Millennials, many of us are nearing the end of our 20s and we will all be 30 or older in a short five years. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to make time to invest in yourself as we enter this new era of our lives. There are plenty of ways to do this and I will list them shortly, but they all center around self-care. Self-care is not something that our generation is unfamiliar with, so it should be easy, right? Let’s find out.
First things first, remember to value your loved ones. This can be biological family or a family that you chose. Lean on them when you need to and listen to what they have to say about life and growing older. There is a chance that they have gone through similar experiences as you and they may be able to help guide you through them. After all, they have helped us get to this point, so if it’s working why change it?
Next, learn something new. Have you ever wanted to learn a new language or start making pottery? Do it! What is stopping you? There’s nothing better than exploring new things and learning new skills. Now is the time to take advantage of the things we either didn’t have time for before or were too afraid to try.
Make smarter money choices. This doesn’t mean that you can’t spend your money on things that you enjoy, like avocado toast and iced coffee. This just means you should start looking at getting serious about that 401(k) you hear HR talk about all the time and working on a budget. This can be a big task to tackle, so do not be afraid to seek professional help. This isn’t something that your friends and family can always help with because we are all in different financial situations. You need to find something that works specifically for you and seeking the advice of a fiduciary and/or CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ can help.
Go wardrobe shopping. This is my favorite one, of course. However, don’t get carried away, remember the last tip? I mean invest in functional pieces that still express who you are and will last for years to come. My rule of thumb for this is to make sure to buy things that can be worn in multiple settings. Can you wear this shirt to work and to brunch and still feel like yourself? If so, get it! I used to only buy “work clothes” and “casual clothes”, but I quickly ran out of space in my closet, and I found that I rarely got to wear my casual clothes because I worked most of the time.
Declutter your space. This one ties into the last one for me, but I don’t just mean clothing. Sometimes we can accumulate so many things that we don’t even use, so why keep them around? If it still has a good use, just not a good use for you, donate it. It may be just the thing someone else has been looking for. Take some time at least every couple of years to go through your things and free up some space. This task can be very cathartic.
Talk to someone if you need to. Millennials are probably the first generation that openly discuss and support mental health care. If life starts to feel like it is weighing on you, do not hold those feelings in and just hope that things get better, and don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Everyone struggles every now and then and it is okay to not be okay. Talk to someone. A mentor, a therapist, your best friend, it doesn’t matter as long as you are comfortable opening up around them.
Spend time with yourself. Some people love alone time and others can’t stand it, but a little alone time can go a long way. Sit down and read a good book, write in a journal, binge watch a series on Netflix in one weekend. If you are really daring, go see a movie by yourself or eat alone at a restaurant. Take this time to really find yourself. We can often get caught up in the day to day and lose ourselves. It is important to take some time to yourself to decompress occasionally.
Last, but certainly not least, do not be afraid to fail. The word failure has been stained with negative connotations, but sometimes it can be a great thing. Sometimes our failures help us learn something new and, often, better. It presents an opportunity to rise from the ashes and take flight. Learn to embrace your failures and grow from them. Also remember that you can’t compare yourself to others. We are all on our own journey and we may fail where others succeed, but that does not mean they haven’t failed before or that you will not succeed.
As you can see, self-care doesn’t always mean developing a good skin care regimen or getting a massage. Though those things are still important. The main point to take away from this is to really invest in yourself. Our time to grow and have fun doesn’t just stop when you turn 30. Life would be pretty miserable if that were the case. So, as much as we would all love to be a twenty-something forever, life carries on. Besides, I heard that 30 is the new 20.
