Don’t Rob Your 20s — A Piece of Advice for People Under 30
When I was 16, I already began to plan out my 20s. I set milestones that I had to hit by the time I was 30.
I was a different kid in that sense really caring about doing my 20s in what I thought was “the right way”.
I believed that if I did my 20s in the “right way” and not acting like an idiot, then I would be able to have more of a peace of mind, for when real life begins by the time you hit 30.
“Work hard now, so you can rest later”, was my mantra!
I took it too far, and it ended up with deep anxiety.
My milestone planning was pretty modest and it really included the following:
- Enter university at 17 (check)
- Finish university in 3 years at 20 (check)
- Complete my MBA by 22 (check)
- Enter business, kill it, be comfortable by 25 (check)
- Be successful by 30 (only 29, so it’s a work in progress..).
There was one major issue in this plan, I laid out at 16 never included life!
- I never imagined that I would be attending university at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008–09.
- I never imagined that I would graduate in one of the worst job markets in almost three decades.
- I never imagined that because of the rough economy, landing a stable career opportunity took until I was 24, delaying my personal financial goals.
- I never imagined that I would enter a career only to realize that I just could not stand it.
- I never imagined that it would come to a point where I felt like I had to leave a career, take a step back, so I could take two steps forward.
The point is, no matter how much we try to plan even throughout the rocky period of our 20s, there will always be forces outside anyone’s control that we have to make the most of — maybe even create opportunities for yourself.
Many people in their 20s suffer from periods of uncertainty, anxiety and other mental issues. Some are trying to figure it out, while the other school of thought is to be a bit “reckless” throughout your 20s and figure it out later.
Two extremes. It does not have to be.
The 20s are a perfect time to experiment, learn more about yourself, and grow both personally and professionally.
To accept that if you care just a bit, then things have an interesting way of working themselves out so long as there is some sort of effort.
You can have fun, and be responsible at the same time.
The lesson?
Allow yourself to try:
- To do
- To experiment
- To accept yourself
- To learn, and
- Accept that life is ever-evolving
Stop trying to “figure it out”, it will be a waste of time. We are all just making it up as we go along.
Originally published at www.quora.com.
