Friday, August 27, 2010

40 Reasons Why 40 is Fabulous

I know all the jokes about turning 40…you are over the hill, your life is half over, etc. And when I was 20, heck, when I was 30, I thought 40 was OLD. But I gotta tell ya…I think 40 is great so far. So I asked around to my friends and colleagues and some members of my favorite chat board who have all hit the 40 mark and had them tell me why they think 40 is great too. Some of the answers below are mine and some are from them:

1. It is a great time to take on a new interest…I just started photography classes! (ME)

2. It is a great time to get more educated…I will finish my second master’s degree this year! (ME)

3. It’s a great time to travel…Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia are a few of the places I will be this year. (ME)

4. It’s a great time to start over… a new baby has kept me feeling 25! (ME)

5. It’s a great time to improve your health, lose weight, run a marathon, whatever…just do something! (ME)

6. At 40 I feel more confident, stronger and happier than I have ever been. (ME)

7. At 40 I have learned that what hasn’t killed me actually HAS made me stronger. (ME)

8. You have finally reached the age where you really don't care what others think about the way you parent, school your children, run your life, etc. You KNOW that what you are doing is right for you and your family and you have the confidence to not let others sway you. (mama 2005)

9. You're right in the middle of life- young enough to remember what is was like to be 20 with boundless energy and excitement, and old enough to know that life is short and that you'd better take advantage of every day! (Lynne)

10. I'm much wiser. (Peela)

11. I'm much more accepting of the things I can't change and less likely to waste energy trying to change it. (Peela)

12. I know myself better- my likes, my dislikes, what will upset my digestion, what will make me happy, what will pi** me off. (Peela)

13. I know how to take care of myself and care enough to. (Peela)

14. I am more able to implement good habits and stick with them. (Peela)

15. I am less self obsessed, and much happier because of it. (Peela)

16. My priorities are healthier. (Peela)

17. I've now lived through a complete cycle of fashion trends and know that everything in my closet will be "in" again (Anissa)

18. DON'T WAIT TILL YOU'RE FORTY! THIS IS NOT DRESS REHEARSAL! THIS IS YOUR LIFE! Which is one of the reasons why I admire Heather and her family......their heart for travel and new experiences. (Mariann)

19. Because you are experienced enough and are confident enough that little things don't rattle you. I've now seen really bad days. I know when a day is not the greatest but still far, far away from the worst that we've survived. And I can look at someone and say that I'm not satisfied with their answer and I need to talk to someone else. Calmly, without antagonism. But also with no intention of backing down. (Sebastian)

20. I know myself well; I no longer try to do or be what others want me to be (Danielle)

21. I have been through a couple of tragedies; a stain on the carpet isn't one of them. (Danielle)

22. I'm happy to be at a point where we have a nice home and property, more stability than we had when we were in our 20's and are no longer struggling to cover the basics. (Kathy)

23. I feel that people take me more seriously than they did in my 20s. I have enough life experience now to "know something." I also have the wisdom now to know that what I *don't* know, and I'm okay with it. (Lisa)

24. I now understand that true love is not an eternal honeymoon, but rather, finding someone for whom you are willing to sacrifice self and who is willing to sacrifice his self for you. (Cindy)

25. At the age of 42 I've learned that time passes very quickly (especially as you watch your children grow). I savor every minute I have with my son. He'll be out of the house before I know it! (Isabelle)

26. I sometimes now get the feeling that I'm kind of at the top of the roller coaster of life. I'm near the half-way point. It's downhill all the way now which, I guess could be depressing, but I love that exhilarating free fall feeling of water slides & so I'm looking forward to another 43 or so years of screaming down the slides with my hands in the air until I land in the big pool at the bottom. (hornblower)

27. After 20+ years in the same career field, I'm considered an 'expert,' with something of a good reputation among co-workers, customers, and even competitors...not worried much about staying employed, or finding employment if my current employer annoys me too much.(Barry)

28. I like the feeling of being old enough to be considered wise yet young enough to be considered "with it". (Justgin)

29. I'm still young enough and healthy enough to enjoy life with gusto, but old enough to know, it's also okay to sit down and put m' feet up and watch life go by now and then. (Justgin)

30. I like the feeling of having enough life behind me to give me sense and enough life ahead to give me dreams. (Justgin)

31. I like it that I'm automatically respected as an adult, but I'm still not that far away from understanding what it was like to a kid. (Justgin)

32. Being over 40 puts you at the stage of life in which you have enough knowledge and experience to be helpful to others but have not lost touch of how humbling it was to reach that place. (Texas mama)

33. I wake up grateful for the blessings I've been given instead of feeling unhappy about the things that I don't have.(Cat)

34. I know what I will tolerate and the things that I will walk the streets naked before I tolerate.(MommyofThree)

35. I am more aware of mortality, and how quickly it can come. (Dobela)

36. I am glad to see that some friends from my teens have chosen similar paths and that we still have common interests despite not seeing each other for 20 years. But I am not upset that other friendships have gone away because I have learned that sometimes a friend is a gift from God for that season alone. I believe that he will provide the friends I need or the next seasons of my life. (Dobela)

37. I learned money isn't everything. (Dobela)

38. I’ve learned to take chances…lots of them. (ME)

39. I am not too old to make mistakes …or to learn from them. (ME)

40. I have learned to always do what scares me most… there is something to be said for facing down your fears. (ME)

So how about you? Are you 40 yet? If so, what do YOU think is great about being 40? Have you stopped and thought about it?

2 comments:

  1. That was fun! Thanks for getting all the answers together like this.

    :-)

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  2. Visiting from the WTM forum. Love the list! It's funny to find it, because I turned 42 last weekend and blogged about this very topic; things I wouldn't trade for youth. You can read it here. :)

    ReplyDelete