I turn 40 in a few days and it has made be reflect on the last 10 years of my life. I know that many people don’t look 
forward to turning 40, but I’m excited to see what this next decade has in store for me! My 30s started off on a pretty sour note. My 30th birthday was the first I had ever experienced without my father to wish me Happy Birthday, or sing to me in his hilarious falsetto.
Fast forward to today. I still miss my dad, but I am comforted by the memories of time spent and the legacy of laughter and joy he left for me and anyone else he encountered. My 30s were a time of HUGE self-awareness. I learned a lot about myself; what motivates me, my strengths and ultimately what it was that I wanted out of life.
If I were to pick a theme for the last 10 years, it would be growth and expansion. I did a lot of things I never imagined I could or would want to. If someone had told me ten years ago that I would be self-employed, or that I had written a book, never mind actually enjoying public speaking, I would have told them they were crazy!
I still had my share of heartbreaks and disappointments, but as I moved passed the mid-way point of my 30s, I was better equipped to deal with them. I wasn’t stewing in my sorrow for weeks or months, but maybe a few hours or days. The best part of all; I would have to say has been the release of the need to be in control of every part of my life. Learning to surrender to those things that are out of my control rather than stressing about them has lifted an unimaginable weight off my shoulders and freed me to more important things.
Another big thing I have released is the need please others. I have finally learned that other people’s opinions of me are none of my business (and out of my control)! This understanding has allowed me to be more authentic in everything that I do, because I no longer filter myself based on my fear of how my thoughts and feelings will be perceived by everyone else.
I am so ready to leave the “dirty thirties” and embrace what I’m calling the “fabulous forties”! I feel like the last decade was a lot of “classroom work”. I learned a lot. I feel like my 40s will be all about action. Taking the lessons learned in my 30s and applying them on a practical level. That’s what I’ve started doing in the last few years and now is the time to do it in a bigger way. Every birthday, better yet, every day is a gift and I plan to use each one to the fullest! ♥