40 Life Lessons As I Turn 40

I am turning 40 this week! 

Can I get a woot woot?!?!

As I’ve approached this milestone, two things have happened.  The first is, some major life events brought some highly valued perspective in my life.  Secondly, I’ve been collecting learnings from my life over the last 40 years that have impacted who I am today.  In this episode, I share both a life update and also 40 lessons I’ve learned as I turn the big 4-0!

This year is a big birthday milestone.

I am celebrating 40 years of being on this planet.

40 years of trying to find my path in life.

Along with 40 years of loving and being loved.

As well as 40 years of having lots of successes and failures.

I really wasn’t feeling any particular way about this birthday milestone until life served up some curveballs the last quarter of the year.  Between an emergency health incident I had, my sweet Dad having an accident, and my pup passing…the combination of these things left me in a deeper reflection about turning 40 than I expected.

Months ago I began collecting “life learnings” in the Notes app on my phone.  As I realized them, I’d jot them down with a goal of hoping to find 40.

And I did…some were hard lessons, some were beautiful and some were just funny AF.

But today’s episode is a peek into some personal things I haven’t shared publicly yet because I wasn’t sure about my feelings about it.  In an effort to maintain my core value of authenticity I decided to this week…

….along with 40 learnings as I turn 40.

Here is a little peek into these 40 insights:

1. I am not the decisions I made when I was a teenager.
2. Gluten-free Oreos taste just the same as regular Oreos.
3. If someone is on your heart don’t overthink it…let them know. Even if it ended weird or bad just be a human and say hi.
4. Don’t be the girl who when it comes time to split the bill, takes our calculator to determine how much each person owes to the penny. Nope…that was a college thing.
5. When your husband starts to do all the dishes, tells you to take it easy and in general, begins to really weave your acts of kindness love language…there is something else coming. 
6. There has never been a morning I was grateful I took one last shot.
7. I am not the decisions I made when I was a teenager.
8. No matter how hard I try…I can’t put more hours in a day so don’t spend them with purpose.
9. No matter how many times I tell them The kids will always yell for me even when their dad is within a one-foot radius.
10. Life ends up way better than I could have ever imagined when I chose to see it that way.
11. You are exactly where you need to be right now.
12. Loss sucks…no matter how big or small.
13. God has a bigger plan for you when you surrender and trust the process.
14. Hurry and love aren’t partners…slow down.
15. When you are tired, rest.
16. My parents were right…mostly.
17. There is about nothing in life that Taco Bell Mild sauce doesn’t taste good on.
18. It’s possible to love someone sooo madly while also not liking them at the moment.
19. Don’t take things so personally. People are so distracted by their own shit they aren’t thinking about you as much as you think.
20. The journey of finding faith and spirituality has no end finish line as I thought
21. Gluten-free Oreos taste just the same as regular Oreos.
22. Becoming whom you want is more about letting go of who you were.
23. You can’t change people but you can change your thoughts about them.
24. Money is a tool. Don’t make it mean more than that.
25. The meaning of success is completely dependent on your season of life.
26. A credit score actually means nothing. Don’t buy into the lie.
27. There are no shoulds. 
28. It only triggers you when it’s a truth about you. Be willing to do the work instead of pointing the finger.
29. The word failure is flawed. Not meeting the goals you set for yourself means nothing unless you make it mean something.
30. Any Whitney Houston song will stop any group of 40 something women and immediately they will belt it out.
31. Family dinner is an underrated priority in parenting. We don’t miss it. I don’t want my kids to either.
32. If you’ve been hurt it doesn’t mean you will get hurt again. The past does not have to define your future connections.
33. When your husband tells you the couch smells funny…don’t go sniff it.
34. Vaginas are weird.
35. The scariest thing to be is actually who you really are. It’s a fear I’m finally okay stepping into.
36. Giving is in fact great but it’s actually just as great as receiving. 
37. The best ideas you will ever have come while in the shower.
38. The only way to eat a cupcake is to peel away the bottom part and turn it into a bun. You’re welcome. 
39. Little did I know one of the greatest gifts I could receive was an early bedtime.
40. You have been created perfectly.

Today let’s celebrate all of our learnings together as they brought us here right now.

I’ll be celebrating this milestone with family and friends!

Thank you for being a part of my 40 years friend!

Have you discovered any of these lessons in your own life? If so, I’d love to hear from you on which of these lessons really resonated with you!

You can also watch the episode here:

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