We are in our twenties, newly working and out for happy hour. We are in a hurry to progress. We want to get better jobs, earn more money, date the right person and start building our future.

The conversation is passionate, every one of us declaring our current emotional status:

“I love my job!”
“I hate my job! I need a new one!”
“I love the guy I am dating!”
“I hate the guy I am dating!”
“I can’t pay my bills! I need to make more money!”
“I love working for my boss!”
“I hate working for my boss!”

It is simple. In our twenties, it appears to be okay to voice our discomfort. Even more amazing? We take action.

We do not stay in relationships ten years longer than we should. In jobs four years longer than seems possible. We are not embarrassed by what we earn.

We are not ashamed of our emotional status. We are experiencing life.

We aren’t these mass warriors called ‘marrieds’ who strive for perfection. We have not assumed roles in life which carry an unspoken rule that we no longer voice discomfort. We have not experienced these married roles that insinuate shame accompanies the normal nuances of life – relationship problems, money problems, job frustration…

We have yet to experience the conditioning of ‘unhappy endurance.’

We do not know that life will transition from a youth where we live for our own selves to living for others.

It will no longer be life decisions based solely on “What do I think?”

It will now be “What will other people think?”

The 4 Best Life Lessons I learned in My Twenties:

Just Break Up: We end relationships when they are over. We just break up. If we are unhappy then we leave. We do not spend a distorted amount of time lamenting over whether to stay or go. We have a much better ability to move on.

Take Action: We don’t talk for long. We take action. We hate our job. We quit. We hate our industry, we switch. We don’t stay at a job we hate or work for a person we hate for years and years. We make a plan and we get out of there.

Voice Discomfort: We many not know how to get there yet, but we know where we want to go. We know who we are.
We don’t wonder what other people will think of us, if we break up, quit a job or can’t afford something. There is no shame in voicing our discomfort.

Self-Belief: We believe in our hopes and our dreams and believe they are possible. We work towards them. We do not believe they have a shelf life. We have self-belief.

We are not ashamed of our “emotional status.” We are experiencing life.

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