Part 1: 50 fun & interesting activities to do outside of work that can boost your self-discovery

Other resources you may like:

• Evaluate your life satisfaction (self-assessment)

• Define your personal values (self-assessment)

Consider for yourself the following question:

When was the last time that you tried a new activity, that wasn’t meant to directly advance your work/job/career or overall productivity?

Did you answer “I don’t know,” or “a while ago?”

Did that question produce a pang of longing from some neglected part of yourself/soul/spirit?

Did you answer “last week!” only to realize it was just watching TV or drinking with friends?

Did you answer “all the time!” only to realize that nearly everything you did was for other people, and hardly ever for your own self-discovery?

If you’re like most people, self-discovery is not a high on the totem pole thing, alongside spending time on work and with friends and family, or just plan old “turning off.”

Now, there is nothing at all wrong with doing those things, and moreover they are each tremendously important to our self-fulfillment; however, problems can arise if we end up investing little-to-no time for discovering more about ourselves and what parts of life we enjoy and find meaningful, in-between time spent working, with friends/family, or turning off.

This is especially an important consideration for those who find themselves beginning to wander down the existential path of questioning during the third-life crisis age (~29-39), or that of the quarter-life crisis (~18-28), or mid-life crisis (~40-59).

The following is part 1 of a 2-part list of 50 custom-curated and diverse activities that are fun, interesting, active, and expansive, and can either directly or indirectly help you actually create the space for self-reflection and self-discovery, to learn more about yourself and what brings you meaning. This list is not just another series of activities that simply exist to fill the space of time in-between working, seeing friends/family, and sleeping. This list is also not just a set of self-discovery quizzes or writing prompts, such as writing a bucket list (although those are also helpful, too).

So go ahead, check out the list, pick out one or two of these activity and hobby ideas to do outside of work and try them for yourself! See what self-reflection and self-discovery happens for you in the process.

#1 Attend an event

Put your mind into expansion and self-discovery mode, by participating in or learning about something new to you, even in your own city! Explore Airbnb experiences, CouchSurfing, Meetup.com, Eventbrite, a coffee house event board, or any other way to get connected to your local scene!

#2 Start or join a club

A great path to self-discovery is through expanding our horizons through the perspectives and ideas of others. Start or join a a book club, film club, culture club, cooking/food club, mastermind club, or any kind of club and open up an intentional space to learn, share, and expand!

Photo by Wendy Wei

#3 Go to the spa or get a massage

Self-care is key to self-discovery!

Put yourself into relaxation mode, and let your thoughts wander. What brings you meaning in life? What do you do that you don’t actually enjoy? What new ideas have you had but not tried yet?

Photo by cottonbro

#4 Get a makeover

Take a moment to sit down and reimagine some element of yourself. Redesign your fashion, your look, your brand, or your mindset. You can also enlist the help of a friend, advisor, mentor, coach, or designer to inspire and guide you.

Photo by R. Fera

#5 Do a technology-free or silent day

When you take the opportunity to remove distractions, you create the space for big realizations to surface from deep within. A technology-free or silent day can indeed be a very big catalyst for self-discovery.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

#6 Participate in local community events

Go to city council meetings, join a community garden, join a community biking or walking event, look for local volunteer opportunities or join a city cleanup day, go to farmer’s markets, consider checking out a religious event or community center/library class… Get to know people you live with and you’ll probably get to know something more about yourself, too.

Photo by Dani Hart

#7 Send a handmade gift to your friends or family

It could be for a special occasion, or for no reason at all! Doing something nice and from the heart for someone you care about is a perfect way to create a ripple of meaning for the people in your life, and yourself, too.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

#8 Go to an art museum or gallery

Spending some time wandering through the exhibits, contemplating what messages the artists are conveying through their work and what this contemplation invokes for you is a great avenue into self-reflection and self-discovery.

Photo by Matheus Viana

#9 Call up an old friend or family member

Call someone you care about, but haven’t talked to in a while and and share a conversation with them! Learn about what’s new in their life and catch them up with what’s going on in your own. Reinvigorating relationships that are important to us is not only a very meaningful action in and of itself, but in the spirit of self-discovery, can also call to consciousness aspects of our lives that miss, but have gone quiet with time, which can create a ripple of inspiration to refocus on what is important to us in the here and now.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

#10 Talk to a therapist/counselor

Naturally, one of the most effective ways to explore your deeper self is by opening up and listening to your inner thoughts and feelings, to understanding more about what makes you, you. If you are indeed serious about self-discovery yourself and haven’t tried talking to a therapist/counselor, then try it now, and setting the intention to come into more alignment with your deeper self.

Photo by cottonbro

#11 Learn something new

Explore a brand-new dimension of yourself by learning something on Udemy, Skillshare, Masterclass, YouTube, or TikTok – or, even consider going back to a school or professional program! Open up a roster of course or tutorial options, or enter in a keyword for a topic that interests you to learn more about, and then let your curiosity guide you to something that your deeper self finds meaningful or truly fascinating, without the pressure of needing to make that thing into a job.

Photo by Abby Chung

#12 Do something completely new

Spend a long weekend, a vacation, or a sabbatical trying something completely different and outside of your normal or comfort zone, like WWOFing, surfing, doing a 100-mile century road biking tour, learning to fly a plane, or going on a road trip with no destination in mind. Let your mind wander one day and jot down a bunch of ideas, pick one that seems most interesting, and do it!

#13 Pet sit or foster

Try sitting a dog/cat, or try fostering a pet. Spending time with animals can bring you warm and friendly feelings, and taking care of another being may make you come into deeper appreciation for life itself and let you see the world just a bit rosier.

Photo by Arina Krasnikova

#14 Get to know your neighbors

Get to know your same-building/block neighbors – throw a block party, bake banana bread for your neighbors, or ask to borrow a hammer. Introduce yourself, strike up a conversation, learn about who they are, and share who you are. You may make a new friend, and a new discovery about yourself along the way!

Photo by Craig Adderley

#15 Go enjoy live music

Go to a concert, a live music show, a jam session, a music festival, or a hippie bongo session in the park. Let live music move your body into a groove where you let go of your inhibitions and sway, jump, and dance. Letting your body go can help your mind let go of thoughts and mental routines, and in the space that results may arise some fascinating, new learnings.

Photo by Wendy Wei

#16 Join a team/communal sports game

Jump into a game of volleyball, basketball, soccer/football, frisbee, or other communal or team sport and get lost in the moment having fun with other people. Let go of judging yourself and you’ll find that self-discovery becomes much easier.

Photo by Tim Mossholder

#17 Try improv, stand up comedy or open-mic night

Inevitably, self-discovery will lead us to uncomfortable places, as we explore the edges of who we are, and ultimately push those boundaries outward in search of self-growth and what brings us happiness and fulfillment. Self-expression, particularly when it is shared or public, is a particularly expansive means of self-discovery. It doesn’t have to happen on-stage, either. There are many other mediums to consider which may be a better fit for you, such as via writing, dance, music, or art.

Photo by Pixabay

#18 Meet someone new

Stop to chat in a coffee line, on social media, through a networking app like Bumble BFF, through LunchClub, or any other way! Meeting new people is one of the best ways to not only expand your horizons and learn about the world, but also to discover more about yourself through the medium of conversation and being asked questions. Particularly when talking with someone new, we can bring up or be brought to conversations, topics, perspectives, and opinions which can galvanize realizations about ourselves and what is meaningful to us (or not) that we wouldn’t have made otherwise.

Photo by mentatdgt

#19 Start a social media account, video blog, or written blog

Share something you are passionate about or enjoy doing. Doing activities that tap into what intrinsically motivates us is an obvious way to deepen our self-discovery; but what may not be so obvious is just how easy it is to share or teach others about what we enjoy. It may be intimidating at first thought, but can be as simple to begin as taking ten minutes to write, record, or design something that you could talk about for hours, and putting it out there in some form such as in an Instagram or Twitter post. You can even use a pen name if being personally identified makes you uncomfortable.

Photo by Papa Yaw

#20 Go volunteer

Volunteer to help other people, without directly seeking to gain something in return. This is a powerful way to create space to learn more about who you are, because when we serve others in need, it can open up some space in the constant commentary of our egos, wherein it is easier to appreciate what we already have and also to contemplate what actually makes us feel fulfilled, rather than what we feel we “ought to” do. There are nearly endless opportunities to volunteer, including many that you can do online, so go give volunteering a try!

Photo by RODNAE Productions

#21 Cook

Engage your hands, senses, and mind in the hobby of cooking. Like many hobbies listed here, cooking can be a great way to bring your mind into a flow state where you are fully present and can enjoy a  break from the normally constant flow of discursive thoughts. Trying out different cooking ingredients or techniques is a good cue to remind us that we can also be creative in our lives and not be afraid to try something new out.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

#22 Try gardening

You can do it on your windowsill, in your backyard, on a balcony, in your front yard, on a terrace, on your wall, or even hanging from your ceiling. Gardening is not only a good way to create space for your mind to wander, but is also a great way to engage your hands and to feel more grounded and connected to the world.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

#23 Look through old photos/momentos

Take a stroll through memory lane by looking through old photos or other mementos – or even create a photobook or photo exhibit on your wall. Tapping into old memories can help you remember what was important to you in the past (and may still be), considering how you have changed, and overall be a channel to deeper reflection. Just be sure to watch out for rumination – the past can’t be changed, so it’s not helpful to turn your stroll into an obsessive clinging to that which now is as it is. If you find yourself going down this path, consider journaling, talking to someone, or getting curious about what that memory means for you here and now, and what is in your control that can create more meaning for you here in the present day.

Photo by charan sai

#24 Learn photography

Picking up the hobby of photography can boost your natural awareness and inquisitiveness, by focusing more of your attention on the world around you as you search for the perfect setup for a good photo. By exercising your awareness muscle, you may find that your stronger awareness muscle also enables you to notice what may be going inside of your mind and soul, and so photography may lead you to greater self-reflection and self-discovery. 

Photo by Andre Furtado

#25 Start a brand or company, or start consulting.

There is a company, app, website, service, brand, consultant, freelancer, or advisor for literally anything, and what’s more, there is a market, customer, or person in demand of literally anything. If there is something that you find meaningful, fun, and motivating then you can cover two bases in one: 1) more self-discovery and 2) earning income or even a living by starting a brand, company, or consulting others for that activity or knowledge.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio