Have you ever felt that there was so much more you wanted to accomplish in your life by the time you reached a certain age? You had life goals and expectations but somehow you haven’t achieved what you wanted within a time frame? Sounds familiar? More often than not, this is a common feeling to experience. If you’re feeling the immense pressure of sorting out your life in your 20s do read on.
Your 20s is a big milestone in your life. You’ve hit adulthood and may expect to have grabbed the perfect car, job, house, friends and relationship. You may feel that with some or all these things under your belt that that’s it; you’re sorted! But more often than not, this isn’t the case.
Life has a way of throwing things at you that can hold you back from achieving what you want. You may start to feel a black cloud hanging over you as you just haven’t got your life in order but seem to think everyone else has.
So here are some tips to get some control back in your life and be on the way to achieving your goals:
1. Set goals for each month
Writing what you want to achieve is always a good idea. Whether you use sticky notes or a notebook, writing down what you want for yourself is a great way to visualise your goals. It acts as a reminder and prompts you to keep on track should you ever forget or feel undeterred.
2. Refrain from checking in on social media (particularly of friends)
It doesn’t really help to know that your friend has just been promoted to lead manager in their team. Or that another has purchased their first home (and decided to get that gorgeous Beagle they always wanted). So take time to reduce checking in on what your buddies have been up to. It always looks more fascinating than it really is, especially as not everything on social media is what it seems.
3. Don’t let others get you down
Comparing yourself to others is by far human nature. Admittingly, we all do it and there’s no doubt about that. But when the pressure starts to affect your self-worth, ability and performance, that’s when you know it’s time to take a break. Keep your mind focused on yourself and what you want with your life. You will overcome those hurdles so aim to believe in yourself, accept what has been but look to what the future could hold. Don’t allow others to make you feel panic and that immense pressure of sorting your life out!
4. Don’t be afraid to let go
This could mean letting go of a job that you have been stuck in for a few years or a job that is holding you back from going further up the ladder. But you keep promising yourself that you’ll pack it in tomorrow and find something better. Sometimes the familiarity of a job can be our biggest safety net.
Going into the unknown can often scare us more so we don’t let go of what we already have. We can talk ourselves out of it all together even though we know we will achieve greater success if we go through it. Take small steps in this case. If it’s a job you want to let go of, start applying on the side when you have time. We are pretty lucky that technology allows us to do most things with a click of a button on our devices.
If it is something else you need to let go of, see how you can do this by slowly reducing its presence in your life.
Food for thought
In summary, we have all felt a niggling or overwhelmingly pressure of sorting out our life because we haven’t already hit the milestones we thought we would. Life is one interesting journey but it’s important to remember a few things. Just because you haven’t got it all sorted just yet, it doesn’t mean you’re destined for doom.
You have the gift of time on your hands, and opportunities and avenues all around you if you look close enough. Everything happens when it is the right time for you and when you are ready to receive a change in your life. Know that there is no real time limit to what you can achieve in your life. Life is a forever evolving series of events and circumstances. It’s a learning process enabling the nurture and growth of your inner self. Give yourself a pat on the back for achieving whatever you have done so far in your life, don’t be so tough on yourself and know that letting go of any pressure will allow you to relax, enjoy and go with the flow of life.
As Paulo Coehlo says “whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”
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Written by Mimi Zahid
Illustrated by Francesca Mariama
