40 life lessons I wish I had known at 40

I recently cracked the magical 50 mark and am now at least halfway through my life (although, if you look at some Futurologists I could even have a little more time). Thinking about my own mortality made me realize how many perspectives have changed for me in the last decade.

Only in the last ten years have I really and fully understood that it's not about the long-accepted faster-higher-further, about pointless overtime in the office and the almost compulsive accumulation of irrelevant stuff, but that Meaningfulness, deep inner contentment and relationships with other people are the essence of a fulfilled life. I couldn't help but think of the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who once so aptly stated that life is lived forwards but understood backwards. The more I thought about my realization, the more I wished I had had it ten years earlier.

What is life really about?

But since complaining doesn't help, I remembered a sentence that has often been an important support in my life when I felt that I had missed a certain chance or a good opportunity: „The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best is today“. How true. It's never too late to make a difference.

So I grabbed my journal and let my thoughts run free. The result is my ultimate list of 40 life lessons I wish I had known when I was 40 years old. And speaking of wishing. It would be the absolute greatest thing for me if one or two of these ideas are also valuable for you, so that you start a similar process to mine and make the decision today to plant your very own tree of change.

40 life lessons I wish I had known at 40

1. Life is short and can be over at any moment. The ultimate task is therefore to enjoy every single moment with intensity and gratitude.
2. Money is not everything. But without money, everything is nothing.
3. It's totally okay to lead a life that other people don't understand.
4. The constant bombardment of atomized ideas, messages and narratives on the internet is the greatest danger to your brain. Conscious time-outs and the use of analog media are therefore the greatest gift I can give myself.
5. In every single interaction, we influence the people around us. And I have the choice as to whether this happens in a positive or negative way.
6. Happiness plays an important role. Sometimes we just have to meet the right people in the right place at the right time. But the more often we take risks, the more often we invite luck to drop by.
7. The best gifts in life often come in the worst packaging.
8. Restful sleep, a healthy diet and regular exercise are not „nice to have„, but essential.
9. An evening together with my children brings me so much more fulfillment and happiness than all the parties, events and trendy gatherings ever could.
10. I have at least three choices in every situation. And sometimes it takes me quite a while to recognize them.
11. The best time for a Shift is always today, no matter how small the first step may be.
12. If something sounds too good to be true, then it never is.
13. You can never demand respect. I have to work for it.
14. To achieve financial serenity, you should always have enough savings set aside to bridge six to twelve months without any income.
15. Staying true to myself and living according to my blueprint of freedom is much more important than the need to be liked by other people.
16. Nowhere is there as much lying as on social media. The pictures, videos and posts rarely have anything to do with real life, in which we all have to deal with all kinds of problems.
17. Humor is the most important quality of all. That's why I laugh a lot, often and especially at myself.
18. Everything in life has its time. People, places and priorities.
19. If resolving a conflict is really important to me, I don't wait for other people to take the initiative. I take the first step myself, make the call or seek a conversation.
20. Nobody wins alone. Success in all areas of life stands and falls with the people who accompany me on my journey.
21. Motivation is not the prerequisite for taking action, but the result of consistent implementation.
22. Nothing makes you unhappier than repeatedly saying „yes“ when you actually mean „no“.
23. Maturity, wisdom and a willingness for lifelong learning are not a question of age. I know flexible and innovative 70-year-olds as well as students who think they are „finished“ at 25 because they already know and can do everything.
24. Every single person carries their own personal emotional rucksacks around with them, and we simply have no idea what valleys they are going through. We should therefore refrain from making hasty judgments about others.
25. It is so incredibly important to say yes to my dreams. Because nothing, absolutely nothing is worse than that nagging feeling when you look back one day and regret not having dared to do something.
26. One of the most important Habits, that I have acquired: Taking the stairs instead of the elevator every single time.
27. It's super easy to lie to other people. But I can't fool the person who looks at me in the mirror every morning in the long run.
28. I fight like a lion for my dreams. But never against myself.
29. The more conscious breaks I allow myself, the more creative and productive I become.
30. There is no white knight who will come riding in at some point to save us. If we are dissatisfied with something, then we have to change something.
31. Just because I haven't yet found a solution to a problem doesn't mean that there isn't one.
32. For important Decisions I always sleep on it for at least one night to take the intense emotions out of the game.
33. The three big L's: Live. Love. Laugh.
34. Persistence, discipline and commitment are important. But you also need the right talent to make it to the top in sport, music or any other area of life.
35. I feel a huge sense of gratitude for the supposedly small things in life that we all too often take for granted.
36. We are not all mind readers. It is therefore important that we keep reminding ourselves that other people can only fulfill our expectations if we communicate them clearly.
37. The key to serenity: live and let live.
38. If something feels really good, then it can't be that bad.
39. The older I get, the more I trust my instincts and gut feeling. It has never let me down.
40. 40 is not old!

Is there a particular sentence that resonates with you? And can you think of anything you would definitely add? Then I look forward to your comment.