April is my "birthday month" and although I am getting older, I no longer get upset about aging.
Every year we age and wonder if we are accomplishing all in life that we should or are capable of. Those of us approaching 40 or who are well into our 40s have a different mindset that comes with a little bit of age.
In our teenage years we knew everything and thought those older than us were so outdated.
Then in our 20s we had to experience and experiment with everything to prove that we were still right. Sometimes this meant starting a family young or climbing the corporate ladder from the ground up.
Then something surprising happened in our 30s – we realized we didn’t know anything. We were living our lives to please others and what they wanted for us. At the end of our 30s, self-realization starts to take hold. It is at the time when people hit their late 30s that they most often get divorced or decide to switch careers as they want more from their lives than they originally had planned.
And in our 40s, we realized that it is ok to shed the façade of who were thought we were and to actually BE who we want to be.
Here is a list of 40 Things To Do Before You Turn 40.... but really just live. Live for today, forgive yesterday, and be grateful for tomorrow.
- Learn a second language.
- Go skydiving at least once so you know what it feels like to fly.
- Have one recipe that you can make from scratch.
- Be able to order a nice bottle of wine at dinner.
- Go on a vacation alone for at least three days.
- Drive the Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park to see the waterfalls.
- Learn how to swim.
- Visit a foreign country and meet the locals.
- Love someone deeply from the bottom of your soul.
- Be able to kiss a man senseless.
- Go skinny dipping.
- See a Broadway Play in New York City.
- Grow a plant from seed and watch it grow throughout its lifecycle.
- Dip your toes into both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
- Laugh until you pee your pants.
- Forgive your friendenemy and move on. You only hurt yourself by holding on to grudges.
- Stop judging others or yourself.
- Go to the movies by yourself.
- Learn how to drive a stick shift.
- Earn a scuba diver’s certificate. Use it.
- Scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef and see the wonderment under the sea.
- Learn to forgive and let go. Practice it every day.
- Make bread from scratch and work the dough with your bare hands.
- Write down your fears and tackle each one.
- Talk to a homeless person and be open to hearing their story.
- Write a letter to your 13-year old self – what would you say? What advice would you give?
- Now write a letter to your 60-year old self. What are you most proud of? What would you change if you could go back in time?
- Hike the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim.
- See the leaves change colors in New England.
- Taste fresh lobster in Maine.
- Have a mojito in Miami’s South Beach.
- Explore the one religion that scares you the most to understand their side.
- Be still. Listen. Really listen to your inner voice and trust your intuition.
- Dance in the rain.
- Hug someone for two minutes that you don’t know.
- Learn how to build a fire from scratch.
- Run a 5k or a half marathon.
- Realize that sarcasm can hurt others, so choose your words wisely.
- Finish high school or your college degree for yourself and not for anyone else.
- Backpack around Europe like you wanted to do when you were 20.
Do you have anything to add to the list?
