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You’ve Hit Your Fine 40’s Era, Now Read This.
1. Move your body no matter what.
Your joints and muscles need you to live your best, active life more than ever. Get the steps in, strength train, raise the heart rate, and repeat regularly. If you don’t give a fxck about your body. Who will?
2. Did you drink your water today?
We may love our regular support drinks, oat milk lattes, matchas, Diet Coke, and all, but water is the ultimate win. Ask your primary care physician. I promise.
3. Did you walk into a room and forget what the heck you needed to remember when you walked in?
Me too boo, that’s why it’s key to keep our brains sharp. Never stop absorbing knowledge, reading, and writing, and pop some fish oil while you’re at it.
4. Brain food is our friend.
Keep your protein game strong, and eat a well-balanced diet, fiber and fruits included. This may hurt, but eliminating processed sugar is game-changing.
5. For the Ladies. Perimenopause-shmenipause.
If you can focus on making and having healthy lifestyle changes, it will help you better navigate this natural process.
6. Get your beauty sleep, beauties!
There’s no shame in listening to your rain machine and getting your nap on. We absolutely need to get sufficient sleep. Our cognitive function depends on it. If not, scientists say we’re legitimately aging our brain! Eek! Grab a pillow and rest, neeeow!!
7. Take it easy on those espresso martinis and the bubbly, babe.
But if you must, keep it to a minimum. The older we get, the more alcohol negatively affects us, and the buzzed recovery time puts our liver through the ringer.
8. Our digestive tract just isn’t what it used to be.
It slows down. Good thing developing healthy strategies helps, but you still may want to pass on certain foods, caffeine, and spices. The gas, bloating, and constipation it causes are working against you, not with you.
9. You don’t have to have or be in a midlife crisis.
Misnomer. It’s not an inevitable experience. Your maturity is giving, growing, and glowing with stability and joy!
10. Protect your peace.
Period.
11. Prioritize stress management.
At this stage of the game, we may have more years behind us than in front of us. Cliche, but we’re too blessed to be stressed.
12. If you’re a parent, you are completely aware of how time flies.
Be intentional about spending quality time with your children. Those tender years don’t give us a do-over.
13. The DND mindset is real.
Turn the phone off, take a break from scrolling, digital detoxes are our friends and help kick our asses into productive gear.
14. Be kind to your nervous system and cut out the noise.
Create a sanctuary in your life resonant of a gently scented candle with an Epsom salt bubble bath, and enjoy the quiet moments.
15. Say yes to downloading more calm meditation apps.
Less to whatever is causing comparison to beauty standards and anxiety apps.
16. Adopt a regular “cardio” routine.
The bedroom is your gym, too, ya know. These days, we have a deeper understanding of our bodies and desires, plus more confidence. Not to mention, but totally mentioning it here, the benefits are adding years to our life, aiding our immune system, and increasing our heart health. Should I go on?
17. Be mindful of what you’re putting in your body.
This isn’t just food-related. Think people and information too.
18. Let’s go dopamine!
Get a hobby, take the Disneyland trip, enroll in the dance class, do something fun outside of your work life. It keeps us young!
19. Consistent skin care routines are our friends.
It’s crucial, tbh. We vote for vitality and mitigating age-related changes all day, every day!
20. The gen z’ers can teach us a few things; be open to them.
It’s ok to listen, learn and grow from the youngsters with “rizz”. They keep our minds fresh and help us in an ever-evolving world.
21. Will it.
Minus being morbid, invest the time in creating a will so you’re not a burden to your loved ones. It is what it is, and that’s just that.
22. The little things matter.
And they actually aren’t that little.
23. Nature is refueling and recharging.
Touch some grass, walk in some sand, and bask in the sunshine.
24. It’s still not too late to tackle the goals you’ve always dreamed of.
The dreamer’s disease never hurt anyone. Many greats don’t obtain stardom until their forties—just sayin’.
25. Never let the naysayers get you down.
It’s a waste of your time and energy; you’ve got way better things to focus on.
26. Visit your mom and dad.
Don’t just send a text, and don’t just call them. In a world of digital communication, it’s still way cooler to value human connection over everything.
27. Embrace the pills.
Keep a cute pill box handy, and remember to take your vitamins. Duh.
28. Recharge your battery with self-care.
If this means curling up in bed with a clay mask on, eating chocolate, and binging your fave show. Then do that. Whatever makes you happy, baby.
29. Treat yo’ self.
We can’t take the material things with us, but while we’re here, it doesn’t mean we can’t look good in a new pair of shoes/sneakers, Alo leggings, and something fancy from Sephora.
30. Protecting your peace and having boundaries won’t age you, but the opposite will.
Plus, high cortisone levels don’t go with your outfit.
31. Go ahead, get your eyes checked.
Our physical vision may decrease, but your life vision board can still have fresh eyes, insights, and grand ideas.
32. Heal your traumas.
Break generational curses. Go to therapy. Go to a spiritual retreat. Do whatever inner work it takes. But just do it. Sorry, not sorry, there’s just no way around this one.
33. Always show up for yourself.
Prioritizing your physical, mental, social, emotional, and relational needs is a life-changing girl math formula that equals self-respect and empowerment.
34. If you have a partner, keep communication key.
When this dissipates, so does the relationship.
35. Find your tribe, love them hard.
When you have a circle of people who are positive, exude good energy, are smart with emotional intelligence, and inspire you—Whew! Community and camaraderie are gold and are ingredients to a long life and one worth living.
36. Don’t live in the past; you’re not going that way.
The secret sauce is living and being present in all you do.
37. If Resentment and anger live rent-free in your head, give them an eviction notice and free yourself.
You liters deserve to free yourself from the BS.
38. Brownies (In moderation) over frownies.
Yep, an occasional sweet treat can improve our mood and give us the cognitive function boost we need! Also, finding joy and positivity by actively choosing to be optimistic instead of furrowing our brows in pessimism does the body and mind good. More feel-good dopamine and serotonin, less negativity and deprivation.
39. Say it with your whole chest. You are enough.
Gone are the days when we don’t know who we are and what we bring to the table. We have experience and wisdom behind us. Lessons and blessings to testify to. Setbacks that became comebacks. Gray hair, wrinkles, laugh lines, and stretch marks are our strength, life stories, and our rites of passage. OWN IT.
40. Now lean in, embrace this aging like a fine wine era, and go be great!
Words by Jasmín (Jazzy) Nelson
