Board 8 > What are some good, self-improvement based hobbies?

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I've been starting to feel extremely depressed lately, and just want to focus on doing things that will stop me from feeling this way and give me a sense of improvement, or accomplishment even

What are some good hobbies to work on so I don't feel like I'm so much of a screw up
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Music, whether by learning an instrument or doing composition/remixing.
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Ballet
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Ive started woodworking, its pretty easy and fun and objectively sexy.

All you need is a few grains of sandpaper and stain and you can make 3 dollar goodwill furniture look amazing for a starting project
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martial arts
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NFUN posted...

Music, whether by learning an instrument or doing composition/remixing.

I picked up guitar around a decade ago, gave up simply because I wasn't mature enough/didn't develop the understanding that I needed to work on it everyday, definitely interested in doing so again

Raka_Putra posted...

Ballet

This is an interesting one, I don't know if I have everything at my disposal to try it but I don't think I would mind it, it is exercise after all

SantaRPidgey posted...

Ive started woodworking, its pretty easy and fun and objectively sexy.

All you need is a few grains of sandpaper and stain and you can make 3 dollar goodwill furniture look amazing for a starting project

I've built some things with woodworking for the past (Like my coin bank is basically hand made, as is a walking stick and a few other things) I'll keep it in mind at least

WazzupGenius00 posted...

martial arts

These always seem fun, but I'm iffy about some of the training areas around me and they seem pretty expensive haha
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learning an instrument is good as someone above mentioned. I've been wanting to start practicing again lately but generally it doesn't go well for me and I get even more depressed. I have permanent damage to my left hand that makes it so I can't really play guitar or bass anymore and every time I want to put in more time and try to practice I just struggle and can't play the way I want to.

anyway, for my own suggestion, check out this website:
https://www.memrise.com/home/

you can learn a new language in your own free time with objective-based results and programs that track your progress. for example I've used it for quite some time now as a way to study for the HSK, since there are specific training programs for that. but you can find one for basically anything you're interested in.

though to be honest this is definitely closer to the 'self improvement' than 'fun hobby' side of things. so I'd really only suggest that if you're the type of person who actually finds learning new things and mastering new skills to be fun.
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(there are other non language based programs on there too if you want to get better at math or just learn more about history or whatever else)
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oh, that's actually a good one and one I was definitely considering doing! (Mainly cause my girlfriend is Chinese and has been kinda pressing me to try to learn a little bit of Mandarin)

How does the website compare to duolingo, though?
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I haven't used duolingo so I can't make a comparison.

I will say that using memrise helped me with stuff that I wasn't really getting when I used rosetta stone. not really a comparison to be made there either but it's a good complimentary tool.
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I don't really like Memrise. At least, its Russian section didn't seem particularly helpful, or maybe its section on the app was super half-assed or something i dunno
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If it doesn't have Duolingo's terribly possessive and punishing design, I'd wager it's better.
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NFUN posted...

I don't really like Memrise. At least, its Russian section didn't seem particularly helpful, or maybe its section on the app was super half-assed or something i dunno

well on this note I will say one of the issues with memrise is that the content is user generated. so for example if there are no users who have designed any good lessons for the russian language section then you're not going to have as good results. it's also possible there are some good russian lesson plans and some bad ones, and you just selected one of the bad ones.

Raka_Putra posted...

If it doesn't have Duolingo's terribly possessive and punishing design, I'd wager it's better.

can't make a direct comparison but at least for me I always felt like memrise allowed me to do basically whatever I wanted to do. you can spend time reviewing the sections that you've already completed, or you can advance to new sections at as fast of a rate as you wish. I could even skip to the final sections of the current lesson I'm on, if I wanted. it doesn't even force you to do things in a linear order. it will give them to you in a linear order if you follow the plan, but if you go to the overview you can select sections at any rate or order you wish.
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VeryInsane posted...

I've been starting to feel extremely depressed lately, and

You know it's February when...

What are some good hobbies to work on so I don't feel like I'm so much of a screw up

You mentioned self-improvement in the topic. Are you looking to improve yourself in terms of your physique, talents or social skills, or are you looking to...I'll call it "improving your resume," where you work toward particular goals to be proud of? Granted the first group often leads to such goals, but I'm trying to get a feel for what you think you're looking for.
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azuarc posted...

You mentioned self-improvement in the topic. Are you looking to improve yourself in terms of your physique, talents or social skills, or are you looking to...I'll call it "improving your resume," where you work toward particular goals to be proud of? Granted the first group often leads to such goals, but I'm trying to get a feel for what you think you're looking for.

Probably more of the former, since I believe it will lead to the latter
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VeryInsane posted...

oh, that's actually a good one and one I was definitely considering doing! (Mainly cause my girlfriend is Chinese and has been kinda pressing me to try to learn a little bit of Mandarin)

How does the website compare to duolingo, though?

Hey , Im learning Mandarin with my chinese girlfriend and there is no greater aphrodisiac than language learning
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How far along are you grazon? What tools do you use? Ive been using pimsluer and duolingo which are good starting tools but I think I will need to start seeking new tools before the end of the year
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Memrise and duolingo are great starters

I use this book called "Reading and Writing Chinese: Third Edition"

the writing part can seem daunting at first because of stroke order and complexity of the characters but once you got that down it should be easy to memorize a few hundred characters

added bonus for learning Chinese characters is that you'll be able to use a few of them if you ever want to learn Japanese since a lot is borrowed
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Wow i was literally going out this weekend to look for a book to help with writing characters, thanks for the suggestion.



I'm only a month in but i have to say Mandarin is nowhere near as intimidating as it looks from the outside
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IMO Mandarin isn't actually that difficult if you can get past how the characters look. The tones come easier for some people than others but the language actually isn't that complex.

Language learning is what I've been trying to do too on the way home from work. Been going through Russian on Duolingo but my problem is that Duolingo doesn't cover grammar enough and Russian grammar is pretty tough.
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You're welcome

I think the pronunciation is the hardest part since a lot of the sounds used for the words are very similar
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Parkour is good since you get exercise as well. Language learning (Duolingo for basics & youtube teachers for grammar). Cooking also since you get to eat the results.
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neat, other folks studying chinese. if you're not familiar btw there's a pretty cool extension for chrome and firefox called pera pera that automatically reads and translated hanzi for you. I guess in a way it's kind of a crutch because I can just hover over what granzon has posted and see what the characters mean. but it can be helpful for quickly understanding text without having to constantly look things up.

btw granzon how long have you been studying? I'm not an expert myself or anything but I will say that your syntax still has a very english/western feel to it. you're writing characters in an order that would make sense if you were speaking a sentence in english and then translating the words directly to chinese, rather than writing things the way the would be spoken from one native chinese speaker to another.

also kind of funny but speaking of books I have literally used elementary school instructional books in the past. when your skill level with a language is at elementary school level sometimes that is a nice place to start!
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Wow, didnt know there were so many board 8ers learning Chinese. Feels good to know that theres at least support there and others who are trying to learn it too.

I know some of the basic phrases from my girlfriend and my freshman roommate in college but retaining anything more than that is a little trickier. I guess the only thing I can do is just keep taking a stab at it every day.
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the bulk of what I understand is through watching a lot of Chinese dramas and through songs (they usually have the lyrics right on the screen). obviously not the best teacher but it does teach me how to communicate informally at least. reading a newspaper or hearing a news reporter on tv always cracks me up because of how serious everything sounds lol

the writing I learned when I lived in China, so I guess around 3rd to 4th grade level but in that time I got almost all the basics ingrained in me so things like stroke order and root characters come naturally

speaking of elementary school books those are usually split into 4 volumes and they have around 150 characters in the glossary that they expect you to memorize
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Definitely not Award Winning Board 8 series Mercenaries, including the long awaited sequel Mercenaries 5
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Work out.

Literally the best thing you can do to make yourself feel better. You'll feel better, look better, and it helps you mentally to have something to really focus on and push yourself towards.
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VeryInsane posted...

azuarc posted...

You mentioned self-improvement in the topic. Are you looking to improve yourself in terms of your physique, talents or social skills, or are you looking to...I'll call it "improving your resume," where you work toward particular goals to be proud of? Granted the first group often leads to such goals, but I'm trying to get a feel for what you think you're looking for.

Probably more of the former, since I believe it will lead to the latter

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Work out.

Literally the best thing you can do to make yourself feel better. You'll feel better, look better, and it helps you mentally to have something to really focus on and push yourself towards.

This was going to be my initial response, but I thought it might sound presumptuous without checking on what you were after.

Of course, rather than literal gym workouts, you can engage in some kind of other physical activity, like the earlier suggestion of parkour. But you either want it to be something that will build your physical assets (musculature, endurance, general health) and/or will work toward a specific goal. For instance, a few years ago, I saw a cover for Runner's World -- published by the company my late sister used to work for -- advertising their own half-marathon. It was six months away, and I decided to make it a point to run that race.
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Video games
But seriously, martial arts are a lot more tangible. That said I haven't found a place to study them in a long time myself, so you can settle for less specific physical fitness routines.
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I started playing more video games and working out less in the last 2 months, and I can confirm that working out was definitely better for me.
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