phase rather isn't fair. This already embedded technology will only strengthen with artificial general intelligence (AGI) which is imagined to surf parallel with human capabilities, an anticipation sure to keep us on our toes in the coming years.

Google's surreal futuristic wearable platform, Google Glass, ventured out to have augmented reality in their pockets but was faced with privacy concerns which led to its disbelief. Yet augmented reality (AR) doesn't seem to back down. Transitioning from phones and tablets to AR glasses might soon be not just fantasy, but a reality under organizations like Facebook and Apple, who see a future where this tech replaces smartphones, which undeniably would shake or redesign the pillars of social networking and communication.

Then there is the fifth generation cellular network technology, they go by 5G and are racing to polish their impacts on our day-to- day lives. Willing to pitch unrivaled speed and lower latency than fourth-gen technology (4G), when it fully ramps up completely, mainstream VR and AR, remote working, telemedicine, and other techs require the network strength and speed offered by 5G is likely on our cards.

Also hitting onboard, would be biometric technology- secure digital payments and expense management embodied within veins under your skin, making passwords lose their monarchy. Imagine a world where phones and wallets play only historic pieces on museum walls, and transactions happen from smart rings and vein patterns under your skin plugging invincible protection codes. This tech sensory gift from Nature seems to create a bit ofogically infused payment card of sorts out in Sweden. Using biombiesqualo-futurist catching feelings It is real and no longer hypothetical to reaching the user market!

Flying Forward to Groundbreaking Reality from Sci-Fi universe

Electric concept cars and e-scooters transiting into affordable battery electric cars and self-driving vehicles no longer surprises anyone. We are en-route to having customized connected cars and even Jitterbug styled, elder-care robots serving the pedestrian population in the following decade.

The cinematic contraption has already decided it's time to brainy genre into realites via neurotechnology, undoubtedly elementary stepping stone towards acheiving mind uploading devices for network storage|#Encoded gossip in mind relays, maybe!

Elon Musk's Neuralink tethering mind and machine knots Tesla smart sentences to wet-wired intelligence. It is reimagining next-gen healthcare bounds having paralyzed individuals gain he opportunity to warehouse data or essentially everything upon their minds to smart devices. Surreal ke feels so surreal, right!

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Embracing the Future: Exciting New Technology on the Horizon - Unique World Technology

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As tech enthusiasts, we're right on the threshold of new inventions and pioneering breakthroughs, constantly stepping forth into the pulsating world of the unseen and the unknown. Each passing day we piece together the future's riveting journey, exploring what the next big thing might be.