A Way to Discover your Hobbies and Interests

[Canadian Girl]

Anyone know of a test or personality test that will guide you toward hobbies and interest just as one did when taking aptitude test to figure out what careers to steer towards? For example, if one has a creative personality, they tend toward having hobbies and interests that are creative in nature such as gardening, photography, art, etc. But what about those that operate from the other side of the brain, I think left? I don't really have any interest in creative hobbies, so I need assistance in 'finding' hobbies and interest that suit my personality for my ER in the future. I'm definitely a numbers person if that helps any.

 

[audreyh1]

A great book now available free on-line: http://www.wishcraft.com/

Many people use this to figure out what to do with their lives (careers, etc.). But it is also highly applicable to figuring out how to get the most out of your leisure time. It has some exercises that you will find useful.

Audrey

 

[Michael Moore]

Perhaps a "collecting" type of hobby would be of interest to you?

For example, you could become totally obsessed with getting every last one of the very rare 1994 series of commemorative bronzed hedgehogs issued jointly by the Chambers of Commerce of both Minsk and Pinsk, and possibly find the one where they bronzed a rat by mistake.

Building a collection of photos of puppies with big sad eyes may be less capital intensive than collecting Renoirs, though easily as satisfying.

cheers,
Michael

 

[Martha]

Identification hobbies can be satisfying: birding, plant identification, edible plant identification, stars/constellations, etc.

Maybe a retreat to contemplate who you are and what you desire.

 

[Maximillion]

I am collecting Australian Shiraz and Scotch from small distilleries.

Scotch will be very expensive in the future, many small producers have closed, now just a few big ones.

 

[HFWR]

Identification hobbies can be satisfying:  birding,  plant identification, edible plant identification, stars/constellations, etc.

Maybe a retreat to contemplate who you are and what you desire.

Columbian redbud, Acapulco gold, black Sheba...

I play guitar and occasionally write and record my own songs. Also enjoy dabbling in cabinetry/woodworking. And have a growing collection of landscape/scenic photographs, which is what passes for "art" in mi casa...

Didn't really discover them; they found me... :

 

[Martha]

Got it! Mushroom identification.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Columbian redbud, Acapulco gold, black Sheba...didn't really discover them; they found me...   :

did the officer believe that?

 

[Nords]

Anyone know of a test or personality test that will guide you toward hobbies and interest just as one did when taking aptitude test to figure out what careers to steer towards?

Try Ernie Zelinski's "Get A Life Tree" from his book "How to Retire Happy, Wild, & Free".

 

[Cool Dood]

You could follow up on all sorts of articles, books and papers, and crunch all the numbers, and whenever you find mistakes you can write grumbling letters to the editor or ceaselessly harrass researchers...?

But seriously, you must already know some things that give you pleasure? Try experimenting with related activities, or exploring the already-existing activities in greater depth, and once you do it long enough you can call it a hobby...

 

[wallygator69]

Hi,

I'd start a list of anything and evrything that you have ever liked to do and anything that you would like to do but have never done.

One of the things that I hadn't thought about that I loved ot do as a kid was bike riding. I'm sure in retirment I'll get back into it.

40 Year Old, beer belly, weightlifter with a shaved head driving around with training wheels and cards flapping in the spokes should be good for meeting some new people.

Probably won't wear my Thong as I seem to recall bike seats not being very comfy anyway...

W

 

[Telly]

I have to admit that I'm a bit mystified by people who don't know what they want to do, or don't have any hobbies/interests, or get bored easily.  It has never been my personal experience.  There simply isn't enough life or time for everything I want to do or learn, and I haven't even got to this afternoon yet!

I just don't understand it.  I do have a brother who "suffers" from this.  He and I are like two peas in different pods, on different plants, different species, in different gardens! 
This difference showed at an early age.  Like kindergarten.  Probably even before. 
It's ironic now how the differences when we were kids growing up was viewed.  He was the goody-goody kid with excellent grades who always did what was "right".  Always got the pat on the head and the kind words.  When not gagging, I was the black sheep independent one!

 

[razztazz]

I have to admit that I'm a bit mystified by people who don't know what they want to do, or don't have any hobbies/interests, or get bored easily.  It has never been my personal experience.  There simply isn't enough life or time for everything I want to do or learn, and I haven't even got to this afternoon yet!

I am mystified by people who feel they always  "gotta do something". Sit down. relax. If I am "in" to too many things (which is a very low amount of things) THAT is when I feel life is passing me by. I feel totally distracted and unable to "feel" the world  around me.

The "doing nothing", the "just sitting in a room alone" as "Blazin' Blaise Pascal put it,  hearing the birds, the rain, the wind.... the world. That's when I feel most "normal". "Doin' stuff"  makes me feel like I am being taken away  from my duties

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

I'm a bit mystified by people who don't know what they want to do, or don't have any hobbies/interests, or get bored easily.

nothing mystical about it. while some self-involved contemplative people prefer meditation to interacting with the outside world, others distract involve themselves with outside activity to avoid intimate contact within.

sans meditative initiative, keeping busy requires outside structure. often fear motivates either behavior. the fear of looking inside or the fear of interacting socially. either can be detriment or advantage.

my life after fire plan is first to interact with the outside world with conventional travel, then sell house & travel by boat, then start settling into a more meditative life, gardening an acre in hawaii and finally dieing alone in that tibetan cave.

i also hear the boredom word a lot these days but i'm not sure the use is always proper. i think sometimes when someone says they are bored what they really mean is that they are itching to do something.

"boredom is rage spread thin." ~~ paul tillich

 

[Nords]

gardening an acre in hawaii

I'd recommend strong supports under the shadecloth so that the DEA helicopter doesn't "accidentally" blow it over while they're fiddling with their IR detector...

We're talkin' about orchids, right?

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

I'd recommend strong supports under the shadecloth so that the DEA helicopter doesn't "accidentally" blow it over while they're fiddling with their IR detector...

We're talkin' about orchids, right?

nah, orchids are too much work. though i stick them on trees throughout the gardens here. basically i'll dig a hole, plant, water on a timed sprinkler system (well water of course) and fertilize gently but after that they're on their own. and from what i've read about rain in puna i won't even have to water, one less thing to do in my old age.

i love being around nature more than just about anything. even on my urban property, i've got over 30 species of palms growing among & under a canopy of pines. i'm up to about a dozen species of bamboo and by now countless other plants.

just yesterday i go to the clearing out back, there's a borrowing owl on the ground and a cardinal is playing with it. up in the shrubs is a baltimore oriole busy eating bugs. that afternoon a red-headed woodpecker bathed while a blue jay waited impatiently at the side of the birdbath. blue jays are pretty aggressive but wood peckers rule.

it'll be hard to leave this place. but i could trade it to live among dolphins & parrot fish and then i could trade the boat to live in rural hawaii. not that i'm asking for much, i just want one paradise after another after another.

as to the helicopter, i've already had more than my share of fun way back when and among my friends we took way too many casualties. as much as i dislike corporate violation of the 5th amendment, kept in the family, we do have a urine testing clause attached to my niece & nephews trust fund. my brother and i had more than enough fun for the next two generations at least. no reason to screw the kids up. the dea is welcome to proffer their efforts elsewhere. my sobriety would just waste their time. (never mind that their helicopters would just mess my hair).

 

[astromeria]

I like word games (I do the ones in my daily paper) and Sudoku, which I play online.

You can go pretty far into ornithology, moving beyond visual bird ID to call/song ID, nest ID, bird behavior, and optimizing your yard for preferred species or natives. I noticed bluebirds in the open field across our back fence and put up a bleubird house 3 years ago. Wihtin hours it was occupied, and the happy couple raises 2-3 broods each spring/summer. I put up a mealworm feeder last year, and now the parents grab a few mealworms to eat and take some to the nest for the babies. A few weeks later I get to watch the babies fledge. All within a few feet of my kitchen window. Maybe I'll add some more bird houses in the future for the other species we attract to our yard with flowers, berries, feeders, and bird bath.

Since we moved to South Carolina, I've learned to identify a lot of new plants and critters (especailly beach critters like various crabs & fish and the many varieties of palms that grow here). I've enjoyed experimenting with what grows well in different parts of my yard--and this is my first experience gardening in sandy soil, which is more challenging than I expected.

I've also gotten more into cooking, especially expanding my repertoire of Asian dishes.

My daughter wanted me to become a notary so I could sign her marriage certificate, so that's been another research area for me. And I suppose I can make a few bucks as a notary, if it pleases me.

Most early mornings and late afternoons I sit in my recliner and smile coz I don't have to be anywhere, or do anything, or worry about much of anything. Nice life

 

[audreyh1]

If you really want to get deeper into ornithology, I highly recommend the Home Study Course in Bird Biology produced by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. It's a terrific self-paced course equivalent to 3 semesters of college ornithology. It's written such that you don't need any prior biology courses to understand the material. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/homestudy/

If you enjoy watching birds and bird behavior, having the background knowledge really enriches that watching experience as you understand so much more of what you are seeing.

That's one of the things I started within my first year of retirement. It took me over two years to complete it, but that fit well with my travel schedule. Very worthwhile.

I also picked up some other college texts for things that I wish I had studied and wanted to know but it didn't fit into my professional career. A lot of professors have course curriculae online, and textbooks have on-line references, simulations, quizzes, etc. So you can take advantage of all this stuff without having to actually go to college or fit with someone else's schedule.

Audrey

 

[astromeria]

Thanks, Audrey! Good idea--especially for us Ps, not to mention travelers--to be able to learn without fitting into a schedule. I've been thinking about auditing classes at hubby's college, but I'd probably prefer the learn-at-home route.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Consider haunting the public library or the nearest university library for a while. Browse the shelves and the magazines and the foreign newspapers. Find interesting subjects and follow the trails. Guranteed to stimulate an inquiring mind.

The Multnomah County Public Library System in Portland, Oregon, was where I discovered the world as a kid. Discovery can happen at any age.

Calgary has a good public library system (I have my card). Even Ft MacMurray has a decent pub library. I have not seen the public library in Edmonton, but the U af Alberta has a pretty good one. (And a pub on campus nearby!)

I believe that the public library systems of Canada and the US are unusually good compared to the rest of the world and are true gems. In Denmark, we found very nice libraries--but nobody seemed to use them!

Enjoy!

Ed