40 Things to do before you turn 40

Image credit: http://roguemag.org/the-pursuit-of-happiness/

I turned 40 just a few months back. If I look back at my 40 years, it’s been one exciting hell of a ride! Here are the things that I believe will make you feel awesome at 40! (And no — I have not done all of the below yet)

1. Wake up early. And see the sun rise. With a coffee in hand. And the cool morning air blowing on your face. Surrounded by greenery.
2. Alternatively, sleep in 24 hours. Turn right. Turn left. Look at social media. But stay in the bed for a full day! And do nothing. Sometimes, it’s worth binging on sleep too.
3. Crack a joke. Or many. Make people laugh. And laugh yourself. A lot. Your laugh may be super contagious (without you knowing it!)
4. Go on a date. Go for a few. Learn about a new person. Listen. Watch them smile. Watch their eyes. Start liking them (it automatically happens sometimes!). Let the chemistry sink in over the 2nd or 3rd date. Let the element of suspense hover…
5. Fall in love. Sometimes probably at first sight! Multiple times over. Get your heart broken a few times too. Experience the adrenaline rush both times.
6. Write a poem. Draw something. Paint a portrait of someone. Click a great pic that becomes someone’s profile pic for long. Appreciate art. And showcase your ability to be creative.
7. Have great sex. So great, that you come so many times over. Experiment. Enjoy. Experience the awesome chemistry. Over an elongated (pun intended) period! It’s greater sex when it’s great for both parties!
8. Get piss-drunk. And let yourself loose. Ideally with some friends around. Then recount what all you did from your friends’ stories.
9. Sing Karaoke. Or sing in the car. Dance. Even like a clown. Or Sing & Dance (even without getting drunk!)
10. Get a smoke. Smoke Hookah. Smoke up (wherever it’s allowed!). And combine maybe with some drinking to get the mind to think slow. (but don’t get addicted!)
11. Do something crazy / weird / off limits (also called ‘medical stuff’). At least once. And experience a trip in a parallel world. Hallucinate. Laugh. Be surprised. Or cry. Like never before. All of it. Or any of it. It’s Ok. (always do it with a trusted friend around!) (and don’t get addicted to this for sure) (and do this with someone who knows their ‘stuff’)
12. Don’t judge yourself (specially if you did 10 or 11 above). Take it easy. It’s OK. Live by your values. But don’t confuse all of the above as values. They are experiences. Be nice. Be respectful. Don’t harm anyone.
13. Forgive yourself. Sometimes you make mistakes. Get back up quickly. And move on. Life’s too short to keep thinking about the mistakes. Life is too long not to recover from them.
14. Meditate. Go to a spiritual place. Observe silence. Think of nothing. Have joy in doing nothing. Experience JOMO or the joy of missing out. Be calm. (generally in life on most things)
15. Take a swim. In a pool. Better still, in the ocean. Ride with the waves. Maybe skinny-dip! Or in a hot geyser. Or even in a bath-tub! Stay in the water for hours on end.
16. Para-sail. And look at the ground below from up in the air. And land in water. For that exhilarating first brush of ice-cold on your body. Or do some exciting water sports!
17. Camp-out. Or have a picnic in the open. With friends, kids, food, frisbee, football, and more… Love the green grass. Love the blue sky. Love the sound of kids playing.
18. Have a kid. Biologically. Adopt. Any of it is fine. A kid is beautiful. A kid laughs for no reason. A kid makes you patient. If you don’t want a kid, have a pet.
19. Behave like a kid now and then. Get back to your childhood. (and this does not mean throw a tantrum!) Let loose. And live the carefree kid life.
20. Bike somewhere. Let the wind blow against your face. Have someone hold you tight from behind. Go fast and get the exhilarating feeling. Drive a car. For miles on end. With music. With a dash of rain. With the mountains, beaches, and lakes on the side to give you company.
21. Visit a bucket-list place. Maybe it’s the Eiffel Tower. Maybe it’s Iceland. Maybe it’s Hawaii. Maybe it’s the Swiss Alps. Arrive there and watch yourself staring with open mouth at the beauty or grandeur of the place. Or maybe it’s Burning Man!
22. Take a long trip on an airplane. Binge on (hopefully) good food. Get a drink. Read a book. Finish those long pending movies. Strike up a conversation with your neighbour. Watch out for the clouds. The blue water underneath. And marvel at the awesome world from up above.
23. Travel with your kid. Just you and her. Explain the different facets of travel to her. Look at her eyes filled with wonder. Get her to lie down on your lap for a nap.
24. Experience snow. Ski. Skate. Whatever your body allows you to do with snow. But make sure you get the magical white powder into your hands. Or sometimes on your face.
25. Try great food. Vegetarian or non-vegetarian. Paneer or Fish. Indian or Mediterranean. Try different varieties of cuisine. Forget everything else as you relish the taste of it. Stop with your over judgement of what’s good or not when you experience / experiment food.
26. Donate money. In small amounts or lavishly. And see some cause reach its intended goal because of your significant contribution. Or see that old man get to smile with your Rs. 10 note.
27. Host a party. With 5 people. Or 50. See people having fun. And get a lot of joy out of it. And shake a leg or two. The darkness and intoxication help! Play ‘Psyche’ or dumb charades to end the party.
28. Go for a live concert. And really jive to the music. Dance. Sing. Be one with the crowd. Or go for a live sport event. And see your favourite team win.
29. See an Avengers movie on the iMax. Or a Rajinikanth movie in a hall in Chennai. And hear the mad shouts of the fans.
30. Get health conscious. Go for a trek. Get to the gym. Do a brisk walk. Play cricket or squash. Sweat some. Lose some weight. By being more disciplined on food. And exercising a bit every day. Get the satisfaction of hitting a weight target on the scale.
31. Learn something new. Maybe art or craft. Maybe song or dance. Maybe photography or language. Look in wonder. Be curious. Make mistakes. Show off what you are learning with pride.
32. Captain a sports team. Observe the emotions. See your rockstars flourish. Win some. Lose some. Celebrate with the team. Combine to make something awesome happen.
33. Pass a mighty difficult exam. With flying colours. It need not be just the JEE or CAT. It can be anything where you have put effort and come out trumps! And feel the kick of that.
34. Stay in a hostel. And live the hostel life. The good and the bad food. The friendships. The Holi colours. The inter-hostel wars. The late night Chai.
35. Listen to a TED Talk. Read a book and gather an insight. Listen to a podcast. Watch an awesome video on Youtube. Gather insights. And be pleasantly excited about the insight.
36. Ideate. Write your ideas down in a book. Jam your ideas with friends. Generate a lot of ideas. Have ‘idea’gasms!
37. Code. Learn coding if you don’t know how. Seeing ‘Hello World’ on the screen based on a computer program you wrote gives you a kick. And building something bigger gives you a greater kick!
38. Teach something of value. To kids or to students. To adults maybe. Understand the process of researching and becoming an expert in what you have to teach. Clarify doubts. Accept ignorance on your part. But see someone grow to be confident in life because of what you taught them
39. Manage a team at work. See people grow to be smarter than you. Be happy when they do magical things. Have a tough conversation with a team member — even if it means you have to part ways with them. Understand their emotions & yours - it trains you to be tougher.
40. Be entrepreneurial. Build something from scratch. Maybe start your own company. ‘Create’ something. And see it blossom into something big. See it take off like a rocket-ship. With or without you. Create a legacy.

These are obviously things you can do well after you are 40 too! An ideal life is one where you are continuously doing a lot of the above even into your 50s and 60s!

How many of the 40 above have you done? Or intend doing?

What else would you add to this list? And maybe make it 50 by 50!