WHY EDUCATION FOR LEISURE?

People in the developed world have more leisure time than humans have ever had. In the United States, we spend as much as $1 trillion on recreation each year. Yet we are given almost no guidance or education on making our leisure lives personally satisfying or on how our leisure choices affect our communities and the world, socially and environmentally.

We can all identify entities that could be providing leisure education—schools, community organizations, families—but few would say that these are really doing the job. There is little true leisure education available, although there are a multitude of opportunities to learn about and engage in specific leisure time activities:--sports, arts, music, nature recreation, volunteering, activism etc.

Making Better Leisure Choices

Often, people do not know how to go about achieving a state of leisure. Perhaps we should not be surprised that people in the U.S. spend about half their leisure time watching television—which research has revealed to be one of the least satisfying activities, by the report of the watchers themselves. Even if TV is not their chosen activity, people often feel unfulfilled in their leisure choices.

Too often, leisure time that is not used in a satisfying way turns into idle time, or is used to do a single thing to excess (like overeating, or getting into family quarrels). It can even turn into truly negative leisure, such as drug use and delinquency.

Research suggests that people who make appropriate leisure choices enjoy a greater sense of well-being. TLL provides clients with strategies that allow them to:
  • Choose from a multitude of specific leisure time activities
  • Incorporate those activities into their lives
  • Understand the importance of thoughtful leisure choices and overall well-being
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