Picking up a new skill is a valuable experience at any age — and it can even help you build your dream career. One of the greatest things about technology is that everyone has access to a plethora of information online at all times. This means you can find resources, instructions, and tutorials for nearly any hobby or activity you might want to check out. Here are a few hobbies and activities you can learn more about online that will have a big impact on your daily life.

The Arts

Creative pursuits give life flavor and excitement, and perhaps more importantly, they keep you healthy. However, few of us manage to stretch our creative muscles as frequently as we should. Too often, the fear of failure or of looking foolish gets in our way of expressing our own creativity. Fortunately, the internet allows you to dip your toe into the arts at your own pace in a space where you can feel comfortable.

Fortunately, there are plenty of free online tutorials for all kinds of visual arts, from sketching and painting to sculpture and more. You can also find resources online that will help you learn how to play an instrument. Discussion boards, sheet music sites, and even virtual musical instrument lessons can help you to unlock your inner musician.

Cooking

Cooking is one of the most beneficial hobbies anyone can pick up. Being able to make your own food is a massive life improvement. It means you have access to freshly made, delicious food whenever you want. It’s also a highly social skill to have — you can cook for others, or invite someone to cook alongside you for a great bonding experience.

Moreover, people who cook their own food tend to be healthier. This is because when you make your food, you’re much more mindful of what you’re actually eating. This reduces overeating and means you’re consuming less processed food. You’ll find that your meals have more nutrients, less excess salt and sugar, and taste substantially better.

Exercise

Another hobby you can pick up online that will improve your health is exercise. The recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day is a simple enough task. However, if you don’t have a workout you actually enjoy, knocking out that thirty minutes can be nearly impossible. It’s so much easier to work out when you’re doing something you really like.

Check out different workouts online to get an idea for what you might like to try, and then see if you can try it out at your local gym. One of the best things you can do when it comes to exercise is to step out of your comfort zone. We often think of running or hitting the elliptical as the only exercises we’d ever consider. Many workouts off the beaten path, however, such as rock climbing or battle ropes, can surprise us. If you’re able to find a way to truly have fun while exercising, you’re much more likely to keep at it.

Meditation

Mindfulness is having its moment, and for good reason. Studies have shown that daily mindfulness meditation has a significant impact on nearly every aspect of physical and mental health. The reason for this is actually relatively simple. Without mindfulness, our minds tend to jump from one topic to another, reducing our ability to fully experience life. This makes us more likely to make poor decisions, and leads us to feel more stress day-to-day.

Mindfulness practice retrains the mind to focus solely on the moment. Check out guided meditations online to get yourself started. Remember, you’re probably not going to be good at it when you’re just starting off. Unfortunately, most of us are pretty far from mindful; it will take practice. Be gentle with yourself and stick with it, as it gets easier and easier with time.

Take the Next Step

When we learn new skills and develop them into hobbies, it’s gratifying to see the fruits of our labor by turning them into a career. Before we can do that though, it’s important to earn a degree to establish credibility. An online IT degree, for example, is something that can be worked on at your pace and without much impact to your work-life-school balance. Some schools, like WGU, even allow assignments to be turned in at your own convenience. Earning an online degree is also a great way to boost career opportunities and show employers that you take your education seriously and are an expert.

There’s a world of resources at your fingertips today, thanks to the internet. Any hobby or learning that you have in mind is essentially just a few clicks away. So try plenty of new things, and then let your enthusiasm guide you toward your next great passion. If you have questions on how you can build your dream career from a hobby, feel free to ask a question!