Year of Forty!l

Does this sound like your current situation?

During the week you head into work after getting the kids off to school, put in your 8-12 hours, fight the traffic to get home at a decent time for dinner, spend the little bit of time you have left catching up on your DVR that has accumulated a sufficient amount of shows that you will NEVER be able to watch, check out your social media accounts just before falling asleep, and then wake up and do it all over again.

Now comes the weekend. WOHOO! Except, you realize that you have at least 4 loads of laundry to do, the house looks like a bomb went off in it, the dishes in the sink are possibly growing mold and the lawn looks like a site out of a horror movie. So now you spend a vast majority of your very coveted ‘Free Time’ cleaning and making your home look presentable enough not to stress you out. Not presentable for company though because now you are so tired from all the work you did, you just want to veg out in front of the boob tube and binge watch The Walking Dead or maybe something lighter like The Office. And just like that another 48 hours has passed and it is back to the weekday grind.

I realized one day that this is exactly how I am spending my adult life. Oh to remember the days of being busy with activity, having friends over, spending the weekend at family parties. The difference to now is night and day and, honestly, is a little depressing. Stupid Responsibilities! 😜 How did my mom do it all and make it seem so easy!

As I started to really think about how I spend my time, I thought to myself, ‘this doesn’t feel like I am living life, more just getting through it.’

Next thing ya know, I am reflecting about what I have and have not done over the past 40 years. Everything has been done by “the book”. By the time I was 31 years old I graduated high school with honors, graduated college with my Bachelor of Arts,  secured a full time job, got married, the next year bought a house in the ‘burbs, the next year had my first child and then another almost 2 years later.

I did some pretty cool things in between my “planned out life” too but for the most part it is all so text book. I was doing was I was ‘supposed’ to do.  And although I am very happy with what I have accomplished and where I am in life, I am not sure that I have really done a lot of it for myself and I am left with a lot of sadness about what I have not done.

Do not get me wrong, I do not regret the choices that I have made in life or what I have done. Regret is funny thing because to have changed anything in my life means that I would not be here. I don’t dislike HERE, I just want to be THERE tomorrow.  And I don’t want to die regretting what I have not done. But luckily there is still time to do it!

Start Living

At the very first of the year, I decided that I would make this year absolutely amazing! Maybe get back some of that spark and zest for life and celebrate all year long.  I have deemed this year The Year of Forty and have been using the hashtag #yearof40 whenever I deem it appropriate and relevant to making this year the best and start living my best life which I will continue into my entire 40th year.

In my last post, I discussed a ton of really cool ways to celebrate your birthday. The reality is that there is no way to accomplish those all in a day. BUT I want to do ALL of the things on the list! So why just make it a day?? Why not go for the whole year.

There are also tons of other things that I know I want to do or accomplish this year and things I don’t even know I want to do yet. Due to this, I will make a “Wish List” and use what I have from my birthday celebration list ideas and add whatever else I want to try or accomplish over the year. 

I work best off lists otherwise I am ALL over the place. I cannot for the life of me keep my thoughts in order. Even writing them down can be trying, so I make list and then I feel like I can accomplish anything. (as long as I don’t lose my list! LOL) Ultimately, lists are the gateway to a plan which is why you will see me use them a lot. So let’s work on one.

Make Your Wish List

• Grab the Ways to Celebrate your 40th Birthday list and write down everything that you want to do onto a blank piece of paper.
• Write your bucket list, yes I am referring to  anything that you want to do or try in this lifetime. No time but the present!
• Think about anything else that you want to do. What fits your theme for the year? What have you been putting off until tomorrow? Add it to the list.
• Think about all of the people that you want to be part of your year. Who have you been wanting to catch up with? Do you have a friend from college that you have not talked to in a decade but you stalk on social media just to stay connected? Maybe there is someone that you feel you let down in a big way some time in life and you have been thinking about how you you want to just say sorry? Or a family member that you have been “meaning to see” but, well, life. Write their names down.
• Now make a comprehensive WISH LIST from everything that we discussed above. Don’t worry if you think you can or can’t do it. Don’t worry about money or logistics. Just write the list.
• Grab a calendar. If you are techie use one on your phone. I find the google calendar works just fine. More of a paper person? I know i am! There is something to writing it out and having it on paper that resonates with me. If so there are awesome planners big and small that would work awesome. I like those little ones you get from the dollar store. If you are a super visual person the big ones that you can also decorate are beautiful options! You can find many styles on Amazon or at a craft store.
• Most importantly, start putting down your wish list items in the calendar. Get dates down! Even if you are not sure about some of them, pencil it in or just write WISH LIST in a date. Then when that date comes up pick something, anything from the list and DO IT!
• Be Flexible! You can always add new ideas items or change them. Nothing is set in stone, this is just a catalyst to activity.

I am going to make a commitment to myself to do ALL of my Ways to Celebrate birthday items over the course of the next year. In addition, I am going to add in the new Wish list items and make an effort to do as many of them as I can.  To keep me honest, I will write about the items I am able to check off the list when it is appropriate. A sort of review so to speak.

Now here is the most important part, DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR LIST! Don’t settle it and forget it. You have to make a conscious effort every week at least to crush those dreams! Get ‘er done! And START LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE!