40 Before Turning 40

A list of 40 adventures and life experiences to have before turning 40

Check out my follow-up post: 35-Year Check-In: Updating My 40 by 40 Bucket List Journey

This year, I surpassed the big 3-0 milestone, and it came with a whole recipe of emotions and feelings. Many contradicting ones, like exciting and scary and devastating. When I was far away from this point, it seemed so intimidating, so old. Like the ending of my youth. But now that I’m here, I realise that it’s not that old at all, that it’s only the beginning of many exciting adventures.

So, as I start a new journey towards the next huge milestone, and in honour of the new year, I have decided to compile a list of 40 things to do before turning 40. This is purely an adventurous list, a bucket list of sorts. Not things like – career and financial goals, but more life experiences and once-in-a-lifetime adventures. 

This list was created with myself in mind, so I did not include things I have no desire for and would never do. However, it could very much be adapted to anyone else. Use it as inspiration to create your own list – to get ideas for yourself. Maybe you’ll even find something you never even thought of.

So without further ado, in no particular order… 

1. Zip-lining – My favourite activity, would love to do the Gibbon Experience

2. Road trip through a foreign country

3. Go to your favourite musician’s live concert

4. Hike the Annapurna 

5. Learn a new language

6. Watch IMDB’s top 250 movies

7. See the Northern Lights

8. Disneyland / Disneyworld

9. Learn a musical instrument

10. Eat at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant

11. Drive-in theatre

12. Live in a different country

13. Eurotrip

14. Go on a solo trip

15. Wine tasting in Tuscany

16. Helicopter ride

17. Backpack through Asia

18. skydive / bungy jump

19. Sleep under the stars – somewhere you can see the Milky Way

20. Read all of your favourite authors’ books (Jodi Picoult)

21. Shop at a super fancy brand – like Gucci, Chanel or Prada

22. Skinny Dipping

23. Visit every continent

24. Go on a Safari trip in Africa

25. See all the current 7 wonders of the world

26. Fly first class 

27. Hot air balloon ride

28. Drive a race car

29. Stay at a 5-star luxury hotel

30. Go to Oktoberfest in Germany

31. Celebrate St. Patrick’s day in Ireland

32. Attend a crazy festival abroad

33. Write a book

34. Fly very last minute

35. See the Lion King musical

36. Take a random class/workshop

37. Go to a very posh spa

38. Try to cook a crazy, complex recipe

39. Cooking classes in foreign countries – like India, Italy and Japan.

40. Train ride through Europe – such as The Bernina Express

Life has so much to offer; why not take full advantage of it all?

Some of these things on the list I have actually already done, but would either love to do again, or do a different variation of it. Either way, they are all things that I think one should do before turning 40. And yes, I am aware that most of them are travel-related. I’m a huge believer in world travel. I’d rather live modestly, so I can travel as much as I can. 

May all of your bucket lists be ticked off!

Happy Adventures!

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay strong!
Michal B.L.

P.S. Check out my follow-up post: 35-Year Check-In: Updating My 40 by 40 Bucket List Journey

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