Challenge Yourself to Learn a New Hobby with your Partner

My husband is a natural coach. He has the gifted ability to see strengths in even the youngest of players (I know because we coached our then 5-year-old twins, t-ball team, together) and also challenge and develop players that have been playing for years. I love watching him coach and really take joy in cheering on the successes and heartbreaks that sports have to offer.

And as much as I love him, he’s also not my coach. If you were there to witness one of the few times I’ve actually played against him in a sport he knows better than me, you would have seen what a disaster it was. Don’t even ask about the time we played tennis together… what a zoo. I wanted NONE of the gentle suggestions my very patient husband tried to give me on how to play a game I’ve NEVER played before. I’m shaking my head in laughter as I write this because it was just that bad… I was just that bad. So annoyed and open to ZERO of his feedback.

Yes, I’m competitive but that’s not what bothers me when it comes to being “coached” by my husband. The truth is, when I’m struggling to learn something new, I want him to be right there struggling and learning with me.

This doesn’t mean that he can’t be the expert in lots of things in our relationship (which he is and I’m grateful for it), it just means that I want to learn alongside him sometimes and hopefully him with me.

Deepening your relationship isn’t just about teaching each other things, but also learning new things together. Whether it’s taking on a new hobby that you both have little knowledge of or learning a new skill together, there is nothing that can bond you like being newbies at the same time.

The magic in taking on a new challenge together, where you both have little expertise, is that it requires you to lean on each other as you learn and stretch together.

So challenge yourself to learn a new hobby or skill together. See the chemistry that sparks while leaning into each other and out of your comfort zones. Let that magic happen!!