avatarDrthefit | Ankita

Summary

The article discusses societal expectations for personal achievements by age 30 and encourages embracing individual paths to success without adhering to a strict timeline.

Abstract

The author reflects on the approach of their 30th birthday and the societal pressures to have certain life milestones achieved, such as career success, family life, and financial stability. They emphasize that it's okay not to have everything figured out by this age, advocating for personal growth, exploration, and learning at one's own pace. The article encourages readers to focus on what truly makes them happy rather than comparing themselves to others, highlighting that success and fulfillment are not age-dependent. It also suggests that the journey to self-discovery and achieving personal goals can be rewarding and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to life.

Opinions

  • Career goals and dream jobs may take time to discover and achieve, and it's normal to explore different paths.
  • There is no set age by which one must settle down or start a family; personal life choices should not be dictated by societal norms.
  • Financial goals are important, but they should not overshadow personal happiness or well-being.
  • Bucket lists should serve a purpose and provide a sense of accomplishment without causing obsession.
  • The freedom to live without long-term commitments, such as homeownership, can be seen as a gift and an opportunity to explore.
  • Basic cooking skills are sufficient; there's no need to stress over mastering complex culinary techniques.
  • Society should be supportive of individual journeys and timelines for achieving life goals.
  • Enjoying the present moment and the process of growth is crucial to living a life without regrets.

Things people expect you to figure it out by age 30

Never settle for anything less than your best ~ Brian Tracy

Image Source: Unsplash

You may have heard and read about the title many times and wondering what’s new in my blog and why I’m actually writing it. Don’t smirk and hear me out for a second ( actually for like ~5 minutes ).

As my birthday is approaching and people started wishing me a day before or so. While talking to them I realized mostly everyone asked me same set of questions. No one actually wanted to know the answers as they may have already judged me based on my social media profiles or on and off touch that we kept over the years.

It made me thinking, is it necessary for everyone to follow the same pattern or path. If you’re not one of them, it means you’re not living your life “right” way.

Many of us may be in the same boat and still finding our ways around. It’s absolutely alright if you haven’t figure it out or still exploring options. If you’re worried, you don’t have a house, aren’t working your dream job, and can’t seem to reach your savings goals? There’s no denying the overwhelming amount of pressure society places on us to achieve things by a certain age. My friend, you’re not alone.

Nevertheless, If we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, we’ll realize there doesn’t have to be a timeline for success or for anything at all. Here are some things you necessarily don’t need to have figured out by the start of your fourth decade.

1- Career goals or landing that dream job — Some people might have figured it out their passion or career goals early in life and some of us may need to explore more options to see what is our passion and strength.

Image Source: Unsplash

I ended up accomplishing a lot on my list of career goals in my 20s. Moved around a lot and tried my hands here and there. I learned a lot in every position I’ve held in my career. I’ve made the time to come up for air and ask myself did having a fancy job title make me feel any more or less important (by the way Not Really!). What do I want to do next?

I have the privilege of being able to be choosy — and for that, I’m really grateful. I know that I want to keep learning, and that includes skills beyond my scope of practice or work.

There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious but if you haven’t yet landed your dream job or even discovered what this looks like it yet, that’s totally fine too.

Your 20s are a time to take risks, many chances, change your mind, make mistakes, and try again. If you worry about failures, many good learning and experiences come from failure and it makes you what you’re today.

If you’ve been focusing on climbing the career ladder from day one and only just realized that you’re no longer passionate about what you’re doing, don’t be afraid to take a detour or try a brand new career path.

Don’t think you’ve fallen behind or so, If you’re not a manager or heading a team or not a CEO yet, Don’t stress out. And if you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing, that is fine too.

Not having your entire career mapped out from start to finish isn’t a bad thing. In fact, positive thing is it leaves you more open to opportunities and hopefully, with the time to discover what you truly love.

2- Family Life or I would say Personal Life — There is nothing wrong if you haven’t started your family or still thinking about it. You’re may be in a relationship, maybe you’re not or you’re actively looking for a partner, maybe you’re not. Maybe everyone seems to be married except for you.

Well, guess what? There’s no rule book that states you have to be settled down and married by age 30 — or any age, for that matter. You’re feeling pressure, relax and take a deep breath. There are many people out who are yet to get married or start a family life. Take your single hood or relationship to nurture. However I guess learning takes time, and mistakes make ones journey fun.

Utilize this time to know yourself better, explore your interests, go places enjoy every moment and make your life journey interesting along the way.

Image Source: Unsplash

3- Savings Goals — Having a saving goal is good and motivating for sure. The danger lies in obsessing over it every day. It’s only natural that you work hard and want to be paid accordingly, but being consumed by the thought of earning a certain amount of money by a certain age can also take a toll on your mental health.

Remind yourself that salary does not necessarily equal success( it’s really Not!). While you should keep working hard, prioritize the things that make you happy, not the numbers on your paycheck by age 30.

There are many options to invest your money. Research and read about investment plans, stock options etc, how it is going to benefit you in next few years. Start with regularly putting some money away into savings.

4- Checking out bucket or a wish list — It is good to have a bucket list or certain things that you want to checked off from the list. However, you need to make sure list is serving a purpose and going to give some sense of accomplishment or tangible benefit to you in some way or other.

You can have separate list for personal, financial, career or something you just want to do for fun. There is nothing wrong to have a wish list. I certainly do have one and slowly I am working on it. Just make sure list is precise and you’re not obsessing over it.

Add places or country that you want to visit next year, special dress that you normally will not buy as it’s expensive as hell, go to a top restaurant in your city and try their specials, buy that high end jacket or shoes you laid your eyes on and saving money to buy it.

Options are endless, and you can do it now. Just need a bit of planning and focus. There is no short cut to reach your goals, start enjoying the journey and process to get there.

Image Source: Unsplash

5- Retirement Plan — You may be travelling a lot or visiting many countries and still haven’t figure it out where you want to live or where your home is. It’s okay if you haven’t figure it out where you want to settle down and live your life. We all live in uncertainty and specially during this pandemic where we realized, nothing last forever. Forever is a lie everything is transitory.

While not having your own home or knowing where you want to live might make you feel restless or unsettled, consider this freedom a gift. Before long, you might be tied down by mortgage payments, EMIs, or the perfect career, partner, or family life. Enjoy it while you can.

6- Cooking a Perfect Meal — I enjoy having good food but still can’t get my hands around kitchen perfectly.

It’s alright if you don’t know how to make a fancy meal. If you know the basics and can feed yourself a decent meal, you’re a winner in my opinion.

If you don’t know how to bake perfect bread or a cake, it’s okay, don’t feel pressure and stressed out while seeing other people social media posts on baking and on culinary skills. I am not saying you don’t need to learn it, hell yes, if you like baking go for it but if you can’t, it’s okay too. The only thing you should know the basics around kitchen and you’re set.

Lots of online tutorials are available to start with. I recently learned to make basil pasta sauce and you know what, it’s quite simple to make it and it won’t take much time at all.

Image Source: Unsplash

I just want to say, everyone has their own pace and we as a human should not judge or make intentional comments on their journey. Some people might figure out things early in their life and some people might need to have more experience before they actually figure it out.

We should support each other and let’s keep on inspiring and motivating everyone around us. Learn to enjoy every moments as it’s not gonna come back and I’m sure you’re not going to have any regret doing so.

Be Bold

Be Courageous

Be Your Best

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