The Journey to 40 has been a very interesting ride. In recent years I’ve learned the most, grown more than ever, and continue to learn life lessons as I approached this milestone.
This past decade has been the most life-changing for me.
I traveled internationally a few times, married my love, and became a father of two beautiful and intelligent children who bring me immense joy. I found new hobbies, tried being vegan, settled into being vegetarian, and left a job after nearly 15 years.
Today, at 40 years on this earth I am more reflective. Much more methodical in my approach to just about everything including how and with whom I spend my time. I have thought more about how I want the rest of my life to unfold rather than just being a byproduct of life. There is such a difference in those two things.
Those that know me on a personal level would likely tell you that I love to live on the edge. I’m not jumping out of airplanes anytime soon, but I like being busy with multiple projects. I get a thrill doing things last minute and living life without a plan. Love being spontaneous as it gives me an adrenaline rush that no two days are exactly the same. While I still love those things, I’ve come to learn that I was living life out of balance.
Journey to 40: These lessons are worth learning, it just took me time to get there.
Through a series of events that have affected my health, career, and personal life, I’ve realized that my fear of monotony was creating chaos. At one point everything that could go wrong was going wrong and it felt like life was teaching me the same lesson redundantly. But it wasn’t until recently that I really began absorbing the lesson and working on self. When I became a true student of life, of my life, everything shifted.
So I’m charting a new course. It’s part of this intentional journey we are on and more personally, it means realizing that structure is necessary. The structure doesn’t have to be mundane and I can still incorporate things that feed my need for excitement. But I am learning the lessons, I am paying attention. The Journey to 40 is teaching me that intentional living for me is necessary.
As I began my self-work, I had to first identify where the fear comes from. Once I got there I began looking at other internal struggles that contributed to this fear and finding ways to manage them better – or at all. The list is ever-evolving but there are 4 staples that anchor me as I continue my self-work.
1. Goal Setting
I set realistic daily, weekly and monthly goals. My previous strategy was that I had no strategy. I knew what I wanted to achieve but I didn’t set concrete goals. While I achieved a lot in life, it’s almost like I would just happen to arrive there. Or I often bit off more than I could chew and things would just fall apart. Now, I am learning to scale which makes everything more manageable and achievable.
2. Action Planning
Once I have the goals outlined I set aside time to think about how to achieve them. Knowing the goal is one thing, the plan is what sets things in motion or at least gives me direction. Before, I was just haphazardly approaching things hoping to get to the finish line.
3. Plan Management
When I have the plans sorted out, I break them into smaller steps so they don’t seem so overwhelming. Now I can take on each task instead of avoiding the big picture as I did previously.
4. Leaning into the Fears and Insecurities
Before I would run away from them but I am learning to be vulnerable and lean in because that’s the only way to conquer them.
Through it all, life continues to teach me that self-discipline yields the greatest rewards. It takes self-discipline to manifest the life I desire. But life is and will continue to be a beautiful struggle. I am learning to address each struggle early and often so that I am only left with the beautiful.
The Journey to 40 has been filled with growing pains that ultimately led me here and right here is a great place to be. Hello 40, nice to meet you.
What lessons has life taught you recently? Are you overcoming any challenges that require intentional and consistent thought and action?
With Intention,
Sean and Simone
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I’m not a blog reader. Haven’t read a blog in years, but I am thankful that I have found yours. Thank you for the great content.
Nancy, wow, this means so much! Thank you so much for sharing such kind words. We are so happy to be received well and glad to provide great content. We want this community to be supportive of each other and we are so glad that you are a part of it. We are certainly glad that you are now a blog reader and sharing in the journey! Thanks for reading and commenting. You are truly appreciated.
First off…Happy 40th!!! Also, thank you for your transparency on this post! It made me reflect on my own life and consider ways to possibly alter my approach/perspective towards a few things.
One lesson I’ve recently learned is to let go of trying to be in control of where life leads. As long as I am focused on taking intentional steps, everything will fall into place where it belongs and exactly when it’s suppose to…
Donas, Thank you for the birthday wishes. I wish we could give you a loud round of applause – that you could hear anyway. Know that we are applauding you for your intentionality. While my challenge was gaining control I can empathize with how hard that has to be to give up control and focus on what you actually CAN control, being intentional in your steps each day. Especially if you are a Type A personality. Isn’t the universe amazing? We are on two different ends of the spectrum with these challenges but we can certainly see the other person’s struggles and gain perspective for the other side. As always, thank you for reading and commenting. We appreciate you.
Sean love the message and Happy Birthday again!!
Thanks so much, Danielle for the birthday wishes and feedback. Glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and commenting. We appreciate you.
Happy birthday! I’ve learned through this pandemic just how much I crave structure, and rely on my 9-5 to provide it. Setting goals and following through on them is the next step. Hopefully by 40!
Thank you Impersonal Finances! The pandemic has really forced some life lessons on us. Glad you have come to this realization and are already making plans to make the necessary changes. Thank you for sharing that! We’re sure you will be successful and likely well before 40! Thank you for reading and commenting. We appreciate you!
Wow, your much wiser than your older cousin! You inspire me to try to sloooow done and be more deliberate and disciplined about making and implementing plans for my life.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight.
Traci! Thank you so much for stopping by. Appreciate it so much. Those words mean so much coming from you. We could all use reminders every now and then and I’m happy that we could do that for you with this article. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. We appreciate you.