Everyone should get lost in their 20s. And by getting lost I don’t think you should buy The Lost DVD-set and watch it until you’re done. On the contrary, to get lost you should get out there in the physical world and do the things that will lead you to the unknown and unchartered territories where you’ll ask yourself: “Where am I and what the hell am I doing with my life?” If this was (or still is) a regular question in your 20s, then you may consider yourself to have been successfully lost. Which is a good thing and let me tell you why.
Getting lost will help you find yourself. —Holstee Manifesto
I am a huge fan of the Holstee Manifesto because it resonates with me on so many levels. And the part about getting lost really stuck with me, because I had been lost ever since I became aware of myself, never knowing where my life was headed. And now in hindsight, I realize what an incredible positive impact these moments had on my life.
You need to get lost. The sooner, the better. If you’re lucky enough you’ll start getting lost when you’re 18. Many Australians know what I mean, since they often choose to work and travel for a year before going to college. If not, you can still get lost in your 20s. And here’s why.
Because you have nothing to lose.
Yes, you’ve got nothing to lose in your 20s. This is the time to get lost and do all the stuff you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have the time or the money for. If money’s an issue, get a temporary job and save up or find a way around it. Some things cost money, but there are so many things that you can do for free. You can find jobs/internships/experiences anywhere around the world thanks to the invention called The Internet. Trust me, it works. You’re the luckiest generation in the history, so stop complaining about the crisis and start doing stuff.
There is no better time to experiment and follow your craziest dreams than when you’re 20-something or when there’s an economic crisis. And if you have both of those together, even better! Even if you don’t achieve your dreams, you’ll end up in places you’ve never dreamed of and you’ll discover new things about yourself and about the world around you. Just trust your intuition and your inner self and follow whatever it tells you. It may be wrong, but it doesn’t matter at this point, because you have time to get lost. And it’s still better than not doing anything at all.
You have no excuse for not doing what you want at any moment. Start making your dreams come true.
Because you don’t need a degree to live your life.
The sooner you realize it, the better for you. Seriously, forget about spending all your 20s at university. If you must obtain a degree (and it is not a bad idea) there are many institutions offering 3-year degrees. Take one and get out of the academic world (unless you want to work as a professor/researcher). The real life is a very interesting place to be and it would be a shame to spend all your 20s in classrooms listening to someone else’s ideas.
Because you’ll go places you never knew existed.
I really don’t know how I ended up doing some jobs after having studied International Relations, but now I’m so happy I did them. In the last 5-6 years I’ve been a translator, carpet salesperson, bartender, pub crawl manager, TEDx event organizer, social media consultant, crowdfunding manager, online moderator, NGO volunteer and a few more things. It does look chaotic, I admit.
However, these jobs and experiences took me places I could never have gone had I followed my traditional career straight out of college. (whatever traditional here actually means)
As a carpet salesperson I met a guy who is one of the best opera directors in Italy. With TEDxBrussels I met some extraordinary people including Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and I got to attend the TEDActive conference in Whistler earlier this year. And as the pub crawl manager I made friends for life among my staff and with my business partner.
I can guarantee you that once you get lost, you’ll meet new and incredibly interesting people that will shape your life in a positive way. Being around people you’d like to become will help you to actually become the person you want to be.
Because you’ll discover yourself.
By traveling, meeting people, doing stuff you like, doing stuff you don’t like, succeeding and failing — you’ll discover who you really are. You’ll be more aware of yourself, of your interests, strengths and weaknesses. For me, this was probably the most valuable thing I learned in my 20s.
Getting lost is not the easiest path. There are tough times of self-doubt, societal pressures to conform and other challenges. When you face these moments, find people who are going through the same rough patches, share your story with them and get inspired by others who have been exactly where you stand.
Take a leap of faith believing that it will all work out for the best, and it will. My story worked out in one way. Yours will too. It may just have a different, probably even more fascinating, ending.
CHANGE is the currency of the 20s. The more of it, the better. Consider it an investment for the future, which is also a lot of fun. I’ve lived in several countries, doing all sorts of (weird) jobs, I got to learn a few languages, master some skills you can’t learn at school and I’ve met some amazing people who became friends for life.
Get lost because you don’t have anything smarter to do. Admit it, you don’t know where you want to be or what you want to do in your 30s. If you think you do, you’re probably wrong. But even if you’re right, you’ll end up working for about 10 years to achieve a goal which may end up being disappointing or not so as great as you once thought. Nobody knows what the world will look like in 2024 or if your goal will still be desirable or achievable.
Don’t bet your 20s on the idea of your future self. Instead, lose yourself and experience life. And don’t worry, you’ll be just fine. Because getting lost will help you find yourself.
A special mention goes to my friend Tomislav who got totally lost (successfully) in his 20s after going completely broke and decided to travel the world with almost no money. After his project of traveling for 1000 days he wrote a book about how it all started and what motivated him to get lost in his 20s. You can pre-order his book here: http://igg.me/at/1000daysofspring/x/3167287
