If you’re one of those people who frequently grapple with mini-breakdowns about their career development, I can guarantee you that you’re not alone. You might find a lot of people telling you that your 20’s are the most decisive years of your entire life but from a personal stance I believe that they are, by far, the hardest. You’re expected to come up with a perfect structured plan for your future when you still haven’t even discovered yourself in the present time.
I’m not trying to be cliché and drag this topic into an existentialist storm, but I feel compelled to divulge that its completely understandable and recognizable, that you still don’t know what the heck you’re doing. You spend 18 years as a guided pupil, knowing exactly where you stand and suddenly it’s time for a reality check. You’re expected to find a job that is prestigious, makes you good money and you have to do it all quickly whilst excelling at it, in order to be well-heeled by your mid 30’s. I’m not implying that this is something you should not think of or work hard for; all I’m saying is that you don’t have to over-pressure yourself to know exactly how your life will turn out 10 years from now.
You can be jumping from one job to the other until you find where your passion is. You can spend years working yourself to death in a job you thought you loved, and then realize that this is not what you’re meant to do for the rest of your life.
Your friends can have perfectly settled career standings when you don’t whatsoever. You need to know that it’s perfectly fine to be in that situation and it doesn’t make you any less. Colonel Sanders for instance, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), failed to stay in one job and kept getting fired from every place he worked at. Only by the age of 65 was he able to hit it big and open a fast food-chain enjoyed by millions around the world to this very day.
Another example is Chuck Palahniuk, author of the forever-loved book Fight Club, who struck it rich at an old age not knowing previously that he was a talented writer. So, bringing this to a close, your 20’s are you trial and error years. Explore your options and keep expanding your horizon. With no advanced warning you’ll wake up and find yourself exactly where you’re supposed to be.
