How to Start a Hobby

Use nostalgia to find what you love

As kids, we learn what are good and not-so-good activities from our family and peers. But sometimes those “bad ideas” might be worthy of your time.

Martin Stein, a 58-year-old in Corinth, Texas, grew up loving horses and cowboys but was discouraged from pursuing riding.

“A few years ago, my wife and I moved to Texas and I found myself down the road from a stable,” he says. Stein took lessons and began competing in amateur competitions, racing against people his age who have been on horseback all their lives. He placed first in his age category his very first year of getting into the sport.

Not only has Stein fulfilled a lifelong wish, he says, but his new hobby took him places he never thought of. He joined a cowboy church — one that combines Christian worship with cowboy culture — with folks he met at the play days.

“I’ve even joined the church’s horseback drill team, rode in parades and worked the chutes at team roping events,” he says.

Sign up for a class

“For instance, if you’re like, ‘I’ve always wanted to learn how to paint,’ find a class or a program that teaches you that skill or helps you with what supplies you might need,” says Senior Action’s Smith.

For Mark Grossman, 66, that place was a comedy club.

About five years ago Grossman was on a Tinder date when his date told him about a comedy class she took. “She seemed an unlikely person to do stand-up comedy — she was reserved and somewhat introverted. But when she spoke about the class, she spoke with such enthusiasm that I was intrigued.”

The next day, Grossman signed up for a class. He loved it so much, he took it twice, began participating in open mic nights and has even picked up some paid gigs.

“As someone who has battled stuttering my whole life and avoided public speaking back in my school days, just the fact that I can get up on stage in front of people and speak is an accomplishment,” he says.

Grossman says there is no better feeling than making people laugh.

Look to the great outdoors

A new hobby can take you new places — including outside.

Last year, David Tooke, 57, of Austin, Texas, saw people fishing from kayaks in his local lake.

He had fished in the past, from the shore, with limited success and became intrigued by the idea of getting out onto the lake, closer to the fish. “I read all about it and watched a few YouTube videos, then I bought an inflatable kayak and started,” he says. Now, Took goes out kayak fishing several days a week.

His biggest catch to date is an 8 pound bass. “It is enjoyable to be outside paddling on a lake, being with nature and seeing wildlife,” says Tooke. “It is like a game trying to catch the big old bass.”

Find a furry — or not so furry — friend

Time with a pet dog or cat is as good a hobby as any. But what about engaging with other kinds of animals? Even the not cuddly kind.

Charlotte Ekker Wiggins, a 69-year-old resident of Rolla, Missouri, had always wanted to get into beekeeping but had been putting it off due to her busy work schedule. One winter, she saw an ad from someone selling bees locally and ordered two hives.

“Initially I thought I would get one hive, place it in the garden corner and leave them to it,” she says. “I didn’t count on falling in love, wanting to see bees daily up close and learning everything I could about them.”

Wiggins has met a range of fascinating people through her beekeeping hobby and has even started teaching beginning beekeeping classes and writing beekeeping books to help others get started.

Try a new hobby with a friend or loved one 

Greenville, South Carolina, resident Jo Carson and her husband Don, both 86, joined the Ukulele Ensemble at Senior Action three years ago, with no prior experience, “... and we’re still playing,” says Jo.

Playing the ukulele, Don says, has enriched their lives and helped them to learn a new skill. “Before this, neither one of us had ever attempted to play a stringed musical instrument before,” he says.

And while they started the hobby as a team of two, Jo says they have made loads of friends that share their passion.

An added bonus: Making or listening to music has amazing health benefits for the brain, according to an AARP report.

Connect with people in person or online

And if you can’t find a friend to try it with you, look for people or groups already engaged in that hobby.

“There’s a Facebook group for everything these days, whether it’s photography or crocheting,” says Smith. “Sometimes that can encourage you to get involved in that hobby, because you find other people who are talking about it, and are sharing their tips and tricks.”

And those people might be closer than you think. After his son started taking classes, Kalani Matthews, 54, of Chantilly, Virginia, began training in Brazilian jujitsu and became a high-level competitor in less than a year.

“Watching him train and apply the mental principles of jujitsu inspired me to start,” he says. “Also, it looked like a lot of fun.” The training, he says, has increased his flexibility and mobility, improved the function of his heart and lungs and reduced his body fat. “I have better circulation, more energy and feel better overall,” says Matthews.

He’s also made a bunch of new friends in the process. “What I love most about the sport is that everyone who I have met in the gym and at competition events shares the same passion for the sport,” he says.