Your 20s were about playing hard—finding yourself and taking risks and discovering your path. Your 30s are about hard work and laying down foundations. But it’s easy to get swept up with work, relationships, and family life and forget the most important things.
Here are a few tips to help you fend off a case of the regrets.
1. Stay on Message
Success isn’t just measured in money and accumulated stuff. And choosing a career that seems safe and lucrative now can lead to feelings of meaninglessness later. You’ve spent your 20s figuring out who you are. Now spend your 30s developing your purpose, and make following that purpose your number one obsession. It will get you out of the rat race and onto your own course, with your own personal finish line to sprint towards.
2. Set Yourself Up
Big spender? The bad habits you picked up in your 20s are carrying over—maybe even getting worse now that you’re making a bit more money. Rather than spending all of your surplus income on luxuries and treats, remember that every dollar you save now can grow and actually earn you more security later on.
3. Make Memories
Just because these are your primo working years doesn’t mean you should be working all the time. Make sure you carve out space in your schedule for maintaining important relationships with your family and friends. Keeping loved ones close can be very fulfilling and can even make you more productive.
4. Pay Back Your Parents
Don’t take your biggest fans for granted. In building a life for yourself, it’s easy to lose track of time. Don’t forget, however, that your parents aren’t getting any younger, and they won’t be around forever. Make sure you carve out a bit of time to spend with them.
5. Stay Healthy
You can’t get away with the bad habits or the junk food of your 20s anymore. Exercise, eat right, limit stress, and keep control of your vices. Set yourself up for success—and have the energy to enjoy it!
6. Don’t Wait Until You’re Ready
There’s never a perfect time to start a family, and no one is ever totally prepared. Don’t wait until you feel perfectly ready to have a child, or you’ll be waiting forever and one day it will be too late.
7. Have Fun
Don’t spend the early part of your adulthood working too much and chasing money. Life is meant to be shared and enjoyed. Go on dates with your partner, start a family, go on trips, spend time with your friends. You might have all the money in the world, but it won’t be worth a thing if you are too miserable to enjoy it.
The 7 Biggest Career and Life Mistakes You Can Make in Your 30s
