I did try and convince the Love-goddess that watching golf on television and drinking beer would be worthy new daily pursuits for me in retirement. Unfortunately, as an expert in the field of mental health, she felt obligated to point out that Personal Growth was more about intellectual and emotional growth than physical growth. Sadly, I could not mount a suitable argument to counter her learned opinion. Needless to say, it makes her very happy when she sees me hovering over the keyboard working on this project.
So what will you do to ensure that your own personal development continues in retirement? Perhaps you have already given a bit of thought to some new things you would like to try out, or are thinking about returning to some favoured activities that you enjoyed before life got so busy? Or maybe, you are at a bit of a loss as to what you might try your hand at during the next stage of the life cycle, and are looking for some suggestions? This piece is all about suggestions.
I am going to assume that you have never heard about Howard Gardner and his work on human intelligence — feel free to insert your own “human intelligence” joke here? No? I didn’t think so. Gardner has identified eight distinct “multiple intelligences” that all humans have in varying degrees. Again, the options for witty comment are limitless. Knock yourself out.
Think or say what you might about Gardner’s work, his various intelligences provide an excellent framework for organizing activities or enterprises you might want to consider. Especially if you are interested in looking for some things that will stretch you and aren’t on your radar yet. No matter what it is we aspire to do, intellectual, physical, or existential, it’s all rooted in the brain, so this is a good place to begin.
Some New Activities You Might Want To Consider (Organized by the Type of “Multiple Intelligence” They Can Be Associated With)
Keep in mind these are off the top of my head suggestions. You will probably be able to come up with much better ones that suit your own interests.
Spatial – explore drawing and painting, photography or videography, orienteering, sculpting, or designing (lots of choices); learn to fly or sail; play chess; study architecture, cartooning, or art history; or learn about and practice film making.
Linguistic – write just about anything (poetry, short stories, articles to submit to magazines and newspapers, a newsletter for some group you are involved with), create your own blog, study literature, become an oral storyteller, join a book club, take public speaking or debating classes, learn a new language, learn computer programming, solve word puzzles, play word games, attend lectures, edit the writing of others, study to be a TV or radio presenter, take up acting, volunteer at a theatre
Logical-Mathematical – track your family finances, develop your spreadsheet skills, take a math related course (basic, high school, accounting, statistics – start at a level comfortable for you), take a science-related course (astronomy is a great one to begin with), conduct scientific experiments (don’t be afraid to start with kids stuff, especially if you have a grandchild you can do it with), solve logic puzzles or play strategy games, learn all about your computer
Bodily-Kinesthetic – take up a new sport, get re-involved in a sport you use to play, develop fitness routines, start hiking, learn how to scuba dive, take dance lessons, learn about your body and how to take care of it, study massage, learn a craft or trade, broaden your cooking skills
Musical – learn a musical instrument, join a choir or take singing lessons, start composing music or writing songs, study an area of music you have an interest in, attend concerts, volunteer at a music event or concert venue, study to be a sound engineer, collect music or information about music
Naturalistic – gardening, volunteering at a nature/animal preserve, flower arranging, volunteering at an organic farm, learn more about what you eat, study botany or biology, join a community beautification group, become a collector (rocks, orchids, etc.)
Intrapersonal (understanding one’s self) – think about and record your personal strengths and weaknesses, then work on enhancing them, trace your family’s history, develop a plan for your own personal development, start a journal, begin writing your autobiography
Interpersonal (interacting effectively with others) – study negotiating, become politically active, coach a team, join a group, study psychology or counseling, volunteer to work on a team project (e.g. Habitat For Humanity), volunteer in a public facility (library, hospital, etc.), tutor
Needless to say, many of the activities itemized above will probably not be of any interest to you. Not to worry, the point of going through this exercise is simply to get you thinking about what you might be interested in doing with your freed up time in retirement, and how those activities will help to enrich your life. Please feel free to add to this discussion in the comments section below.
My intention here has not been to inform you about Multiple Intelligence theory, or attempt to offer support for it over other theories of human intelligence. If finding out more about what work is being done in the human intelligence field is of interest to you, you will likely find it to be a fulfilling step in your own personal development.
Enjoy whatever it is you get involved in. More importantly, I hope that your life becomes richer and more fulfilled by your participation in your choices. I will be keeping you posted on my projects and how they are working out for me. So far, so good.
