There have been times in my life when I felt my life was fulfilling; that I was making a difference in the world. So since I’ve turned 40, I’ve been asking myself this question over and over, again: “Am I living a fulfilling life?”

I’ve learned that looking back on your past when “things were good”, is OK for a smile, but it is also dangerous when you asking yourself “Am I living a fulfilling life [now!]? I use the word dangerous because of my own experience. Looking back at the past can hinder making the move towards creating a more fulfilling life for one’s self NOW. It can be easy getting caught up in the “I’ve lived the best days; its just maintenance from here.”

For the career person: My career is a critical part of my life. I’m proud of my experience, my accomplishment and my gain of respect of my peers. If you’re obsessed with the importance of your career like I am then perhaps you’ve thought this question to ask yourself “Do I feel as accomplished in my personal life as I do with my career?” Big question; the answer tells a lot about your current emotional state.

Turning 40 yrs old certainly did one thing: It made me think. And to quote Jack Handy from Saturday Night Live “And thats..OK.” But it’s what I do that makes the difference. Pushing through the aches and pains, getting proper exercise, eating a good diet, stretching the parts of my body that stress affects, and appreciating the moments when “things ARE good.”; not when they WERE good.

My Mother, with whom I have a great friendship, recently told me “Erik, this is a very exciting moment in your life.” This was very comforting to me and with all of that said:

1) 40 means you have the experience now and wisdom to do what is healthy; what is right. But more importantly it means, you have the experience and wisdom to avoid what is not healthy; avoiding what you know is just not a good idea.

2) You can jump in and take action anytime. Just hurry up and do it! Get yourself to the gym, even if it sucks starting over again, teach a class at the Library, take a class and the local community college, finally get yourself to yoga after all of your friends have been telling you “You’d love it, I can’t believe you are not doing it, yet.”

3) 40 means things that are no longer a choice: you need to take care of yourself, stretch, make sure to get your heart rate up (there are plenty of workout machines that are very low impact but can still help get your heart rate up), take walks, run (if the pain in your knees isn’t too bad 8^D)…finally, exercise your brain and not just the exterior of you body.

Be good to you. Obviously turning 40 is significant part of life; there is website dedicated to it and if one thing is true – you are reading this – which probably means you looked for something similar to how you are feeling about turning 40.

Erik