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Go Easy on Yourself: Why Your 20s Aren’t a Race to the Finish Line
Your 20s aren’t a deadline; they’re a decade of discovery. Yet so many young adults feel intense pressure to “have it all together” before 30, rushing through life instead of embracing it. The truth is, you’re still at the very beginning of your journey, with years of growth, lessons, and opportunities ahead. This is the time to slow down, live fully, and understand that success isn’t about speed; it’s about building a life you’ll love.
For the vast majority of us, we’ve quite literally just begun to LIVE. Most of our lives have been spent in the formal schooling system, and we’ve now truly entered the realm of adulthood and have begun to take on much greater responsibilities and duties. Nevertheless, we still hold these archaic beliefs and ideals that during our 20s, certain things should be accomplished, and if we don’t, we’ve ultimately failed ourselves and those who have supported us along the journey. BUT WHY THOUGH?
We’re so YOUNG! I can guarantee you that the millennials, Gen-Xers, boomers, etc., reading this article right now can concur that we still have our entire lives ahead of us and so many more experiences to come and testimonies to give. Life isn’t going anywhere, and it isn’t evading us in the slightest. YES, life is fleeting, but it also isn’t an invitation for us to race to the finish line without enjoying the marathon.
How often do we take the time to bask in our accomplishments? Oftentimes, as we close one chapter, we’re hurriedly running off to the next without taking the necessary time to process and appreciate what happened and what we’ve learnt. Everything has become so much about the ‘hustle’, ‘grind’, ‘securing the bag’ and ‘getting ahead’ that we forget the need to LIVE and enjoy LIFE as well.
The process of getting to the destination is equally as beautiful as getting to the destination itself, but we seldom see it that way. Too many of us want to skip the journey and rough patches and just fast-forward to where things are sublime. The only issue is that life doesn’t unfold in this manner. I believe we learn even more on the journey than we learn when we get to our desired destination. And in my experience, when you race past a lesson, you’re forced to repeat it.
Go Outside and Touch Some Grass. Picture Courtesy Yours Truly #MexicoCity
Furthermore, nothing in life happens by mistake or by happenstance. Everything is part of the greater purpose and WHOLE. Every decision, mistake, opportunity, and turn you take is purposeful on your journey towards greater heights. There’s no need to rush or accelerate ahead as though your life’s flashing right before your eyes. I completely understand your desire to advance in life (we all want to!), but it shouldn’t be at the expense of experiencing and enjoying a life worth remembering.
If you’ve currently found yourself trying to race against time, SLOW DOWN. I’m quite sure you’re far ahead on your journey than most anyway, so why rush? Take some time to stop and smell the roses as you journey through this life. There’s no prize for getting to your goals FAST. You arrive where you need to be at the APPOINTED time and no time before. We often have so many valuable lessons to learn before we can truly appreciate certain aspects of ourselves and our lives. Take the time to learn, grow and evolve with GRACE.
You may want it all NOW, but are you READY for it NOW? Most times, we aren’t! And that’s okay. ‘Not NOW’ doesn’t mean ‘not EVER’. As much as we all wish there were certain parts of our lives we could rewind and change, the reality is that we wouldn’t be where we are today and who we are WITHOUT those lessons and experiences. That betrayal was necessary for your evolution. That break-up was crucial to your self-mastery. That entry-level job you hated at the time taught you so many skills that allow you to THRIVE today. Every occurrence played a role, whether you were aware or not.
Moreover, the awareness comes when we’re PRESENT. Present in the moments that SHAPE us. Present in the obstacles that SHAKE us. Present in the trenches that TRANSFORM us. You’ll get to your destination at the appointed time, but the objective is to get there as a CHANGED individual also. Enjoying the process of becoming is central to truly enjoying life. If we don’t learn to love the process, we’ll eventually feel disenfranchised and unenthused. Frankly, the PROCESS was always in fact the GOAL. The DESTINATION is simply a symbol of CULMINATION. TAKE YOUR TIME.
Gen Z, let’s take it one day at a time. We’ll get to our desired destination soon enough.
