Time is an arbitrary measurement of the natural cycles of the Earth, broken down into smaller and smaller divisions. Likewise, age is an arbitrary measurement of how many of those “divisions of time” have passed since you were born.
Regardless, something magical happens when you reach your 40s: the world starts to make sense and your wisdom begins to solidify.
Here are 3 big reasons to celebrate your 40s:
1. You have authentic wisdom
You probably remember your parents imparting their wisdom since you were a toddler: look both ways before crossing the street; don’t take rides from strangers; hold on to the hand rails when you walk up the steps; don’t put the burner on high when cooking scrambled eggs or you’ll ruin the pan.
Did you ever test the waters to see what would happen if you put that burner on high? Did you forget to look both ways and have a close call? Most people, whether or not by choice, need direct experience before wisdom solidifies. After forty years, you’ve racked up quite an array of experience.
By the time you reach your 40s, you’ve got wisdom that extends far beyond staying safe in the neighborhood. Hopefully that includes knowing people need to have their own experiences to develop wisdom, too, even if it means getting a little banged up.
Imparting wisdom to kids means allowing them their experience
If you’re a parent, you can’t impart your wisdom to kids who aren’t interested, especially teenagers. You can establish ground rules with serious consequences for their safety, but as they get older they’re going to test the waters to see for themselves.
The wisdom to understand their need to explore the world first hand (and make mistakes) is easier when you’ve had plenty of time to turn your own mistakes into wisdom.
2. You appreciate simple nutrition and gentle exercise
Did you ever make fun of that award-winning PBS program Sit and Be Fit? What about those people at the park practicing Tai Chi and Qigong who moved so slowly you thought snails were passing them up? How were they ever going to get abs with those moves? Why didn’t they just do P90X, drink protein shakes, and get ripped?
When you reach your 40s, you can finally appreciate the art of slow movement and simple nutrition. Repeatedly throwing your body down onto a mat isn’t as appealing as it was when you were 20, and who were you working out for, anyway?
Once you get a taste of the gentle movements of Qigong and Tai Chi, you prove to yourself their power to sustain vitality. You may never pump iron again!
All those years you spent drinking protein shakes may not have been providing your body with the nutrition it needed. If you survived on coffee, you probably got by on adrenaline alone.
In your 40s, good nutrition is more appealing than having 6-pack abs. It’s also the best time to create better, healthier sleep habits. If you’re tired all the time, it’s not a sign of age but likely a sign of nutritional deficiency.
Nutritional deficiency can cause other unwanted side effects like hair loss. If you’ve ever wondered why some people go bald before others, consider that both diet and genetics play a big role.
Many people opt to remedy their baldness with a traditional hair transplant procedure – and it’s not as complex as it sounds. According to professionals at MAXiM Hair Restoration, it’s “performed under local anesthesia and you can watch television or chat on the phone during your procedure.”
3. You enjoy simplicity
Every generation who grew up with television seems to prefer the shows of their generation. Sitcoms and movies get infinitely more violent, and humor seems to run further down the gutter.
By the time you reach your 40s, you’ve seen enough television to appreciate the simplicity of opening a physical book – not a Kindle – and read for hours until you fall asleep.
A warm fire may take time to build, but is infinitely more enjoyable than central heat. Staying in bed with your pet or partner on a cold winter day is a perfectly acceptable way to spend time. Last but not least, eating a home cooked meal in your pajamas is often more enjoyable than dressing up to dine at a formal restaurant where you have to keep track of three forks and always spoon your soup away from you. When you’re in your 40s, the only wrong way to eat soup is to let it get cold.