I made a 40 before 40 list today for my 35th birthday.

When I turned 32, I created a list of 105 things I wanted to do in 1,095 days. Yesterday I shared the review of those 105 things.

I didn’t complete 105 things in 3 years, but I would love to see the completion of 40 things in the next 5 years.

My personality is such that I am highly motivated and easily inspired to take action when I think it’s worth achieving. 

I am constantly setting goals (both short and long-term goals), and I usually reach them (or come close) because most of them are SMART goals. 

There are various driving forces, depending on the goal, but whatever the goal is, the force is typically intense. (By the way, I believe this is a strength, but can also be a huge weakness at times.)

Here are a few Richard Branson quotes on goals, attitude, and motivation that I love. Before I share my 40 before 40 list with you, I thought I’d share these quotes to maybe help inspire you to create your own list of sorts. (By the way, if you do create your own list, I’d love to see it. Comment below with where I can find yours.)

My general attitude to life is to enjoy every minute of every day. I never do anything with a feeling of, ‘Oh God, I’ve got to do this today.’

My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long university education that I never had–every day I’m learning something new.

My definition of success? The more you’re actively and practically engaged, the more successful you will be.

Alright, so here is my list of 40 before 40….40 things I want to do before I turn 40. And seriously, how did I go from 21 to 35 and on to 40 in such a flash?!

40 Before 40

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1. Find my cadence and truly embrace being a mom
2. Go to Vietnam
3. Make $XYZ per year (I’m not totally driven by money, but I am definitely driven by it. If you know me well, you know it’s not so I can buy material things, but for all the other things on this list.)
4. Be in our forever home
5. Go to Italy
6. Complete 20 trail races (that’s 4 per year) (I decided today for my birthday, I’d sign up for the first race as the gift to myself. I’m still deciding which one to do!)
7. Take a trip with only mom
8. Go hiking and exploring in 3 different and unique places with my brother JJ
9. Surprise 4 people each year with a gift they were not expecting
10. Have zero SIBO relapses and a gut that’s functioning 100% at least 90% of the time in the next 5 years
11. Continue improving strength + endurance (This one is definitely not a SMART goal, but I know what it means and what it feels like. During this past year, I have focused on less overall running miles, but more strength-endurance training and I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life with all gut issues at Bay. That’s the sweet  spot that I want to keep building upon.)
12. Read The Bible
13. Go on a mission trip
14. Publish The Gutsy Girl’s Bible: an approach for healing the gut 3.0
15. Get licensed in the state of Minnesota to foster
16. Get a dog for the kids (we have a breed in mind, but the time is not right yet)
17. Read 4 books a year (20 total), any and all topics welcomed
18. Have my work featured in a magazine or some other national outlet
19. Be at the Director (or higher) level with Beautycounter and instead of focusing on my own sales, mentor other women to hit their own high levels of sales. (I climbed from Consultant to Senior Consultant to Manager in just a few months due to a wild passion for the product and company, so I’d love to continue climbing on the fast track, and sharing with others how to do it, too.)
20. Be part of a company that gets bought out by a larger company.
21. Run the Ultimate Hawaiin Trail Run
22. Produce and release my recipe for ‘Instant Pot Bone Broth’
23. Have or have our plan for our family getaway home in the mountains somewhere (not the West coast mountains, but something closer – it’s a life dream for Ryan and I for us and the kids) 
24. Take the kids on a cruise
25. Go on a date with Ryan once per month – just he and me, no kids
26. Give up something + add in something every single year for Lent (I already know what I’m giving up this year for Lent, but still haven’t decided on the adding in part)
27. Meet Mark Cuban (am I crazy?!)
28. Go to Guatemala with Makenzie on behalf of personal growth and exploration but also Kakao
29. Produce another e-cookbook (still trying to decide who I’m making it for — SIBO friendly? Paleo Baking? AIP Cooking? etc.)
30. Hire my VA full time (or keep her PT and hire someone in person PT as well)
31. Try a class (even if it’s just one session) that has to do with something completely new to me (bonus if it’s something with Ryan)
32. Take several food styling classes
33. Go on a weekend trip with just Samarah (not until she’s at least 5)
34. Do a weekend trip with just Isaiah (not until he’s at least 5)
35. Take a weekend trip with just Amiya (not until she’s at least 17 5 🙂 )
36. Getaway trip with Kristi, Kristi, and Meg (my MN besties)
37. Girl’s only weekend in Chicago with Shondra and Missy (my other besties)
38. Getaway trip with Kim (+ many more weekends like last – duh!)
39. Create one recipe per year that becomes a staple go-to (like my AIP Bread)
40. Absorb as much as possible from ADAPT and/or enroll in another Chris Kresser program

And last, but definitely not least, making this the 41st goal (and perhaps the best part of this list).

My hope is to spend my 40th birthday with family – all of them in Minnesota. My biggest and best wish today, on my 35th birthday, is that on the day I turn 40 and this list is complete, that I find myself clanking glasses with and toasting to my dad who will have kicked cancer in the a#$.

p.s. I’m totally making my own birthday cake again this year. I’m doing a version of my Paleo Birthday Cake.

Xox,
SKH

If you don’t have time to read these posts daily, but don’t want to miss them, be sure to follow via Bloglovin’ and/or join my personal e-newsletter HERE. I am doing my best to send a once per week email recap of prior week’s posts.

These posts will all live under “Wellness+Lifestyle” and also tagged with “101 Days of Blogging.” The 101-day series runs from Monday, January 8, 2018, through Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

If there is a topic surrounding change that you would love for me to include in this series, please just CONTACT ME.

Previous 101-Day Change Series Posts

1. Beginnings are Scary
2. Change Pain Point
3. Making Sense of Change
4. Gratitude Journal
5. Love Your Baby Girl
6. Little Things Add Up
7. House and Home
8. Sunday Reflections
9. Two
10. Chocolate Shake
11. 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake
12. Chaos is a Temporary State
13. Thirsty Thursday
14. Month One
15. The Nudge to Connect
16. 11 Favorites from 11 Years in California
17. One Box at a Time
18. Good Enough is Enough
19. There is No Dishwasher
20. WWDW Number 8
21. Move Initiated
22. Sharing My Journey
23. Back with the Tribe
24. Small Town Grocery Shopping Part One
25. January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth
26. Patsy Clairmont is My Spirit Animal
27. Let There Be Light
28. Forgot About Rae
29. Smiles
30. Coconut Oil Makeup Remover How To
31. 9 Ways to Embrace Winter
32. Escaping People
33. Coming Home
34. 105 in 1,095