40 by 40:: my personal bucket list!

Remember when you were younger and you’d think “OMG 40 is like, totally soooo old!” (I grew up in the 80’s and if you did too then you know that’s how we spoke).  Well tomorrow is the first day of my last year in my 30’s, gulp.

40.is. approaching.

As I’ve been catapulting through my last 12 months I’ve given a lot of thought to how I got here; the experiences I have had, people who have come and gone into my life & the choices I have made that are all part of who I am today.

Some of my highlights include: 3 pretty awesome kids that are funny, healthy, challenge me daily and love me despite the flaws that I see within myself; 2 healthy parents that I have a great relationship with, a wonderful support system of friends that I can count on; I am the first in my immediate family to have graduated college and I have an TWO great jobs that challenge me but also let me utilize my talents.  Plus and very important, I am healthy!

Living a life filled with adventure, fun, achievement and success is something I want to instill in my children. As well as finding peace and comfort in the “dull” and tough times so as a birthday present to myself I decided to create a personal bucket list filled with 40 things I’d like to accomplish IN my 40’s (because I’m realistic and realize accomplishing all 40 before I am 40 just may not happen:) )

1. Spend more time with people who bring good into my life
2. Go skydiving
3. Go camping
4. Go 48 hours without technology
5. Try vegetarian diet for a month or maybe just 2 weeks (1 week realistically)!
6. Write a letter to myself (to read when I turn 50)
7. Journal one positive thought each morning for a month
8. Visit another country
9. Try 40 new recipes
10. Worry LESS
11. Hold nothing back
12. Learn how to fish
13. Learn how to debone said fish that I will hopefully catch
14. Cook that fish without using a stove (see #3)
15. Go to a movie alone
16. Volunteer monthly
17. See a Broadway show in NYC
18. Write a letter to each of my kids
19. Be truly happy with my physical appearance
20. Take a trip with just my mom and dad
21. Take a trip with each of my children (just one at a time)!
22. Take part in a triathalon-let’s be honest, volunteering is taking part
23. Not be so hard on myself
24. Send flowers to myself
25. Help build a house with Habitat for Humanity
26. Meditate daily for one month
27. FINALLY complete my series 24 exam
28. Start my own financial planning office
29. Learn how to change a tire
30. Grow something edible
31. Own my own house
32. Finish a fiction book
33. Try Indian food
34. Cut out gluten for one month
35. Figure out a way to get over my fear of clowns
36. Complete 100 push ups in a row
37. Try ziplining
38. Let my kids pick everything we do for an entire weekend (more than just once)
39. Shoot a bow and arrow
40. Wake up, pack a bag, get in my car, pick up a one of my co-adventurers & go on an unplanned day or overnight trip.

“Every man dies – Not every man really lives.” ~ William Ross

I consider myself to be pretty goal oriented as it is, even if lately my goal for the day is doing less. Creating my list was a great exercise for me to focus not only on the good but as a way to keep focus on some areas within myself to keep improving upon.  I don’t consider my personal bucket list as a checklist of things I MUST accomplish but more of a framework of things I’d like to do and it also creates some enthusiasm for the future.  I’m pretty lucky to have some special people in my life that share the excitement for many items on my list and I look forward to crossing some things off my list with them along side me!

What would you put on your personal bucket list?