Want to Grow Your Social Group and Yourself?

Would you like to meet other 55+ women and make new friends? Then join our private Facebook group, The Ethel Circle, today. You'll love it!


I’m not good at art. Ask me to draw a person, and you’ll get a stick figure, and my sketches of trees look like the work of a five-year-old. So when my friend Marsha Edell asked recently if I would do an art class with her, I groaned. Marsha has always been good at crafts, and now that she’s retired from her career as a social worker, she loves getting other people to flex their artistic muscles.

“I’ll be awful,” I said.

“Don’t be negative! All you need to be artistic is the right attitude.”

I know all about the power of positive attitudes, and I’ve even written books on happiness and gratitude. But I figured my art deficit reflected only a lack of talent.

“Not so!” Marsha insisted. “You just need some positive feedback.”

As we age, we often think we know exactly what we can and can’t do. My own creative scorecard says Writing — yes, Art — no. But stretching yourself in new creative directions has a dramatically positive effect. One study found that creativity can even improve longevity. The researchers explained that successful aging requires “a certain degree of inventiveness in adapting to the environment.” Letting yourself be creative in any field keeps your mind more flexible.

You may get the biggest bonus in health and longevity by trying something brand new. Our brains like to go on cruise control, and when everything is the same, they don’t pay much attention. Try something unexpected, and your neurons wake up. Your brain and body are stimulated in healthy ways.

At the age when you begin working less or don't have children at home, there’s time to take on new creative pursuits. I have a friend learning violin for the first time and another discovering pottery. Creative activities range from singing to salsa dancing and can all lead to improved health and longevity.

An artist named Peter Greenwood offers glassblowing lessons at a studio in rural Connecticut (where he also displays his own great work). He told me that a woman in her 80s visited recently wanting to make a paperweight. Since she had advanced arthritis and difficulty moving, he wasn’t sure she could handle the heavy equipment or stand in front of the 2000-degree oven with a long stick of molten glass.

“But she was determined,” he said.

She spent an hour intensely focused on the complicated techniques, and after following Peter’s gentle direction, she finished the project feeling exhilarated.

“I’d like to do this again!” she told Peter.

Another research study found that older people involved in community cultural programs — everything from poetry to dance to music — had better physical health, fewer doctor visits and less need for various medications than people in a control group. Their mental health and overall well-being improved. The advantages could even lead to less of a need for long-term care. Trying something creative improves your resilience and general experience of life.

People who take a creative leap later in life are often thrilled at the excitement that gets unleashed. According to psychologist Jane Burns and her colleagues, who did a study of retirees in Scotland, a creative project can help you feel challenged and stimulated again. Whether you’re making origami butterflies or trying your hand at collage, there’s a power to doing something new and original.

When Jan Constantine left her long and very successful career as a lawyer, she decided to indulge her passion for music and acting. After posting a profile on a theatrical casting site, she was called to be an extra on the TV show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, appearing as an older lady sitting in a diner. Many more TV shows followed, and she loved putting her hair in pin curls for one and wearing period clothes for another.

“With my white hair, I look like a grandmother, so I got called for a lot of parts,” she told me.

Deciding to push her creative talents even further, Jan auditioned for MasterVoices, a chorus that does performances with renowned artists and conductors. Though she had no formal training in singing, she got small speaking parts in a couple of shows and was featured in a performance the group did at Carnegie Hall.

“My children object when I say this, but it was the highlight of my life!” she says gleefully.

As we age, we all know the importance of feeling relevant, productive and engaged in a community. Involvement in creative activities can help us meet all three of these goals. The sense of achievement we gain through creativity boosts self-confidence, and classes have the advantage of connecting us to other people. It’s a simple and successful way to enhance our social lives while also gaining a renewed sense of accomplishment — something especially important for retirees. And it’s also an ego boost, as there’s always someone there to say, “Wow, that’s great work!”

I didn’t expect to hear much “great work!” when I finally agreed to join my friend Marsha for a session of decoupage, which involves gluing decorative paper onto objects. I joined her at her dining room table, where she had the materials ready. Two hours later, I had decorated a plate that I’d be proud to use.

Learning about the power of creativity hasn’t improved my drawings or made my stick figures any rounder. But next time Marsha asks if I want to take on a new art project, I know what the answer will be.

You bet!

What creative activity do you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below.