Growing old has been demonized for such a long time in our pop culture. All our lives we are told via advertisements, TV and now social media that growing old is not that great. Sure, your knees and back might hurt for no apparent reason and your energy levels take a hit. But there are definitely some perks to growing older. Your 20’s are the time you make mistakes and try to find your way but you 30’s are where things start to smooth over. Here are some such realizations of a 30 something that make 30’s great -
1. STABILITY IN 20’S IS OVER RATED –
Your 20’s are a time when you are still finding yourself. You should understand that everything cannot be figured out during your 20’s. Go ahead and try different things- change jobs to find out what it is that actually makes you happy; go travel as much as you can to see this diverse yet beautiful world; learn new things; take up new hobbies and interests. You in your 20’s as oppose to your 30’s are much less laden with responsibilities so go make the most of it!
2. JOB TITLES DON’T DEFINE YOU –
One of the things that hit you about getting older is the fact that your time on this planet is limited and can abruptly come to an end at any moment. There’s nothing wrong in wanting to earn a good income to lead a secure life, but be careful to not forget to live while making a living! As we grow older we understand that our worth by no means is dependent on our Job title. There are many things that make a job worthy besides just the money, like having more paid leaves, weekends off, healthy work environment, flexibility etc. I hope by the time you reach your 30s you acknowledge that your job is just a part of your life, an important one sure! But it’s not your entire life. So don’t let it take over your entire existence, live a full and multi faceted life, there are no second shots!
3. HOLD ON TO GENUINE RELATIONSHIPS –
Most of us, when in our 20’s like to hang out and keep as many friends as possible. We hold on to friends that we know don’t care about us much and might even gossip behind our backs. As you grow older you realize how right AL CAPONE was when he said “BE CAREFUL WHO YOU CALL FRIENDS, I’d RATHER HAVE 4 QUARTERS THAN 100 PENIES”. Some people pretend to be your friend but will not be there to support you in tough times; they will not want the best for you and might drain you with toxicity. Rather focus on keeping friends that genuinely support and cheer you on. You can have acquaintances and people you hang out with and are on good terms but always know the difference between them and your friends, the ones who understand you, support you and accept you for who you are. The ones who make you feel safe to share your heart out and guard your secrets for life. Keep yourself surrounded by people who uplift you, show you love & respect and genuinely care for you.
4. NUTRITION & EXCERCISE IS A FORM OF SELF LOVE -
Exercising and focusing on nutrition is an amazing thing that you do for yourself and trust me your body will thank you for it. As you grow older, you realize how important it is to keep oneself fit. But let it not come from a place of desperation to fit into a size for the sake of looks. With age you realize that your body is the only thing you’ll live with your entire life. How you treat your body now will, to a lot of extent define how it will treat you. Your 20’s are a great time to inculcate habits of taking up sports or hobbies that help you keep active and eat foods that are nutrient dense. Your body can handle a lot more alcohol and junk when you are younger but as you hit 30’s things change! The more you’ll focus on keeping fit the less you’ll have to suffer ailments that come with neglect. Eating right and exercising is the best forms of self — love. You don’t do it to fit societal standards of beauty, Do it to show love and respect to your own body.
5. ‘ME’ TIME IS NON- NEGOTIABLE –
As you grow older you’ll value your time alone a lot more. When in our 20’s we often feel the need to be at every event and party, the FOMO of not being to the latest and most talked about club is quite prevalent when in our 20’s. As you hit your 30’s, you become a lot choosier with the people and places you go to. You would prefer to entertain friends at home or go to a place where you can actually talk and relax rather than having to scream your lungs out and being pushed and shoved. A relaxing day at home — sleeping inn, cuddling with your pet, watching a nice movie or series, cooking your favorite meal, reading a good book, taking a long bath would seem a lot more appealing. This is in no way saying that you’ll stop going out, but you’ll much more prefer to spend your time as you like and want. But you’ll start appreciating the little things in life. The social media or FOMO cultures will not have much effect, so in some ways your 30’s will be a path to setting yourself free from external validations.
TANYA CHOPRA
