Not that I’m counting, but in 265 days I turn 40.
If there’s anything that I’ve learned in all my time on this earth, it is this: it’s never too late to change EVERYTHING.
On the outside, my life looks pretty shiny. I have a good job, a beautiful family and plenty of my favourite biscuits in the cupboard.
However, motherhood – while fulfilling and blissful and everything I ever dreamed it would be – still hasn’t erased the part of me that has some stuff left to do.
In fact, I have a lot of goals to achieve, and it makes life pretty exciting.
Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is an advertorial for OUA. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.
This year I’m about to achieve one of my biggest ever life goals. I’m about to complete my second post-graduate course.
The first one was just for fun. It was a creative writing course that I did from home in between nappy changes and cleaning up constant kid messes. But this year, things are getting real. This year I enrolled in a research degree because I’ve always had a secret desire to do a PhD in creative writing.
Related: Digging Deep, Facing Self; An online writing course to uplift, heal & transform women.
I’m not sure what the specific topic will be yet, but what I am sure of is the fact that at the end of this year, I will have opened the door to achieving an ambition I’ve had for years.
Go me, right?
Don’t get me wrong. It is really, really hard and some days I have a meltdown. On other days I just cry or turn my computer off and watch Real Housewives of Melbourne instead of studying. But that’s only because it means so much to me. I’m not taking time away from my kids to do an okay job. I have to do well.
I have 162 days until my thesis is due (again, not that I’m counting) and after that, I’m going to have to get me some new goals.
A lot of my friends of a similar age are changing things up as well. We’re not upset that we are turning 40 (well, not much). We’re just really motivated to tick a few things off our lists because time does run out. The clock does tick.
Now that we are older we’re less influenced by any negativity surrounding our ambitions. Not that there is much of that. I’ve never been more surrounded by supporters than I am right now. What getting older reminds you of is the fact that you only get one life. So get cracking
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do? Do you have a secret desire, dream or ambition?
Do it. Just do it. Or start looking into doing it. Or at least thinking about it…
Related: GROUP THERAPY: How do you learn to enjoy being by yourself?
If you find yourself thinking, “I’ve always wanted to do that”, then it’s time to do “that”. None of us are getting any younger and you’ll never be in a better position than you are right now to make things happen. So go for it. Take chances. Achieve your goals. The only thing stopping you is you. When there is a will there is a way. Have I left out any clichés?
Before I start singing, I’ll leave you with this thought. When you really are old, it’s not the things you did that you will regret, it will mostly be the things you didn’t do.
If I can do it, Little Miss Easily Confused and Disorganised – then anyone can.
What is the one life goal you have always wanted to achieve?
Here’s a collection of our favourite 40-plus celebs.
Stars ageing in style.
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Top Comments
Congrats on your further studies! I completed my MBA at the end of last year and it felt so good, now I just need to build further upon it. Two things I've been wanting to do for ages are to be a travel writer (I love to travel and have had a few things published) and to do generate income from a side project. I've recently combined this by setting up an online travel port, http://travelnuity.com (i.e. travel ingenuity), with lists of ingenious ways to stretch you travel budget further. Check it out if you want some travel tips, I'm going to be constantly adding to the destinations covered!
You cant do a PhD in less than a year at any Australian university I know of, if you have no previous research experience most universities will require you to do a pre-PhD research course before they will enrol you as a PhD candidate. For some universities this will be an honours year or a Masters degree, others run a specific pre-PhD research skills program. The author did say that upon completion of her course she will have opened the door to achieving her ambition of completing a PhD- not that she will have completed a PhD. Of the students I have supervised through their PhD's less than 1/2 have completed the thesis they envisioned when they applied. Most people have an idea about what they want to write about, but because by definition you should be breaking new ground with your research it is hard to predict the direction of you work as it should be constantly evolving as you research progresses. Many many PhD student do not complete their PhD's, a PhD is supposed to be an original and important contribution to the field of study. All of my students are bright, all of my students are hard workers, but not all of them can genuinely contribute something original and unique to their field. It is stretching the truth to the point of breaking claim "If I can get half way through the pre-admissions process you can get a PhD too". A good PhD supervisor will make you justify and clarify and explain every assertion you make in your thesis, they will make you rewrite ambiguous claims. While this short web article is not a thesis, if you do plan to write a PhD you will need to be more clear and concise in your writing so that there can be no ambiguity about what you are claiming. I wish you all the best with your studies Ms Albi.