(Note: This article was written in 2020)

Lets face it. Thirty is the age you are officially a real adult adult. You are allowed some leeway and experimentation as a twenty something year old in the developed world. Thirty is when your friends are making humans, your family are complaining you are still in the house, and your relatives are asking you when you are going to be married and start a family.

I detail my ”what I learnt” reflections, my mistakes, my highlights:

What I learnt

  • Sticking to it-ness: Grit.
  • Own up to mistakes
  • Authentic experiences: In today’s world, sadly most things are crafted to elict a temporary dopamine hit and not make a memory. We can tell this by instinct alone.
  • Cultivating inner joy: There is a lightness of being and certain ease of existence each and every one of us has felt before. Imagine being able to feel that 100%.
  • Learning and meaning making:
  • Setting goals, big and small and feeling achievement:
  • Finding my hedgehog:
  • Seeking flow experiences:
  • Finishing what is started or following through:
  • Being kind to others, truthful to yourself: I feel empathy to others is important as people come from all sorts of backgrounds. You should always be truthful to yourself to avoid the narcissist trap.

Mistakes

  • Thinking my twenties would last forever: Trust me it passes by a lot quicker than you think!
  • Not taking enough risk in life: Passing up opportunities because of a lack of confidence is a big one. First off, realise that as a twentysomething, no one expects you to know everything. Your biggest selling point is your infatigable energy and your enthusiasm
  • Coasting too much too early : I wrote about this in my last post

Highlights

  • Uncovered my signature strengths: Writing and singing
  • Connected with my spirituality: The faith resonated with me values wise, so I had to join the tribe
  • Discovered my resilience: I went through a period of struggle and doubt in my twenties which made me more appreciative of the smile things
  • Met some amazing people who helped me become the person I am today: I hope one day I can surprise them with how far I’ve come and dedicate some work to them

Reflections

  • Looking back, I would have definitely pursued more risk in terms of education and career. I had a super pragmatic and cynical view of life at the time
  • The road to wisdom is paved with mistakes: Each mistake I made, I vowed not to make again
  • More opportunities to help others: I definitely feel joy when I find myself contributing to the efforts of others in helping out a cause, people, or children. I hope to restart volunteering with children again

Overall, it hasn’t been the easiest journey especially with regards to the spiritual and personal struggles. I had a lot of internal strife reconciling the cynical intellect and the optimistic will. I’ve since learnt that toggling can be done between profiles. How does one regulate this toggling of cynicism and optimism? More questions start to surface again and that will be the topic of another post.