We all need hobbies to provide an outlet for stress, and for a sense of enjoyment. Just over a year ago I decided to try oil painting. It was actually my wife that started with some lessons, and then she taught me. Since then I expanded my knowledge by studying techniques from videos, and from just plain practice.
Oil painting has taught me many lessons.
1. Slow down. Patience is a virtue. Trying to create a painting fast is not possible, and not fun. You will not like the outcome, so slow down and enjoy the process. Just like most of life, rushing does not help.
2. An error is rarely a problem. Painting will never turn out how you want or you plan when you start. You will always make mistakes, and you will learn to overcome them. You will learn how to change, how to paint over, and how to recover from an incorrect splat of paint. We should do the same in life, learn to see mistakes in the positive light of learning.
3. Learning is a journey. I have partially completed several paintings. None are done. There is always way to improve a painting, and ways to improve your skills. The pictures of the paintings I have included in this article are not considered done by me. Well maybe the wine bottle is as done as it will ever be. The picture of the gnomes, I started over 2 years ago, and it is not done. I know what I want to change, and how it should look. I am not in a hurry. Maybe I will finish it this year. The other 
part of this journey is that I continue to learn and grow, painting by painting. Every learning adventure we encounter we should look at as a growing ongoing process.
4. Your journey is really your own. No matter what a company or organization will tell you, your journey and your progress is dependent on you. Painting is therapeutic. I can relax and create. Once you get past the “judgement” phase, when you think everyone can judge your paintings. You can discover the fact that the paintings are really for yourself. It frees you to improve for yourself. No one person or organization should define the perfect development path for you. Make it your own.
There are many lessons in painting, and there are probably many lessons in your hobby also. Take a look. Dive deeper into why you enjoy your hobby.
The paintings I have posted: A dragon face (98% complete), some gnomes (85%), A wine bottle with grapes (99% complete), and finally some goblins (5% complete). Most artist don’t show unfinished paintings. I guess it just means I am not yet an artist, only a student.
This weeks question, “Where else besides a hobby can you find a multitude of leadership lessons?”.