So now what, today I will turn 40. I have seen many things and learned plenty in my four decades on the planet. In the next 900 words or so I’m going to touch base on some of them, let my readers know a little more about me (not just the journalist) and reflect on advice I’ve garnered through my research on what to do after this birthday.

First things first. The running joke in the office is that most of us are “BG” and therefore fit in that gap generation. BG, for those of you unfamiliar, means Before Google. Ironically, according to sources I searched on the internet, I even predate the internet as we know it today, as it came to fruition in 1983.

Growing up in small-town Ontario where my mother was the local mail lady and my father’s family lived for over 50 years doesn’t allow oneself to get in a lot of trouble. So I was a good kid, mostly.

A friend and I decided once to jump off the local bridge (a rite of passage for many at the beginning of summer) I got one jump in before someone had called the post office, told my mom’s boss, who told my mom and my mom came to apprehend my friend and I and prevent us from doing something so dangerous.

I had done many jobs before settling on becoming a journalist. I was a communications tower builder, member of the Canadian Armed Forces, parks security guard and even spent a few years making lotto paper, among other things, before coming to the Soo.

It’s amazing how much life experience you gain in 40 years doing blue-collar work and following the people from whom you learn so much.

I remember, when I was old enough riding in the passenger seat, helping my mom deliver the mail on PA days, along the rural routes.

I got a lesson in engineering when I was tasked with grading the driveway with a 1930’s era Massey tractor. I learned the hard way that, if you try hard, you can indeed get a Bobcat stuck.

I curled for over 20 years, played softball for over 15, can play the trumpet, bagpipes and piano. At one point I was part of two choirs and two bands at the same time.  I have three college degrees (Police Foundations, Journalism, and Media Convergence) as well as a vast understanding of history, politics, photography and photojournalism.

Doing this job you learn to know a little about a lot of things, but growing up with your father as a electrician you get to learn a lot about it. It can be a shocking experience on occasion now doing my own electrical work. Best tip for anyone who’s thinking about doing anything electrical, make sure the power is off… just do it, it’s much safer even if the job is “simple”. It’s simple to get electrocuted too… just sayin’.

All of these experiences, among multiple facets of society, I believe in the end gives me a unique perspective when reporting on issues and individuals here.

What people don’t tell you when you hit a milestone birthday like this is how much thinking you do.

I generally don’t have time to take stock on the things I’ve done to get to where I am, the trials (bullying, addiction etc.), marriages, relationships and lessons learned throughout life.

But when you go to turn 40 it seems those thoughts can be all consuming. You start to wonder what if, you start to take stock of your life and where you want it to go.

You look around at your friends, family, peers, community and others and wonder what, maybe, you’ve done with your life and what you want to accomplish.

“Life starts at 40,” one of my friends told me the other day. I look at it like life started 40 years ago, taking advantage of the knowledge and experience from the 40 years previous and growing from and knowing how to use that wisdom is what you start to do after 40.

For 40 years of my life, I’ve reacted instead of taking control. I’ve avoided situations more than interjected in them (hard to believe, I know). I know I wear my heart on my sleeve, I care about the community I’m a part of and when people don’t answer simple questions, I get mad, and angry me doesn’t take no for an answer.

The last one might have been a good one to lead with when I first came to Sault Ste. Marie almost two years ago, maybe more people would have co-operated with me.

One other thing most people probably won’t believe about me, as my co-op student was shocked to find out, I’m relatively introverted. I’d rather spend my time cozied up at home then in a bar and when asked to go into large groups of people for work or socialization, I tend to freeze and will do almost anything to avoid it.

Doing the extensive research I’ve done in preparation for this birthday, which has seen me taking a week off work, I came across this.

“Many people become uncomfortable around these milestone birthdays and when they do, I tell them that it’s because they aren’t living their life fully,” explains psychologist and success coach Sharon Grossman, PhD, calling the milestone birthday “a wakeup call to review your life, find what’s missing, and fill in the gaps.”

Recently, I took a few days off for mental health and the aftermath of those 4 days has led to significant changes in how much reporting I do in the community. I was on the fast track to burnout doing 20-25 stories a week for nearly 19 months and not giving myself any real time off. I’ve now set a personal cap which isn’t going to lead to the type of burnout where I’m not good to anyone in my life.

I’m also realizing a few things.

So if you’ve stuck with me for these 1200 plus words ( another thing, apparently I can be passionately long winded)  I’ll take any advise I can from anyone else who’s turned forty. What did you do to survive the “big 4-0”, what have you done to overcome it?

As always, let’s try to be a little nicer and work a little harder to get through this next two weeks, much like the way we did the last one.

That’s the way I see it, from behind the lens, I’m Dan Gray.

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