Come On – Get on your Hobby Horse before its too late

I’ve just finished watching two and a half weeks of the Olympics and what an exciting period it has been! My friends and I were setting our alarms for four o’clock in the morning to watch the morning events in London and then spending endless hours reliving the excitement of them. I’ll do the same thing for the next world athletic championships and for world cup football and cricket. It’s a hobby and it’s fun like my other hobbies. I don’t have as much time as I would like for all my hobbies during my busy schedule now, but I am looking forward to the time when I don’t have to rush out of the garden to hit the shower and head off to work, and can linger and literally stop to smell the roses.

Unfortunately I know many seniors who find themselves at a total loss when it comes to their retirement because they have never built hobbies and recreation into their lives. As I write this I’m thinking of a particular gentleman whose daily post retirement routine consists of walking between the kitchen TV and the bedroom TV. He lives with his adult children and is driving them crazy as he is constantly underfoot and depends totally on them for emotional stimulation. He seems to be unhappy and bored and is even showing signs of depression. There are lots of stories like this that I could cite and I’m sure that you know quite a few too.

There is life after retirement – medical advances have meant that most seniors, that is people over 65, can live a full and exciting life with only a few concessions for their age group. If you don’t have plans for that life however you might be like the retiree described above – lots of energy and endless time but nothing to do with it. Hobbies allow active seniors to socialize, find companionship and camaraderie. Making connections with others that have the same interests can often open an individual to new found friendships.

On the other hand without anything to motivate and excite them, some seniors may sink into depression because they don’t seem to have anything to live for, or they may develop chronic lifestyle illnesses such as diabetes or heart diseases because of the inactivity. Lack of physical and mental activity may also help to speed on Dementia or Alzheimers. Hobbies and interests after retirement are not just a good way to pass the time – they are almost an imperative.

If you have seniors or near seniors in your life, encourage them in their current activities and encourage them to develop new activities. You may have to jumpstart the process by identifying places where they can volunteer time, clubs that they can be a part of and so on. If you have access to senior citizens associations you can start there, but remember that seniors don’t have to hang out with only other seniors. Hobbies that keep them in touch with younger adults and even teenagers can be of mutual benefit. Don’t assume that you know what they want however. Encourage them to dream – for example, a parent who has never travelled may secretly have wanderlust and just want a little encouragement to start packing those bags and heading for places unknown. Also, don’t impose your needs on the seniors in your life and therefore limit them. For example while most seniors love their grandchildren, they don’t necessarily want to have day to day responsibility for pickup and after school care. Most importantly don’t age them prematurely by assuming that they can’t engage in particular activities, or are too old to learn new ones, and where necessary, help them to overcome their own feelings that they are ‘too old’ for particular activities.

For those of us who haven’t gotten to retirement but have it in view, now is the time to restore some balance to life and start preparing for post-retirement. If you have existing hobbies then see how you can explore them a bit more. Perhaps you could join a club for people with your interests. If there isn’t one why not start one in your area? Don’t neglect online resources where you can connect with fellow enthusiasts around the world. It’s also a time to pick up new hobbies – those things that you have thought about doing but haven’t gotten around to doing. It is tricky because in our late forties and fifties many of us have additional work responsibilities, but it’s critical to find the balance. You may also want to start some volunteer activities at your church, alma mater or anywhere you think that you can make a difference. Even if you are very busy with family and work, start with what is manageable, because you can always expand the time spent later on. If you retire at 65 you could quite possibly live another thirty years of relatively good health – what are you going to do with them? Time to start planning!