“I’m 25 and still figuring things out”

Finding Diosa Taylor’s article online on Gradtouch has been an absolute blessing and a pleasure to read. She seems to perfectly encapsulate everything the #NoDeadline cause is about. We’ve managed to sum up her article in 3 little points:

  1. Don’t build up ages as deadlines. Reaching ‘milestone’ ages often makes us think that we should have achieved specific accomplishments. As Diosa states, “[25] a milestone age we look to and set deadlines for: “by the time I’m 25 I’ll have a house/career/long term partner/my life together” and so on. So when you get there and haven’t quite got everything figured out, it can feel like a failure, or like time is running out.” This applies to other milestone ages like 30. Forget them. The achievements you dream of don’t have a deadline or an expiry date.
  2. You do you. It’s a weird age. In our 20s, we’re in the middle of being too young and being too old at the same time. Everyone around you is at completely different stages in their lives, doing completely different things. As Diosa states: “we are the chameleon age where just about everything is OK.” So don’t worry if you seem to be doing something different from those around you. Everyone is following their own path, and no path holds more value than another.
  3. You don’t suddenly “become a grown up” – There is no number attached to that title, so don’t bother trying to reach it. It is impossible to reach something that doesn’t exist. Instead, enjoy your 20s. They are a time in your life you should enjoy. Don’t waste it worrying about what everyone else is doing and whether you’re good enough. Travel, spend time with the ones you love, do what you love, and life will somehow reward you.

– Leonie

Confronting the Quarter-life Crisis

We all have those moments where we feel insecure about life, what we are doing and where our future is heading.

“Nearly 80% of those aged 25-to-33 have felt under pressure to succeed in relationships, career, or finances before hitting 30”

It is this pressure to succeed and the anxiety that comes with it that leads to this quarter-life crisis.

We know the quarter-life crisis exists but how can we tackle it head on?

Justin Bariso’s article suggests:

1. Stop comparing yourself to others

We are a society that constantly compares ourselves to the successes of others both online and in real life. When we do this we are looking at our own lives in an unfavourable light. Instead of focusing on our strengths and achievements our minds immediately focus on what we don’t have or what is missing. Life is not a competition instead of wasting time worrying about other people focus on your own personal development and growth. Having the emotional intelligence to appreciate your own strengths and values will go a long way.

2. Define what success means to you

There are many ways to live a successful life. It’s time to take control and stop worrying about everyone else.  Decide what course you want to follow–instead of allowing someone else or society to do it for you.

You can confront the Quarter-life crisis. Instead of allowing it to make you anxious and unsure let it fuel you to set goals and reevaluate the future life you want to live.

 

A.J

Career Success means Living to Work

Before the age of 30, we expect and place pressure on ourselves to obtain a profitable career because it means success, it means happiness.

Of course, this can be understood as such a stable desire and can be aspirational to mostly everyone.

So how to do it?

In coming across this article on CBNC, Marketing Guru, Scott Galloway provides a few insights into what it takes to get that ahead in obtaining that successful ‘millennial career’.

Firstly, if you want to be the best and reap the long term dividends you have to realise that 10-20 years of your life may now be dedicated to work.

“Acknowledge that you’re pretty much going to have time to work and to work out — and that’s about it.”

Second, play with someone better than you.

Whether that means moving cities for greater competition or finding a new workplace – in order to be the best you must compete and learn amongst people of higher skill.

And thirdly, differentiate yourself!

“You need something that can digitally differentiate you from everyone else, because the entire world is now one big LinkedIn profile,” Galloway says. “And, you need people to know that you have credentials that separate you from other people.”

Best of all, if we can do this while we are young then yes, you will be on your way.

Good luck!

Full article here.

 

EC

Comparison & Social Media: The downfall of the 20s

The advent of social media has created a social climate previous generations never had to cope with. Psychologist Melinda Rak states that social media is a significant contributor to why millennials experience a tough time with such high levels of the stress.

It’s a well-known (but often forgotten) fact that we only post the highlights of our life on social media. This has the consequence of leaving us constantly comparing us to that high standard. 95% of people in Australia use Facebook, and people in their 20s most frequently use social media (literally, every day). So every single day, every time we’re scrolling down our Facebook and Instagram feeds, we are faced with a wave of content featuring celebrities with perfect bodies, our friends constantly travelling the world and our peers showcasing their dream jobs. So when you suddenly combine the issue of comparison with the sheer scale of social media usage, it’s no wonder that it plays such a contributing factor in making us feel inadequate. Melinda emphasises that “Being angry, sad, frustrated, anxious etc. are all normal and acceptable emotions. However social media distorts this assertion by equating positive emotions as acceptable and expected, and thus more valued.”

For anyone who is seeking advice in how to cope with this, we’ve collected two quotes that are valuable to keep in mind – we hope you take them to heart like we did.

“The reason we struggle with insecurity is that we compare our behind-the-scenes with every one else’s highlight reels.” (Steve Furtick)

“Educating people on emotional literacy and their self-talk can go a long way to building resilience and coping skills. In addition, understanding how the lens of social media used to view society is currently out of focus, and that developing skills to reframe how one’s self-worth is not dictated by a photo.” (Melinda Rak)

– Leonie

“Times have changed”

“I used to think at the age of 25 I’d be living in a big house with a big yard, a family of 4 and a successful high paying job. But as time has passed I realise that it won’t happen and I’m totally okay with that. It will come one day but it doesn’t have to be at a specific age. Times have changed.” (21, Sydney)

This submission from our Instagram got us thinking that as millennials, we are living a different timeline to that of older generations.  It is time to redefine our timelines and break societal stigma’s surrounding age. There is no timeline for adulthood- and this is totally okay!

Millennials are moving out of home later, we are getting married later or might not be getting married at all. We focus on our careers and delay having kids. There is nothing wrong with this. We are doing things in our own time. We don’t have to be doing anything at any given time. We have our lives to live and can reach milestones at whatever age and stage we choose.

Check out other submissions here.

 

A.J