I turn 40 this year, trying to not have a "crisis"

[Leadeye]

Bah. I didn't buy a red sports car until I was 60.

I'm just as happy getting up and facing the day now as I was at age 20.

I just can't do things as fast.

Someday everything will stop, but today is not that day.

 

[jdude]

40? ppshaw! 40 is easy, 50 is a bit tougher. I'm 52 on Saturday. Grandma said she never felt tired until she was 50, I made it to 49 and change. She lived to be 97, hopefully that's a good sign.

You and I were born on the exact same day !!!! How do you like that !

 

[moosehead]

When I turned 40, I celebrated by getting my grandfathers watch back in operating condition.
As long as your happy with what you're doing, and who you're doing it with, you're doing alright.

 

[Trigger Time]

Hey 40 ain't nothing man. It's a mental thing. So for this year I recommend you tell yourself that like a fine bottle of wine you just reached optimum maturity and it's time to open the bottle and really enjoy it even more! I think 40 is the perfect age to get started really living!
damn I can't believe you are not much older than me, thanks for making me feel like a failure Doc lol.

 

[hoosierdoc]

All good responses here. Thanks guys.

 

[Trigger Time]

I really was immortal until I hit 50. Then everything started to creak and groan.

I wish.
when I was 27 I remember when the doctor told me my body inside looked like a 70 year old man. I was like well **** at least I can still get hard lol
i have down times but I try really hard to stay mentally strong. Lately it's been hard

 

[2in1evtime]

40 was nothing for me, but when i hit 55 well made me think about a lot of things, so at 56 i took a early retirement, why work my life away now i am enjoying things that i couldn't working a month with only 2 days off. Life is grand now!!!!!

 

[mtinner]

40 was 25 years ago for me. It really did go fast.

 

[HoughMade]

I have never (yet) had a crisis at age 45. I did reach a point of frustration-career wise when I was about 35 when it seemed like I knew most of what my 'superiors' knew and worked harder, but around 40 things started to gel. Not that i quote El Rushbo that much, but I remember him saying that in traditional careers you can't expect to make real money until you're 40. I have found some truth to that.

As for life in general, I suppose having simple values and expectations help at not feeling like you're "behind". At 40, my career was about what I wanted, I had a happy home life having been married almost 20 years and having 4 great kids. We didn't want for anything, really, though we were far from rich...so what was there to be in crisis about?

At 45, it's just more of the same. One kid doing well in college, three at home. College costs? Yes, exorbitant and irrational, but why make money if you can't spend it to help your kids avoid debt? Personally, this realization, that the best use of my time is to provide for my family and their future, rather than the many other things, makes work seem all the more satisfying.

 

[halfmileharry]

I've been thinking about this all day.
I've been having my 40 yr old crisis since I was about 16.
Drive it like ya stole it.

 

[Nodonutz]

All good responses here. Thanks guys.

What was the question, again?

 

[gregr]

As I approached 40, I had a mini-depression...I realized that I likely had more time behind me than ahead of me. At this point, and I`ll be 60 very soon, it`s all in the rear-view mirror, and becoming immersed in, and recommitting myself to my Christian faith made all the difference for me personally. Even more so when recently, I discovered I had a heart issue, plus, an aneurysm on the ascending aorta. It made me face the prospect of my own mortality. But it`s ok, because I know the Lord, and it`s all in His hands anyway. If the very hairs on our heads are numbered, then He knows when I`m coming home, and His timing is perfect.

All that just to say, relax, stay true to what you believe in and stand for, and use your hard-earned maturity and wisdom to get you where you`re going.

 

[PGRChaplain]

I've been "39" for nearly 30 years. 40 is the new 30, I may be Old but I refuse to Grow Up! Enjoy every Day, it could be your last one. I'm saying goodbye to friends at an alarming rate, but that is to be expected. I received an invitation to my 50th High School Reunion, my thoughts, Why would those old folks want to Hang out with me?????? Enjoy Life while you can, you only get one Chance.

 

[Thegeek]

I turn 40 in 9 days. I understand where you're coming from. My wife wants to do something special, but frankly I don't care. I'm taking a couple days off work, and just going to enjoy doing what I want.

But, it does make one evaluate their life. I'm way out of shape and I find myself looking at my situation and what I should have done differently. It makes me want to change a bit more, but I don't know if I have the willpower to make it happen.

 

[KellyinAvon]

You and I were born on the exact same day !!!! How do you like that !

Happy Birthday jdude!

 

[SchwansManDan]

Do you old salts have any advice for us middle-Agers about to hit the big 4-0?

Not sure that I've reached "old salt" status yet, but ... 40 scared the p*** out of me.
More than a decade later, I still can't explain it. I did not find 50 to be as unsettling as 40.
The oldest is now finishing her master's degree and the youngest will graduate from IU in a few months. I still drive a pickup truck & live in the same old house/money pit & enjoy the company of the same beautiful wife, who seems to age much more slowly than I do.
Maybe it was just the idea of 40, for me ... that notion that my life might be half gone and wondering "WTF have I actually accomplished?"

 

[hoosierdoc]

What was the question, again?

At what point do you cut dies with your youth and admit you're an adult

 

[churchmouse]

At what point do you cut dies with your youth and admit you're an adult

When the pain is your fun limiter.........

I believe there is a rule that if by 50 you have not "Grown Up" then you are good to go.

Stay young in your heart and spirit. Never surrender. Do what ever it is that makes you smile and enjoy life.
If that is running with your kids then do it. But remember, they will be moving on some day. Always keep something for yourself.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

At what point do you cut dies with your youth and admit you're an adult

"Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself."

--- Max Ehrmann, "Desiderata"

 

[Dirty Steve]

When I hit 40 I had a small mid-life crisis. I realized I was bald, fat and 40. I had become the male stereotype. Ill turn 50 in April and now I am just bald. I started getting in shape again and am arguable in better shape now than when I was 30. I eat right, run 1100 to 1300 miles a year, kayak over 100, hike over 100, rock climb, travel to cool places to do those things and hunt more than I did when I was younger. I am trying to do all the things I thought I'd never be doing at 50. The added bonus is I actually have money to do those things now. Forty ain't s&!t. Neither is 50 or 60 for that matter. It's all mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter. As long as you are in good health and good shape physically, it's just a number.

Dirty Steve