5 Essential Tips Men In Their 40s Need To Hear

As a Man who embraced turning 40 by trekking over 2,500 miles across the entire length of India, I feel I am well positioned to offer some essential life advice to men in their 40s. But, before I do, I want to share with you exactly what spurred me on to embark on such a crazy adventure. An adventure that nearly killed me on more than one occasion, I might add.

Getting older had never been an issue for me. At every milestone birthday in the past, be that 18, 21, or 30, I had constantly been improving and moving forward in life - earning more money, advancing in my career, and moving up the property ladder.

But that wasn't the case at 40 (long story)

It suddenly dawned on me how quickly my 30s had passed me by, and the fact was, I was under no illusion that time only passes more rapidly as we get older.

Shit, I only had another ten years, and I'd be fifty, for fucks sake.

I was experiencing self-doubt and the constant thought of whether or not I had lived my life to the fullest. A whole host of other doubts seem to appear overnight. Had I ticked enough boxes on the list of prerequisite life achievements of being a Man?

Slept with enough woman
Owned enough impractical sports cars
Been on enough lads holidays
Enjoyed enough freedom

And just about every other seemingly important life endeavour. Suddenly I questioned whether I was too old to wear skinny jeans, Air Max 95s and would I look like a knob driving a lime green Lambo? Sadly I didn't yet own the latter. But it was on my wish list, at least it was.

5 Essential Tips Men In Their 40s Need To Hear

Had I experienced a midlife crisis?

Call it what you want; all I know was that it was a huge fucking wake up call. If you are a Man in his 40s or fast approaching the big 40, it will pay to read these five essential tips.

I hope it serves as a massive kick up the arse to all the guys who think you're past your best years (you're not) or that you still have plenty of time (you don't) to get around to making the changes needed to pursue the goals you are yet to achieve in life.

1 - It's make or break!!

While Men of today are living longer than ever, your next milestone birthday is 50. Now let that sink in for a bit! The last chance saloon to make a significant change and become the Man you genuinely want to be.

It's not too late for a career change, drop some weight and get in shape, or end a marriage or relationship and find a better-suited partner, and reinvigorate your sex life. Dusting the old boy off (literally) and getting out on the dating scene woke me the fuck up when I found myself single in my late thirties.

Or maybe it is your job that has been draining your energy and making you feel like a shadow of your former self. Overeating and drinking too much is a familiar road for us Men to venture down when we are unhappy at work. It's the most common form of escapism.

But any change you make is going to get harder as you get older; that's life. Let's face it; you don't want to be ticking the 50+ box on Tinder or Bumble. What are you waiting for?

2 - 40s are the new 30s

How's this for an interesting fact - the average age for successful entrepreneurs to start a business is 42. It shouldn't come as a surprise in this day and age because we constantly hear of men and women alike who have gotten into the best shape of their lives in their 40s. Older and wiser but not past it.

Being in your 40s in 2021 is not like it was in the '60s & '70s. Here's the way I see it - at 20, we have all the energy in the world but no real-world knowledge. In our 60s, we have all the worldly knowledge but lack the energy and youth needed to make a significant change. That makes your 40s the ideal age to pursue your goals? You have the perfect mix of knowledge and youthful energy (just about) needed to succeed in anything you want to in life.

3 - Things won't change unless you change

This might seem an obvious statement, but you would be surprised how some people go through life expecting love, success and riches to land in their lap. I will make this very clear so you can let it fully sink in - if you're reading this and nodding your head like it's all relatable and you feel these very words are talking directly to you. Wake the fuck up!! Nothing changes until you change. When you start to navigate and direct your journey in life, you will find opportunities begin to appear. As the old saying goes - "you make your own luck in life".

4 - Do NOT listen to the advice of others

By the time most people are in their 40s, the unfortunate reality is that most people are already stuck in their ways and lead extremely comfortable, dare I say, boring lives. These people will tell you not to leave your job and take a risk, not to end a relationship because of the (enter any number of reasons) kid's, dog, house, yadda yadda. It's always the people who have done fuck all with their own lives that have the most advice to offer. Telling you not to take risks gives them the comfort they crave to justify their own boring life.

5 - If you don't follow your intuition, you will live the rest of your life unfulfilled

You will often hear successful entrepreneurs and motivational speakers state that they have absolutely no regrets in life. "it's the bad experiences that made me the person I am today". But I am not talking about regretting things you did. I'm talking about regretting the things you didn't do!

I see so many Men extremely unhappy with their life, yet they have achieved (at least on paper) almost everything they set out to do. Married Men who have a loving wife, kids and a nice house, yet they never really lived their life fully before settling down to family life. They failed to tick enough boxes on the sexual fantasy list before entering into a sexless marriage, which can cause frustration and resentment.

Or perhaps they never really got the chance to pursue a career they had a passion for. Choosing the security of a regular wage that paid the bills. Or simply realising that after 5, 10, 20 years that they had nothing in common with the person they were shackled to, sorry, I meant married to. Let's face it, if you aren't happy now, what are the chances of that changing at any point in the future if you don't change?

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The biggest piece of advice I can off you

Do something. And when I say '“do something” I mean do something BIG. Make a significant change that’s going to give you a spark that lights the fire. For me I went all in and trekked over 2,500 miles across India I’m not saying you need to do something as crazy as I did but it has to be something that puts you well outside of your comfort zone.

Can you share any of your own advice with fellow Men in the Male Mastery community? Be sure to comment below and share the knowledge

Damian King