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Retirement Hobbies.Bring Your Creative Side Centre Stage.Choosing and developing the right mixture of retirement hobbies is crucial to a fulfilling and enjoyable retirement. One of the joys of my post-career lifestyle is the opportunity to pull over from the fast lane and to alternate between periods of work and leisure. My favourite hobby - both before and after my retirement - is creative writing, especially non-fiction short stories. My membership of Toastmasters International sparked my interest - firstly in writing speeches - and then in creative writing. I’ve been a member for almost twenty years and as an Accomplished Toastmaster I would have been required to write and deliver 25 speeches. In total I reckon I’ve done over 40 speeches.  Creative writing is different to speech writing and my interest in creative writing began about ten years ago when I attended a writing course. One of the best creative writing ideas) I was given was to start working with a writing coach. I loved that course and I was surprised and encouraged by the feedback I got.
I say surprised because I still recall the frustration and despair of staring at a blank page on a Sunday night, during high school, hoping for inspiration that never came. School essays were a challenge. I was trying to second guess what the teacher wanted. The essays were not my story at all, and would be returned with lots of red ink for spelling and grammar errors. It would take another 20 years for me to find the confidence to write from the heart. Curiosity attracted me to that writing course. I wondered could I write. I perceived myself to be a dominant left brain thinker. This was consistent with my career in Finance and Administration. I was strong on the logical processing of facts and detail. However, knowing that I also had a right brain (!), in my forties I became interested in the world of imagination, fantasy and emotions. I made a conscious effort to develop my right brain thinking. This exploration and development of my right brain thinking had an unexpected career outcome. After 25 years of Finance and Administration I became the Marketing Director of my company!
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