It’s weird to think I’m no longer in my twenties. If I’m being honest, my twenties seemed to have gone by so quickly. It was like a blink and you’ll miss it kinda moment. While it was quick, I certainly learned a lot and it was probably one of the most informative years of my life thus far. Now I’m sure my 30s and beyond are going to be way more insightful and as such, I wanted to share with you, why you shouldn’t stress in your twenties. For me, turning 30 felt like I was starting a whole new chapter of life and I still feel like I have plenty of time and opportunities to do more.
Not everything needs to equal success in your twenties
I think what I struggled with the most is condensing everything down into the space of a decade. I had so many expectations of where I wanted to be and how much success I wanted to garner during this time. For me, it felt like my twenties were the years I was going to achieve success at every turn.
That level of success is unrealistic and it takes all the fun out of your twenties as a result. Not everything you do is going to be successful and life doesn’t always go your way. For me, a big life lesson when it came to my twenties is that not everything needs to equal success. Sometimes, it’s good to have a productive day without needing to have achieved something substantial. Don’t feel the need to put so much pressure on yourself to overachieve at every opportunity. You’re not going to do that unless you fully sacrifice your personal self-care and life outside of work. That’s not healthy.
It’s important to live in the moment and spend more time living life
I feel like I got a lot done in my twenties but as I reached 25/26, I started to panic about not doing enough career-wise. That led to sacrificing a lot more of my free time for the sake of work. Of course, it’s likely to become more challenging to achieve the amount of work when starting a family, hence why there’s so much pressure to do it all in your twenties.
However, you cannot forget to live! It’s important to enjoy the fruits of your labour as it’s referred to. That’s why myself and Sam have managed to do a lot of travelling and experiences in our twenties. Visiting places like Egypt and Morroco, to city trips in Amsterdam and Rome. There are plenty of Short Breaks at Red Letter Days that are worth looking for when you’re wanting to book your next trip or experience away.
So stop stressing or sweating the small stuff. If anything, your twenties should be moreso about finding yourself, exploring your passions and loves, and most importantly, seeing the world. I believe travel is a great way to open up your mindset and it makes you a more well-rounded individual as a result.
Your career doesn’t peak in your twenties
Take this as your reminder that your career doesn’t peak in your twenties. If anything, your twenties are where you’re beginning to establish that career and I don’t think the world of work is like it was some two or three decades ago. There’s now so much more opportunity and I think many people especially in my generation, are hopping from one job to another which is different to older generations who stayed in a job from their 20s until they retired.
You don’t want to put more stress on your body and mind than needed
As a person in their twenties, it’s important that you’re living life with a carefree attitude. The last thing you want to be doing as a person in your twenties is putting pressure on your body and mind. That’s something to do when you reach your 30s, 40s or 50s. If I could go back to my 20-year-old self, I would tell myself to relax. Enjoy the small things and don’t sweat the small stuff. I think part of me did take control when I used to work for a horrible woman and left just after six months of working there. I knew back then that my value and worth were more important than a job. It was a job that was also starting to impact my mental health in a big way and no paycheck is going to be worth sacrificing that.
