Forty

2012 is the dawning of a new decade.  Clearly not chronologically as far as the calendar is concerned but for someone turning forty, it’s a brand-spanking new decade.

One many people face with fear and dread.

As I’ve grown closer to this milestone, year after year, I have always been reminded of a scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally’ starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.

Sally: … and I’m going to be forty.

Harry: When?

Sally: Someday.

Harry: In eight years.

Sally: But it’s there. It’s just sitting there like this big dead end.

I don’t think I look 40.  I mean, 40 is wrinkled and hunched over and simply ANCIENT.  Right?  I used to think so.  I remember when I thought 30 was old.  But I do think I have been blessed with good genes as far as aging goes.

Plus, the blonde hair hides the grey hair.

What, what, WHAT?

Did I say that out loud?

Grey hair?

Me?

Nope.

Well, maybe a few.

I also don’t feel 40.  I’m probably close to being in the best shape of my life, odd creaks and joint cracking aside.  If I had to I could go run 8 miles (maybe more), I completed the Insanity workout.  I can do real pushups.

I decided last year after I turned 39 to not let 40 define me.  Well, no.  I take that back.  40 will define me.  Because I plan on redefining 40.

40 will be the new AMAZING!

Honestly, I am very comfortable in my almost 40-year-old skin.  With age comes wisdom as cliche as that sounds.  But it is so true.  If my 18-year-old self had half of the knowledge I have now, she would have made very different decisions.  But there is dichotomy there because I think that wisdom was gained because of the decisions I made.  Interesting thing to ponder…

But this isn’t about reminiscing, this is about joining the Army (ok not really, but I am stealing their motto) – BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE.  Or is that Nike?  Ok, maybe 40 has affected my memory a little bit.

I think most people spend a lot of their lives letting LIFE HAPPEN to them.  They don’t take the reigns and impact their own lives.  Too many people don’t realize the power they have to change.

They make excuses.

They place blame.

I’ve done it, we all have.

But the only thing holding me back is me.

I’ve never written down my goals or resolutions before.  I’ve never committed wholly to something like that, but I’m also the type of person who generally finds enough internal motivation to fulfill my goals – spoken or unspoken, written or unwritten.

But since I have chosen to redefine 40, I figured maybe saying things out loud will not only provide accountability and some additional motivation, it may help someone else who happens across this and connects with my journey.

I know there are different trains of thought when it comes to goals.  Some say make them general because life has a way of turning out different than we expect, no matter how much effort we put into it.  Others say you should be explicitly specific because otherwise it is too easy to stray off course.

I’m not sure which the best method is, but my goals for 2012 actually are a combination of both.  Some I CAN define, and others I just cannot.

TURNING FORTY:

Health & Fitness

My main #1 goal is to be in the best shape of my life ever.  This means dropping 15-20 lbs.  This means increasing my fitness level.  This means eating better.  I plan on achieving this goal by following Weight Watchers (tracking everything is the best way for me to lose weight and increase my activity level), creating meal plans, and making as much of our food from scratch as possible.

I also want to motivate and inspire others.  I’m not sure what shape that takes on, I’ve tossed around re-focusing my blog or becoming a certified personal trainer.  This is one of those things that I desire to do but am not sure how I want to put it into action.

Family Life

In 2012 I hope to disconnect a bit from technology in order to focus on my family.  It’s so easy to get caught up in all the gadgets, but I realized that the time we spend in the same room all sitting on iPads and iPods and Blackberries is time we could have spend building memories.  Instead we merely waste invaluable hours each week and before too long the opportunities will pass us by.  My kids are growing up too fast, and of course, I’M GOING TO BE 40!

Blog and Business Life

In addition to working less (see above) I want to earn more, or rather earn more as compared to my time investment .  My blog, and Brandfluential have been a blessing to us and I have made a nice contribution to our finances because of it.  But I’ve also wasted time doing things that have no real value to me or anyone, monetary or otherwise.  I want to connect with people again in a meaningful way.  I want to inspire people.  I’ve been so scattered wasting time on things that did nothing except distort my time and muffle my passion for writing.  I don’t want to blog to make money.  I want to earn money so I can enjoy the process of blogging again without the stress of worrying about income.  I think the key to that is being selective where I put my time investment.

Talents

I think in a lot of ways, this is very much tied to the section above.  I want to be able to focus more effort towards the things I am good at.  Drawing, writing, fitness, etc – all the things that I enjoy doing but that often fall aside due to obligations that I could have easily said “no” to.

Years 1-39 have been pretty good to me.  I’ve got a lot to be thankful for and have very few regrets.

It’s time to raise the bar.

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EPILOGUE:

I didn’t want this to have the appearance of a sponsored post and honestly I wanted to add one of my goals for 2012 to investigate long term care insurance, but I decided to leave it separate.  We have been working with Genworth Insurance through Brandfluential and all the reading and writing I have done on the topic of long term care has really made it a focus in my life to investigate this type of insurance and the costs involved, not only for myself and my husband but for our parents as well.  The older I get, the more important some of these difficult-to-talk-about topics seem.

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