I recently was speaking to a coworker who was a bit distraught about turning the big 3-0. It wasn’t so much the number that bothered her as it was the expectation that she should have accomplished certain things or met certain goals by this milestone age in her life. Indeed she felt like she should be married like so many of her friends were. It seems that many of her pals were having babies, but she didn’t even have a steady relationship on her horizon.
As we spoke I was quick to share how my life didn’t even start until my thirties. I mean, I didn’t start really enjoying life until after thirty, and I assured her she had plenty of time to reach her personal goals.
I’m currently 3/4 of the way through my thirties, and for me this decade has been phenomenal. It trumps my twenties in every way, and there’s no doubt to me that thirty is where it’s at. Here’s why.
1. I’m more confident. Age helped me fall in love with me. Gone is the uncertainty of my twenties.
2. I don’t compare myself to others. I love me. Who cares what the Joneses are doing!
3. I stopped being a people pleaser. If you can’t appreciate my personality then move on.
4. I became more comfortable in my own body. I’ve got cellulite and a pooch. Who cares?! I feel pretty.
5. I stopped comprising my beliefs for others. My values rank higher than your opinion of me.
6. I discovered what I really wanted in a mate. No settling!
7. I based my happiness on my relationship with the Lord, not my relationship with a man.
8. I learned how to be selfless in my relationships. This is actually pretty important to long term happiness.
9. I learned not to base my worth on the person I’m with.
10. I decided that my interests were important and any relationship that required me to change who I am wasn’t worth having.
11. I realized there’s nothing wrong with me. Like I do have faults, but so does everyone. I’m weird, I’m different, but whatever. I’m me.
12. I found out how to be happy alone. I realized I don’t require people surrounding me to feel loved.
13. I realized that when someone really loves you they love all of you. Even the complicated parts.
14. I realized if I couldn’t be true to myself with someone then I shouldn’t be with that person.
15. I began to appreciate the simple things in life. Hot showers and hair conditioner. Cool sand on your toes, or a good song.
16. I reached a place of financial stability.
17. I realized I didn’t have to know the ins and outs of something to be really good at it. I could just enjoy the ride.
18. I accepted the fact that perfection is a fallacy. It’s like the unicorn of motherhood.
19. I came to a place in life where I didn’t have to go somewhere to have fun! A Friday night on the couch is fab.
20. I also realized that the best things in life really are free.
21. I discovered you should hug the people you love tight every day because one day you wake up and they’re gone. This is a part of my thirties I did not enjoy, but it did teach me an appreciation for my parents that I’m glad I could obtain.
22. I realized you’re never too old to start over.
23. I realized that life does have second chances for happiness.
24. I also discovered you’re never too old to dream something new.
25. I realized that I could relax and enjoy my children easier in my older age. I have really taken the time to smell the roses, and I don’t know if I would have done that at twenty.
26. I discovered that while traveling the world is a wondrous thing, nothing beats the way you feel when you finally come home.
27. I realized that one good, best friend is better than a handful of not so close ones.
28. I started to fully reap the benefits of a good credit score and no student loan debt.
29. I realized if I could change anything in my life I probably wouldn’t. I learned an appreciation for God’s timing.
30. I accepted the fact that God’s not done with me yet. Maybe my forties is where it’s at.
Bottom line to me, whether you get where you want to be in life at 21 or 81, is this. Never stop learning, never stop growing, and always realize that God has a unique, special plan for you. For some people that place happens in their twenties, but for others it happens later. And whenever it happens you can bet it will be the best decade ever.