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Creating an Active Retirement
Nurturing Your Hobbies and Interests
By Shannon McKelden
What exactly is retirement? Never having to work again? Endless leisure with nothing better to do than watch grass grow? Or – worse yet – years of boredom stretching out ahead of you? Not at all, say the experts in this article. Retirement is actually an excellent time to nurture hobbies and interests you've always meant to pursue but never really had time for.
Dr. Amy Schultz, a clinical geropsychologist in Portland, Ore., believes there is a stereotype of retirees, learning to love playing a lot of bingo and golf. "Unless bingo or golf is a true love of theirs, this is nonsense," says Schultz, whose private practice philosophy is "Passionate Aging and Living." "The void created by discontinuation of a paid work experience is begging to be filled with something equally as meaningful."
A drastic change in hobbies and interests doesn't have to take place with retirement. "What appears to be extremely important is that people continue to find meaning and purpose in their lives, whether it comes from a formal work setting or from non-paid experiences," Schultz says.
Retirees find meaning in many different pursuits, such as these:
- Volunteer activities
- Starting home-based businesses
- Participating in outdoor activities or other physical pursuits
- Political activism
- Travel
- School (perhaps earning a degree – or another degree)
- Deepening bonds with family or friends
- Creative activities such as painting, writing or music
Bernice Burg of Fountain Valley, Calif., knew she wanted to remain busy after retirement. Up to retirement, she lived an active life with five children and wanted to continue to do so, most especially with volunteer work. She found that her former career provided her with a starting point. "When I was working as a director of volunteers in a large Catholic hospital, I interviewed prospective volunteers, and one of the ladies also volunteered at a police department," Burg says. That became the second thing on her list of things to do – after cleaning cupboards. "It was a year after retiring that I finally followed through, and I just received my 15-year pin from them." Burg uses her talent for organization to be helpful and active where she can, having also volunteered for a children's hospital.
