Retirement Hobbies Can Be Life Changing

I know many people will think this is an exaggeration, but retirement hobbies can be life changing.  It can transform a bored individual into someone who can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning and start to work on a new interest.  I’ve seen it happen many times, and I have to confess, I may have been one of those people to whom it happened!  I know that many people don’t think of reading or history as a hobby, but I totally disagree with them, and I have seen myself become totally absorbed with a topic and lose myself for hours that turn into days and weeks.  Sometimes those interests get expanded to a trip to some historic site or a museum that has a special exhibit.  Whenever that happens, the trip gets expanded to see other things in the area so one little topic of interest can transform itself into a whole trip.  It is one of the best ways to add new life to retirement.  It astounds me to hear someone say they get bored in retirement.

I am not the only one who has built their free time around a hobby or interest.  My wife’s garden club is filled with people who have made gardening their reason for living.  They devote hours a day to it, and you can see them working in their yard almost any time that you pass by.  They take great pride in their work and the results speak for themselves.  You see the love that they have for this pastime when they give a little tour of their handiwork.  You don’t have to convince these ladies that retirement hobbies can be life changing.

As any serious Gardener will tell you, Retirement Hobbies Can Be Life Changing.

You don’t have to convince our neighbor either.  Retirement has given him time to get back to one of his great pleasures in life: fishing.  He is out on his boat every day for hours.  The weather, unless it is very extreme, does not seem to be a factor.  We live on a little lake in upstate New York and the lake, although private, is stocked with fish and has gotten a very good reputation even though it is a catch and release program.  He’s a retired doctor who wondered if boredom would strike in retirement.  Between golf, fishing and traveling in the winter, he’s doing just fine fighting off monotony.  He would be another person who would tell you that retirement hobbies can be life changing.

During our journey south this past winter, we found a few examples of people who have turned their hobbies into full time occupations.  One person specializes in miniature army figures and, what started out as a hobby, turned into something that he actually makes money at.  He rents a space in an antique mall to display his work and has a little mail order and website business.  It’s clear that he’s not doing it for the financial reward but the amount of enjoyment that he gets by creating battle scenes that he researches to make as realistic as possible.  He didn’t know he would find military history that interesting, nor did he know that he would meet so many people who have similar interests.  He’s another person who has found that retirement hobbies can be life changing.  He’s made a lot of new friends and has even expanded his interest into model cars as long as they’re before 1950.  He’s especially likes the Deusenberg and has a nice little display from the 1930’s.

A retirement hobby can be anything you want it to be.  It can be a physical activity that helps you keep physically fit or an interest that requires research and learning about new topics.  A lot of people have found that it can involve a daily activity that you have to do anyway like cooking.  Some people get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from cooking a meal and listening to the rave reviews.  It is always gratifying to hear someone say how much they enjoyed something and ask for the recipe and advice on how to make it themselves.  With cooking as a hobby, you might even find that you’re eating better than you ever could in a restaurant and saving money at the same time.  We know one lady who lives alone and makes enough for neighbors.  She enjoys every minute of it.  Retirement hobbies can be life changing and we see it happening all the time.  Why don’t you take a few minutes and think about a hobby you can start if you’re one of those people who seem to have more time than they know what to do with.  You’ll find a hobby can be much more rewarding than sitting in front of the television all day and, with a little thinking outside of the box, you’ll see that the possibilities are endless.  You have no idea how many senior citizens have started a new hobby such as drawing, painting, quilting, writing, woodworking, gardening, cooking, or even glass cutting.  Go to a craft show or see if there’s a book club or writing club nearby.  There’s a way to get more out of retirement but it has to start with you.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life! 

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