I’ve been working with Claude a lot lately. You know what’s fun? When an AI prompts you to view your life in weeks, then optimistically suggests that I likely have 49% or less of it ahead of me. I trust actuary tables were used behind-the-scenes.
That stung. Then I kept thinking about it.
Three of my dear friends turn 40 this year, a few months ahead of me. We’ve been playing D&D together for a decade. It feels like yesterday. My oldest son turns 8 this year, and I still tell stories from 15 years ago like they happened last month. Back then, I was ostensibly an adult but had no idea what I was doing. Time is doing what time does.
The number doesn’t scare me. I have ambition. I’ve been successful in much and failed at even more, and I’m Sheen-like in my belief that I’m generally winning. Not because everything has gone to plan, but because I’ve kept moving. Mostly pointed in the right direction.
The number does haunt, just a little. For years I’ve used 40 as a deadline, the way I used 30 before that. A line in the distance to muster towards. I always knew it was arbitrary, a guidepost more than a finish line. But as Claude so kindly reminded me, there are a finite number of guideposts left. That strikes differently than I expected.
I’m not making resolutions. I’m making a record of what I already know matters, written down so I can’t pretend I forgot.
Take care of the body. Lift, run, stay ready. Go to the doctors, be responsible.
Stay curious. Read broadly. Travel. Embrace being uncomfortable. Hold strong beliefs loosely, and stay open to evolving ideas. The people I admire most never stopped growing.
Family first, then self. Remember where responsibility lies, and remember that taking care of myself is part of how I take care of them.
Fill the creative cup. Write, photograph, build, play, dream. This is how I stay whole.
Keep the ambition. Get to the next levels. Work hard, take pride in the outcomes, and do better at letting go of what I can’t control.
The weeks are finite. Me and you are finite. Oliver Burkeman talks about this a lot. I agree with his thesis: We need to go out and live them.