Photo credits to Clem Onojeghuo (free stock photo)
This is a guest post by Monica Morgan
It’s been months after your graduation party – there are no more guests predicting how excellent you’ll be in the workplace (thanks to your eye-popping academic grades), no more classes to attend the next morning, and the allowance you’re receiving from your parents is clearly diminished.
A new life chapter is about to unfold, and you’re itching to finally land your first job. But here’s your early dilemma: are you going after competitive salary, or choose an organization that nurtures and maximizes your talents?
It only took a few heart-wrenching rejections for you to realize the world’s harsh reality: it’s a jungle out there, and you’re really on your own. Suddenly, you doubt yourself, your skills, and your competencies, wondering if the corporate life is really for you. Top that with annoying college networks who showboat how happy and satisfied they are in their maiden jobs.
You’re lost, depressed, anxious, and puzzled. Isn’t that too much for someone who’ll only turn 21 next month?
The 20s life is dubbed as “the most important decade of your life,” as per Business Insider. While feeling lost is frustrating, here are 4 reasons why it’s absolutely okay:
# 1: We all operate under our respective time zones
This famous advice really holds true for everyone, especially people in their 20s. It’s easy to get discouraged and embarrassed with the early debacles when you’re that young.
That ill feeling is pretty understandable. You want to be successful the earliest time possible.
However, understand that chances and breaks differ for everybody. Your friend may seem to be having an early advantage on you now, but he’s bound to slump later on. His slump period may be your thriving period. Believe in yourself, and don’t lose sight of your goals.
# 2: Not having a firm track lets you discover yourself better
If you don’t experience any adversity in your 20s, you’re not going outside your safe zone.
When you’re lost as a consequence of not choosing the easier path, you’ll do stuff that you’d otherwise won’t experience. For instance, a literature graduate may discover her innate passion for design – a beauty that he wouldn’t have unraveled had he opted to work in a mundane publishing firm.
You’ll travel, explore, and do things that you like and hate on the way to finding your real way. All of these make you more versatile and enables you to know what your aspirations in life really are.
# 3: Slow starts make a better success story
Did you know that Oprah, in her 20s, was fired multiple times by various news stations and that she had her biggest break at age 30 in Chicago?
How about iconic Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. doing jail time in his 20s instead of starting to build his acting resume?
Faltering in your 20s becomes part of your story. It’s a painstaking part to write, but what matters more are the events after. Will you let disappointments consume you, or will you let it fuel your drive?
All of us don’t want to be that guy who got extremely successful in his 20s, only to end up blowing all his savings to bad investment decisions.
It’s how we finish that matters. Keep racing.
# 4: You’re gambling for free
You read it right. You’ve got nothing to lose in your 20s. Are you paying up a car loan? Are you on child support already? Are you running out of time to build your dream house? Certainly, not yet.
Your 20s is the best time to experiment and try new things. When you’re older and after stability, you’re not likely to take risky career moves as certain things and people depend on you.
Take it from me. I have a finance-related degree, but where am I now? I’m enjoying myself as a graphic designer and content writer. I may not have reached the goal I initially set yet, but I ended in a workplace I’ve never dreamed of!
Who knows how far you’ll go? No one, but only you can.
To reiterate, feeling lost and puzzled is normal in your 20s. But to make you feel better about yourself that you’re doing all you can, here are some pieces of actionable bits of advice.
- Mind the little things.
Before you know it, another day has passed. Take the time to appreciate the small things like how lovely the weather is or how a burger shop specially prepared your burger as per your preference.
- Acknowledge your confidants.
You may be alone in your apartment now, but you still have your parents who will willingly refill your grocery stock and real friends that don’t get tired of listening to your personal rants. Appreciate and thank them for sticking around, because you won’t have many consistent people in your 20s.
- Relish the struggle, and the success it yields after.
Sometimes it’s hard to accept unexplained debacles, especially when we’ve given our all in that endeavor. For instance, not getting a job offer when you have a glaring resume and nailed every interview question with ease. It may not make sense right now, but believe that there’s a greater purpose for it.
One day, you’ll catch yourself thinking why they never e-mailed you back.
- Have the courage to leave when you’re unhappy.
You’re so scared that you endure every day doing what you’re not passionate about, just to get by. This is rather soul-damaging and can make you feel more lost as time goes by.
Abandon your unappreciative employer, cut your toxic relationship, leave friends who make you feel bad about yourself. It’s being free that enables you to have an invigorating start.
- Live by the law of averages.
No matter how unlikely and improbable an event is happening, your chances increase as you increase the frequency.
When you fail, get back up. The sooner you’re on your toes again, the closer you are to your goals. You have plenty of time to figure things out.
To wrap this up, your 20s life is an investment phase. It doesn’t necessarily mean money and wealth, but the experiences, learnings, and resiliency you’ve built up from trying, failing, and getting back up again. Your 20s life is that start of writing a story worth telling (and it doesn’t always have to be positive).
——————————————————————————————————————————————-
About the author
Monica Morgan is a free-spirited woman having vast experience in article writing. She prefers using diverse writing styles to properly engage with a wide array of readers. She is also a contributor for https://hqessays.com/.