If Your New Year's Resolution Is To Find A New Hobby, Try These

The New Year's Eve champagne bubbles may have faded, but here's a fresh pour of enthusiasm for your annual resolutions. The new year is an excellent opportunity to embrace life-enhancing goals, whether financial, fitness, or personal growth. 

In fact, Fidelity Investments released their 2022 New Year's Financial Resolutions Study, showing people who made resolutions in 2021 started the year with more joy than those who didn't (via CNBC). That optimism ripples through your day-to-day life, helping you weather life's challenges.

Engaging in hobbies — a common resolution — can increase your neuroplasticity, which is fancy talk for improving brain function. According to Dr. Sula Windgassen of the NHS, hobbies can help "create new neural pathways between different areas of your brain and your memory." In an interview with Women's Health, she encourages making time for hobbies, so grab that skateboard or DIY needle felting kit and spark some joy (and brain neurons), baby!

Here's the scoop on electric bikes. Pedal when you feel like it and electric-cruise when you just want to chill. The Charge Comfort Electric Bike is Goldilocks-approved – it's just right. This bike is built for comfort so you can cruise to work or spend the afternoon exploring the local thrift stores. Need help with a steep hill? Just tap the push-button thumb throttle. With love from Thrillist, this bike is an actual thrill ride.

If you keep seeing cozy handmade blankets and yearn for brightly colored yarn, make knitting your new hobby. The online store It's a... Yummy sells all-in-one scarf and blanket kits for beginners. The repetitive hand motions of knitting are rhythmic, and people love to zen out during a knit-sesh. In fact, the founder, Jessica Meyrowitz, offers Mindful Knitting Workshops via Zoom. Learn from this kick-butt female entrepreneur featured on the Hallmark Channel and The Washington Post.

Unleash your inner florist and transform your work from home space. Flower arranging creates bursts of pure whimsy in your personal space and home office. It's easy to get started with DIY kits and lessons delivered to your doorstep. Bouquet Box will send you a vase, tools, flowers, and instructions. Grab a one-time kit or sign up for a subscription to embrace the mental health benefits of flower arranging, celebrated by Well + Good.

Skateboarding is just straight-up fun. Get outside, cruise along, and enjoy the vibe. Will you accidentally log a core workout? Yes, according to Men's Health, so it's a win-win. Grab a Rolling Stone favorite, the made-in-LA Lander skateboard. New to the hobby? No worries, you can get up to speed with help from the OG legend himself — Tony Hawk — who teaches a skateboarding MasterClass. Regardless of age, skateboards create smiles for miles.

Axe-throwing bars have sprouted up across the country. They're the magical lumberjack watering holes we deserve, and even Forbes is celebrating. Companies such as Bad Axe Throwing and Urban Axes combine the social camaraderie of the local pub with the exhilaration of competitive axe-throwing. So, blow off some steam and develop a new athletic skill. Be sure you've got your contacts in, grab some friends, and join an axe-throwing league.

Becoming fully absorbed in a creative project is what Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls "flow." His TED Talk was featured in the CNN story "This Is Your Brain on Crafting." Needle felting is an excellent craft for beginners, especially if you start with a DIY kit. Hand U Journey offers kits for a menagerie of critters, from hedgehogs to unicorns. So, invest the $15 and get in the flow.

Resolutions don't need to be a whole-life overhaul. Pick a cool, new hobby and enjoy the good life.