Humans tend to put pressure on themselves, and—as a result—others, to learn things young. There’s that ancient (and crass) adage about old dogs, new tricks and how never the twain shall meet. As well as the little factoid flippantly dispensed—most often by people with a limited understanding of neurology themselves—that “you can only learn new skills young, when your brain is still malleable and developing.”

Despite the societal stigmas and questionable advice, actual experts are quite unanimous in the wisdom that as adults age into their golden years, diving into the unknown of a new skill or activity is one of the best ways to keep their brains active and buoyant, avoid social isolation and promote good mental health.

In this day and age, the options are virtually endless for older adults. But here’s a brief list of ideas to get you started.

Learn to play an instrument 

This one might sound challenging, and that’s because it likely is of the more trying options on this list. But exploring daunting new territory might just be what you are looking for. That was the case for writer Sandra Low—who recounts her experience starting piano lessons in her older years after suffering a stroke.

“Piano came to me at a time when life was not easy. Vertigo and fatigue from the stroke restricted my movement. I was unsteady when I walked and the memory deficits and the concentration lapses were even worse,” she writes for CBC, going on to say that sticking with piano lessons ended up changing her whole life for the better. “The act of learning music pulled me through that angst-ridden recovery phase. It kept my mind occupied, pulling it out of the negative thinking. And when I started achieving that dream of playing piano, I started believing in myself again.”

Play a new sport

If you’d like something that engages both the mind and the body, picking up a new sport might be the way to go. By now, you’ve likely heard of pickleball—the not-quite-ping-pong and not-quite-tennis hybrid that has taken the world by storm in the past several years. Played either indoors or outdoors on a shortened tennis court with a smaller net, solid paddle and what looks like a colorful wiffle ball, pickleball is an absolute favorite among senior athletes.

Much like regular tennis, it can be played as singles (one-on-one), but is most commonly played as doubles (two-on-two). Doubles matches are inherently very communal and known for being welcoming to beginners.

If you’re not interested in making a court appearance, experts recommend various other low-impact, highly social sports such as golf, yoga, walking, swimming and bowling.

Get into gardening

Gardening is a great excuse to get out into the sunshine, get your hands dirty, and commune with nature. Whether you want to garden flowers, vegetables, or something else, horticultural therapist Patty Cassidy provided some tips to the National Wildlife Federation to keep gardening manageable as you age. In addition to starting off slow and doing plenty of stretching beforehand, Cassidy recommends getting a raised bed. This allows gardeners to go to work in the soil and reach plants at an arm’s length, rather than needing to put undue stress on their backs by bending over to meet the ground. Alternatively, she says that cultivating viney, vertical plants is another great way to garden while staying upright.

Prepare food for yourself and others

This idea might go perfectly with number three; if you’re interested in growing your own food, then perhaps you’d also like to learn more about how to prepare it yourself too. The benefits of learning to cook are multifaceted. It’s a great way to ensure you’re eating a healthy diet. It’s a great way to stay involved socially, either by inviting friends over for a dinner party, or bringing your culinary creations to be enjoyed at events you attend. And it can also be another outlet to express yourself creatively.

There are several “home meal delivery” services available that send all the ingredients you’d need to make the meal, plus detailed instructions that make it easy even for absolute beginners. These services can be expensive, however. A cheaper alternative might be to utilize the internet, which has a seemingly endless supply of online recipes and helpful video tutorials.

Join a movie or book club

Who doesn’t enjoy sitting down with a good book or watching a great movie? Perhaps you’d like to take your media consumption up a notch and join (or create) a club of like-minded critics to discuss and connect over novels and film. Being part of a book club can keep you motivated to stay on top of your reading list while also making you a more active consumer. Many people in this kind of club end up taking notes as they read or as they watch, so that they can come to their club’s next meeting with organized thoughts, theories and opinions to share with the rest of the group. Book and movie clubs may also help expose you to different authors, filmmakers, or even entire genres that you wouldn’t have thought to pick on your own without the gentle nudging of your fellow club members.

Teach your specialized skills to others

As an older adult, you have several decades of experience, talents and abilities that are invaluable to someone starting out as a beginner. Whether your talents come from a long career in a particular line of work or from years honing a favorite hobby or passion, consider using your knowledge and abilities to help teach someone else your age, or impart the wisdom down to the next generation. Teaching is rewarding in its own right, and it might just reignite your own passion and love for the subject matter.

No matter what path you choose to pursue in the coming years, take care to remember learning a brand new skill inherently carries imperfection and a level of frustration with it. This imperfection, that frustration, is no reason to quit. In fact, they are the reasons to keep going. The process of learning imperfectly is its own reward. Writing for The New Yorker, Margaret Talbot discusses—and argues against—the societal stigma associated with being a “dilettante,” a dabbler, an amateur who does not have mastery over a particular skillset. She points out that the word dilettante comes from an Italian word meaning “to delight.”

“But if you think of dilettantism as an endorsement of learning for learning’s sake—not for remuneration or career advancement but merely because it delights the mind—what’s not to love?”

Local agencies on aging are available to the region’s older adults to help them in learning new skills, meeting new friends, and trying new things.