Life begins at 40! So if you’re about to turn 40 or getting close to it, then it’s about time you got serious about things to do before 40 and start checking them off your bucket list.
Forty Is The Best Time Of Your Life
The big 4-0! So you’re about to reach the 40-year mark and it is undoubtedly a memorable milestone. It means you’ve overcome all the challenges and obstacles life has thrown at you and you have survived. Congratulations!
You are now smarter, wiser, and mature. You have finally managed to understand who you are and started to realize what your place is in this world. You have lived your life the best you could. You’ve had your failures and your achievements. But most of all, you have some amazing stories to tell.
Forty is a fabulous age where you have some experience on your side, yet you are still wild at heart. You’re old enough to realize what you shouldn’t do and you’re young enough to know what you must accomplish. And the best thing is, there’s a good chance now you have enough bank balance to support your dreams, aspirations, and goals.
So instead of letting your age make you regret the things you haven’t done, use it for accomplishing your goals and exploring things you haven’t. It will help you to live freely and enrich your life.
If you are still wondering what you must do before your 40th birthday, then here is a bucket list of things to do before 40. This list will make sure you start your 40th year with fun, excitement, and fresh new energy. Your life is already a success. You just need to add a little spice.
Read 7 Characteristics Of Mature People
Things To Do Before You Turn 40
Here some super awesome things that you need to check off from your bucket list before you turn 40. Although you don’t have to complete every single thing on this list, make sure you do everything that your heart fancies.
Here are 16 things to do before you turn 40:
1. Get healthier.
There is a reason why this is on top of the list. As you age, it becomes increasingly important that you take care of yourself – your body, mind, and spirit. If you want to take care of your family, you need to prioritize your health and well-being. Although getting some abs in your 40s will be awesome, doing simple things like running or swimming to stay fit at 40 will make a lot of difference.
Follow a daily routine to take care of your health. Starting meditation and yoga can also be highly beneficial for your overall well-being. Lachlan Brown, founder of Hack Spirit explains “Set a crazy fitness goal and stick to it. Run 5 marathons in a month. Lift weights 3 times your body mass. Get into a crazy (but healthy) diet and stick to it.”
2. Go solo.
Take a solo trip to a place you’ve never visited. As we age, we become increasingly risk-averse. So it’s crucial that you get out of your comfort zone by going on a solo trip. It will not only make you more confident but help you learn a lot more about yourself. A solo trip can be transformative in the best way possible.
3. Build your legacy.
One of the most important things to do before 40 is to start something that lasts, suggests best-selling author Peter Economy. He adds “Whether it’s a business, a nonprofit, a community, or a product, make something that will hold your legacy even after you leave.” This will give others something to hold on to and remember you for when you’re gone.
Read 4 Things To Consider if You Want to Change Careers in Your 40s
4. Live abroad.
Deciding to live abroad can completely transform your life and enable you to experience a new way of life. Even if you do it for a short while. And the best way to do this is by living in an average part of the city or town you’re visiting and surviving on basic amenities like everyone else before you turn 40.
Author Matt Valentine suggests “Live just the same way as everyone there typically lives. It will change you in a fundamental way.”
5. Learn a new language.
Take some effort to learn and speak a new language in an excellent way. It can be any language you want from Spanish, German, or Japanese to Hawaiian or Tibetan. You can take a free online class or simply check tutorial videos on YouTube to learn a new language. It can lead to boundless opportunities.
6. Mentor someone.
Having to mentor someone and teach them what you’ve learned in your life can be a great experience and feel personally fulfilling. When you pass down all your experience and wisdom to a worthy protégé, it will make your journey seem more worthwhile. Moreover, the advice you offer others will add value to their lives and enable you to realize new things about your own self.
7. Volunteer.
Volunteering is a very spiritually fulfilling act that can genuinely enrich your experience as a human being. It is one of the highly essential things to do before 40, even if you do it just once. Matt Valentine writes “There’s something really special about volunteering your time to help another human being. It’s a feeling that can’t really be described, and it has the power to fundamentally change you in a positive way.”
8. Learn about other religious practices.
Irrespective of where you stand on religion, it can be a great idea to visit different religious cultures before turning forty, suggests Peter Economy. It can be something as simple as visiting a different church or service in your region or attending a religious cultural event in a different country.
The experience will help you gain a new perspective about life, religion, faith, and God. Peter explains “Visit a Buddhist temple, see a Catholic cathedral, enter a public prayer at a mosque. Be respectful, but open, and the experience will be enriching.”
9. Give yourself a makeover.
Completely change your look before you turn forty and you will feel a lot more confident and realize how truly awesome you are. Change your hairstyle or dye your hair a color you’ve never tried. Accessorize yourself. Drastically change your wardrobe and wear clothes that you think you can’t pull off.
Life is too short to worry about such small things. So change your look and see how it makes you feel. Be experimental and have fun.
10. Get a new pet.
Whether you already own a pet or not, it’s always great to have a new friend. Although it does come with some added responsibilities, the love and friendship you get in return is unparalleled. This is even more important if you’ve never had a pet.
Author Matt Valentine adds that if “you feel like you can take a little extra responsibility on your hands (because they take work, especially if it’s an active pet like a dog), then I highly suggest it.”
Read How to Get Rid of Bad Habits? 2 Things You Can Do
11. Rock climb.
This should be on everyone’s list of things to do before they turn 40. Rock climbing is an exhilarating experience that is full of fun, thrill, and excitement. If you want to have a taste of adventure without being too wild, then rock climbing can be an awesome experience to have before you’re forty.
Matt says “You don’t have to defy death to experience the benefits. You could even just go to a rock-climbing center to climb a fake wall and you’ll have a blast (but the real thing is better).”
12. Pay off your debt.
In case you have debt, then it should be your goal to pay it off as much as you can by the time you are 40 years old. This should definitely be one of the things that you must do and dedicate all your energy to accomplishing. “The sheer sense of relief and freedom you experience once having done so is well worth the hard work (and it often leads to other opportunities),” writes Matt Valentine.
13. Write a letter to future self.
Make a time capsule and set a date in the future when you will open it. You can add different things to it for yourself and your children. And among those things should be a letter written to yourself in the future. Write about all the things you want to accomplish by that time and how you see your future self at a different point in life. And when the time comes, open your time capsule and read the letter in it.
“What you read might make you nostalgic – maybe even sad – but it’ll definitely show you how much you’ve grown, and how beautiful you’ve become,” explains author Peter Economy.
14. Quit at least one bad habit.
We all have bad habits that we would like to kick. It’s not that we haven’t tried before, but somehow we could never manage to get rid of it. So now is the time that you finally did it. Make sure you kick that one bad habit before you’re forty. It could be anything – smoking, alcohol, caffeine, junk food, not exercising, not reading enough, etc.
However, you also need to ensure that once you get rid of your bad habit, you replace it with something more positive and healthier. It’s just one of the things to do before you turn 40.
15. Experience more love.
Whether you have already found a caring partner or yet to meet your soulmate, it is absolutely crucial that you fill your life with more love now that you are turning forty. Being in love is the best feeling you can ever experience. So go ahead and tell that special person how much you love them. Make them feel special and share more memorable moments with them.
If you are yet to meet your soulmate, then get more active on dating apps & sites and go on more dates instead of being mopey or lazy. Although you don’t need to go crazy over finding love, being a little more active about it will take you one step closer to meeting the love of your life.
Read 10 Reasons Why Love In Your 40s Is The Best Kind Of Love
16. Make yourself happy.
Although this holds true for any age you are in, loving yourself is just one of the things to do before you turn 40. Spend more time with yourself and do things you love. Pursue your passions and put more effort into making your dreams come true, irrespective of how big they are. Prioritize yourself over other things and take steps to make yourself happier. Treat yourself. Do whatever you enjoy. Only when you are happy, you can make others happy.
40 More Things To Do Before You Turn 40
That’s not all! There are a lot of amazing more things that you need to get done before you hit the 40-year mark. Here are 40+ things you need to do before you turn 40:
1. Stop wasting your life.
2. Do something crazy like bungee jumping or skydiving or both.
3. Buy something expensive for yourself.
4. Gamble away in Las Vegas with your friends.
5. Donate to a charity you believe in.
6. Go on a spiritual journey to Jerusalem or Tibet or India.
7. Go skiing in Europe with your friends and family.
8. Be a hero for a stranger by helping them.
9. Take part in a fitness competition like a race, triathlon, or Cross fit.
10. Eat at a Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant.
11. Spend more time with your family.
12. Visit an art gallery and buy some art.
13. Travel to an unknown destination and explore the local culture.
14. Climb a famous mountain.
15. Participate in a clean-up drive.
16. Spend a month without the internet, social media, and any other tech.
17. Learn to fight and take an MMA class.
18. Dress up and look your best always.
19. Visit your top 3 travel destinations.
20. Read at least 10 books.
21. Write a novel or a short story and self-publish it.
22. Make a short film and share it online.
23. Attend a concert.
24. Learn scuba diving.
25. Go on an adventure by taking a road trip or visiting a national park alone.
26. Flirt a little. Innocent and healthy flirting will make you feel good about yourself.
27. Make some new friends.
28. Test drive a luxury car.
29. Learn to play a musical instrument.
30. Visit a world heritage site or a natural wonder.
31. Save money and plan your retirement.
32. Stop buying things you don’t need.
33. Apologize to someone you owe an apology to.
34. Forgive someone who has hurt you.
35. Have a successful career but define success in your own terms.
36. Speak in front of a large crowd.
37. Tell your family how much you love them.
38. Spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
39. Travel with your lover.
40. Do something you have never done before.
41. Live up to your own expectation, not what others expect from you.
42. Don’t give a damn about others’ opinions.
43. Have an awesome 40th birthday party.
Read 20 Brutally Honest Things Women Turning 40 Want All Women In Their 30s To Know
Have A Hearty Forty
Turning 40 is the best thing that can happen to you right now. It’s not that you’re getting older, you’re only getting more mature. You still have a lot of time in your hands to live your life and experience love and happiness. But you need to start living more intentionally and open yourself up to new possibilities. Do not hesitate or prevent yourself from experiencing something new.
Find your adventure and live it. Instead of living in regret, enjoy your golden years living a meaningful and satisfying life by doing the things to do before 40. Your dreams and your life are waiting for you. Live it up before you turn 40!
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