I just turned 40.
It was surprisingly anticlimactic, though not in a bad way.
I’m not really sure what I expected to happen. I feel the same as before, which is to say “not old.”
I still feel pretty fresh.
Granted, I don’t quite understand what teenagers are wearing now-a-days. But overall, I don’t feel old.
Yet, as I turned 40, I found myself reflecting on what I’ve done with my life so far.
Reflecting on Turning 40
Here are some things I feel good about:
- I graduated from college and law school.
- I started a family with my awesome wife (we have six kids — three girls and three boys).
- I actually wrote a book! On the Amazon best-sellers list it is currently ranked #1…million five hundred thousand and something.
- I started a podcast that gained some notoriety in its day (it was called “Small Business Stories”).
- I moved from the suburbs to a small farm.
- I hung my own shingle as a lawyer.
- I sold a business (my law practice).
- I practiced public service law helping the poor.
- I was nominated for an award by my peers (Yes, I’m an award winning attorney).
- I became the “cheesecake guy” around town.
- I joined a fortune 500 company as an in-house attorney.
- I bought a house on a lake.
Some of these things probably sound better, and perhaps more snooty, in a bullet point form than how they would look if you were to dig into the details (and I’m not embarrassed to share those details). But I’m proud of these accomplishments, even if the details aren’t as glamourous as they might sound.
As I reflected on my life at 40, I’m really not sure what I’m going to do next. But I’m at a point where I feel like I can start exploring who I am outside of trying to earn a living.
What Do you Do for Fun? What’s Your Hobby?
As an adult, I’ve never really found an answer to these questions that I like.
Usually, I think, “I just work, get home, do parent stuff, and then crash vegging out on YouTube.”
I’ve started and stopped about a billion different projects or hobbies I thought I’d try.
I think:
“I do creative writing…well, not anymore. But I did 15 years ago.”
“I like to podcast, as in I liked it 10 years ago.”
“I like playing the drums, at least I did in high school.”
“I wrestled…in high school.”
I really don’t keep up on music. I don’t rock climb, woodwork, ski, scuba dive, travel, bike, run marathons, or golf. I got into bowling for a few weeks last summer. I’ve tried to start doing lots of different things. I’ve liked them well enough. But it just doesn’t stick. I literally just work, raise kids, and occasionally dabble in something before I get too tired or lose interest.
So it’s safe to say that I’ve been pretty fickle.
It’s Okay to Dabble!
So far, I feel that the only thing I’ve done consistently as a hobby is trying things out until I don’t want to try them anymore.
Now I’m going to try to embrace my fickleness.
I’m starting this Fickle Father project just for fun, as a hobby, until I don’t feel like doing it anymore. It’s more or less a home based where I can calibrate my thoughts as I try things out.
I’ll try to document what I’m dabbling in and learning as I go.
If you want to follow along, great! If you don’t, okay!