Once you reach a certain age and get set in your ways, can you really pick up a new skill or interest? Isn’t that pretty much a kid’s game? Not so, many would respond. That list includes designer Vera Wang, who began her next career around age 40. Julia Child wrote her first cookbook at 50. Stan Lee began his comic book writing career at 38. Ray Kroc bought McDonald’s when he was 52. Painter Anna Mary “Grandma” Moses began painting at age 78. So don’t let age excuse you from picking up that next new skill or long-buried passion.
- It keeps you sharp. Want to stave off dementia and memory loss or just keep the neurons firing late into your life? Learn something new, something that requires your brain to flex and grow. Studies show that picking up a complex skill later in life truly does help the brain maintain memory better than simply doing basic puzzles or socializing because it strengthens the connections between parts of your brain, lighting up entire networks. And the more difficult the skill, the better the results. Plus it gives you something new to add to your life as enhancement and something to share with others.
- It helps with time management...how does adding something to my already busy life help with time management? Think about it: When you choose to add a new hobby or skill to your schedule, you make the time to pursue this new interest, finding ways to fit it into your days and weeks. It may even find its ways into other aspects of your life. For example, if you take up a “lifetime” sport such as rowing or golf, you may also find yourself devoting time to stretching to keep your new muscles limber and planning healthier meals to go along with your new exercise regime. We say we “don’t have the time,” but what that mainly means is we don’t have the motivation to find that time.
- It forges new connections. Whether you choose to take a new language class at a local college with a friend or by yourself online using Duolingo, you’ll naturally make connections with others who also have learned or are learning the same one. It may also inspire you to plan a trip to use this new language, thus allowing you to communicate with others you couldn’t have before. And oftentimes it’s those new connections who urge you to keep going when you find the learning challenging…or you’ll find yourself doing the same for them. By learning a new skill, you’re opening yourself up to an entire network of others who also have it.
- You’ll do some horizon broadening. Too often we find ourselves caught in our routines, perhaps contented but not stimulated by our lives. Even reading a book in a different genre than usual will allow you a new perspective. And it may seem uncomfortable, but part of learning involves allowing yourself to feel uncomfortable and challenged so you’ll take the necessary steps to master and understand that new perspective until it becomes familiar. And then you may want to learn something connected to that as a result, broadening those horizons even more.
Learning a new skill or adding something different to your life allows you to open your eyes to new experiences, to gently or bluntly challenge yourself to do, know and be more. Why shy away from something that could enhance your life? Go for it — pursue that desire to take a martial arts class, join a quilting circle or take up the tuba. Your life will be all the richer for having done so.
Reach out to our experienced staffing and management team at Medical Professionals today!
Leave a Reply