How To Tackle Life At 40

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• How To Tackle Life At 40

• Moments with Maurice

• Your Great Things

• Damn! You Put Your Foot In This

How To Tackle Life At 40

If you didn’t know, I recently hit my 40th year, and contrary to how I felt in my 20s and how some of you may feel, it wasn’t that scary, and it’s not old. 

Thirty-five used to be the age that I thought was “old” because I had an idea of what 35 represented. Certain milestones in my life should have been hit by then, like a flourishing career, a home, or 2.5 kids. All the things our parents told us we should have when we get older. You get the idea.

I’m sharing things I learned from getting older, either for those who are already there or for those who are scared about what’s around the corner. Welcome to your best years yet. You can only go up from here!

Stop Thinking You’re Old/Acting Like You’re Old

This one might sound pretty obvious, but for many, it’s hard. It’s as simple as thoughts creating actions. You start aging the second you begin saying, “I can’t do that. I’m too old for it.” That is complete made-up B.S., and you know it. You don’t magically wake up one day on your birthday, unable to do something. I didn’t turn 40, and all of a sudden understand how to do my taxes perfectly and throw my back out.  Age really is just a number. It’s up to you how you wear it. Google impressive octogenarians to find someone doing the same thing as you to remind you age isn’t limiting you. 

The Grass Isn’t Aging Better on the Other Side

It’s easy to look at younger people who have what feels like their whole lives in front of them and feel jealous. They have yet to make the same “mistakes” that we did that have put us in the position where we feel like we missed out on something.

Do you remember what it felt like to be that young? Most of us dreamed about having more responsibility and freedom, both of which you probably already have! It’s natural to always want what you can’t have. Acknowledge those thoughts when they come and point out all the things in your life that you have now that younger you wanted. 

Throw Out the Timeline

My anxiety about hitting milestones used to increase with my age. As I said above, I wanted to hit certain things at a certain time. Now, I realize that I will get to those things when I’m supposed to, and that’s okay. Things are happening to me that I saw for myself at a younger age, but if they had happened when I wanted, I don’t know if I would have found the same joy in them. No one has the perfect timeline; success comes at every age.

Find Something to Look Forward To

Forty was a highlight year for me. I’ve always looked forward to getting older and getting more white hair. Getting older hasn’t been scary for me because I know that I’m going to prioritize my movement and will continue to move well in an older age. It makes me not as afraid of aging. Some things might naturally happen, like not being able to run faster and lift heavy, but I know that those are going to make way for something that I can find fulfillment in. When you find something about getting older to get excited about, birthdays become celebrations full of song, not dirges. If you can’t find something about aging to get excited about, it’s a great sign you need to re-evaluate your life and priorities. Something big is missing from your life and holding you back from joy. 

Prioritize Movement

The second you stop moving and oiling the joints, the second things get rusty, and no one likes to shake the rust off. Your movement might change as you age, or it might not. You could still lift the same weight, but now you need to focus on warming up before and working on mobility instead of raw-dogging the weight with no preparation. (I still wouldn’t recommend just jumping in at any age, but I know we all did stupid stuff in our 20s.)

Don’t ever stop moving. Just make sure you’re smart about it. I used to workout seven days a week, pummeling my body as much as I could because I needed that release every day of the week. Now, I know I can’t do that because it doesn’t do the same thing as it once did. It’s okay to adjust to find the same feeling doing something else; that’s just knowing yourself better!

Nail Down Your Habits

Habits give you back time in your day because you can go onto autopilot doing the things that set you up well. Every day does not need to be filled with original decisions. Find what works for you and stick to it. I know I need to eat something green almost every day to feel my best, so why mess with that? Gone are the days of feeling miserable every day.

Cut Out The Things That Don’t Serve You

There are things we know we don’t have to suffer through. For me, I know that I don’t have to drink every day of the week or at every event. The feeling I get the day after drinking does not align with my priorities. There is nothing that requires me to drink, so why do something I don’t have to do that makes the rest of my life harder than necessary? It’s not getting me where I want to go.

Forty Is The New F-You

As Denis Morton would say, forty is the new f-you, and I couldn’t agree more. You get to say no to everything and not feel bad about it. That's what I've enjoyed the most as I've gotten older, saying, “No, that's not for me. No, I don't want to do that”. Everything was okay when I said no. The Power of No is a great thing to use and own and not feel bad about! 

Don’t Be Scared!

Getting older is not something you should be scared about. After all, it’s “Great Things Take Time,” not “Great Things magically occur the second you want them in your 20s with zero hard work and sacrifice.”

Moments with Maurice

Each week, my Wednesday content will leave you with a reflection and prompt to share your reactions and thoughts, and the following Monday I’ll highlight some of the responses. Taking things inward is powerful, but sharing them reminds us we aren’t alone in our thinking and that we aren’t all that much different.

At some point in time, we’ve all been standing on the outside of a community waiting to be let in. A very relevant example is when you first start working out. You might go to the gym, try a new apparatus, or take a new type of class for the first time. 

When you’re starting something new, do you experience that nervous and self-conscious feeling? Starting something new is exciting, but sometimes, the excitement is dwarfed by the fear of what others will think of you. 

There were many good answers from the community this week, but I felt like Andrea’s really summed things up: know who you are and be confident with that person, then it won’t matter what others think of you.

You did it! You hit your Great Thing! Finally after all that hard work, how do you acknowledge it? When is it too far? This week, we’re going to discuss celebration of your Great Things and when it might go too far.

Food is a universal way of sharing and experiencing each other.

My grandma, my mom, and I have always been the same, it brings us joy to see people enjoying what we’ve made. Because of that, I want to give space for the community to share recipes that are so full of love, it makes people say "damn, you put your foot in this!" 

Each week, I’ll highlight a recipe from the community, sharing the story behind why this meal, dish or drink is special to them. What better way for us to get to know each other better and maybe even cook together?

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb Beef

• 1.5 tsp Black Pepper

• 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce

• 1 tsp Baking Soda

• 3 tbsp Corn Starch

• 2 tbsp Oil

• 2 cups Broccoli

• 450 g

Noodles Sauce:

• 3 tbsp Oyster Sauce

• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce

• 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

• 2.5 tbsp Garlic Minced

• 0.5 tbsp Black Pepper

• 1 tbsp Sugar

• 2 tbsp Ketchup

Recipe:

1. Thinly slice up the beef and marinate the beef with 1.5 tsp of Black Pepper, 2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce, 1 tsp of Baking Soda, 2 tbsp of Oil, and 3 tbsp of Corn Starch.

2. Let it rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

3. Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, black pepper, sugar, and ketchup in a bowl.

4. Cook noodles as per instruction, drain and set aside.

5. Blanch the Broccoli with hot water, drain, and set aside.

6. In a pan, drizzle in oil and turn the heat up to medium-high. Once the pan is hot, add the beef and let it sit for 30 seconds before sautéing for 2-3 minutes.

7. Add in the broccoli, sauté for 1 minute.

8. Finally, add the noodle, drizzle in the sauce, and sauté on high heat for 2-3 minutes.

Submit your recipes and story here

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Thanks for being with me on this journey. I’m excited to see where this takes us, and what we’re going to achieve together. I know this is far from perfect, but together I hope we can grow it into exactly what it’s meant to be.

Remember:

-Adrian