I like to joke a lot about my journey as an adult. Something that masks the reality of growing up and being independent.
I tell my friends that the hardest part about growing into an adult is learning and mastering the art of breathing. It really is an art, at this rate. Someone was talking to my friends and I yesterday and she said, “A lot of us don’t know how to just BREATHE” ,and I felt that. I think I understood what she wanted to say from a very deep level.
You see, a lot of us who are in the 25 – 35 age group are laden with problems. Not that the issues we deal with are irrelevant, but a good number of them are self imposed and/or can wait until you are able and ready.
Because we lack proper and hands on guidance, we have created very toxic atmospheres that somehow seem to pull us into an abyss of chaos and self destruction.
How old are you right now? What are some of the things you had projected and were certain you would have accomplished by this time? Have you achieved them? How does that make you feel?
Many people are dealing with a lot of emotions; and we do not know how to best and effectively work around them for our own good.
See, the questions I just asked in the previous paragraph tell you a lot about why you are where you are. Allow me to explain. We are in a very technologically advanced era where peer pressure is inevitable. For everyone. And in addition to that, we all have a list of things we feel we should achieve by certain timelines which, when unachievable or when they take longer to materialize, we send ourselves into a frenzy of thinking of ourselves as failures; comparing ourselves with our peers and basically causing irreversible damage to our health.
In all truth, our careers, relationships and worldly possessions seem to take precedence over everything else in our lives. Including our health.
We all want to kick start our careers at a reasonable age, right? But what exactly is reasonable? What if, you started your career at twenty five, took about ten years to save enough to buy your first house, but you remain in the same position for the next ten years? Or, what if you spend most of your twenties developing yourself, growing, earning your academic certifications, and start your career at thirty on a high note. So high, that in three years, you have your first house?
Timelines
We have self imposed timelines that seem to be working against us. Yet, the number one cause of frustration among the youth is directly linked to their careers and their jobs.
Typically, a human being, in their life span, spends at least forty years in employment. Or working. This takes up the greatest percentage of your life. Imagine rushing into things, getting insanely frustrated over something that will take up the majority of your life. Yet, you can take a step back, breathe, think and strategise your moves. Move with intention.
The most amazing thing about it is that we always have an idea of what we should so, but for some reason, that is always suppressed by our own thoughts, self doubt, self imposed pressure, peer pressure, societal pressure, among many more. That is indeed a lot for one person to work around. Especially when you feel alone; which is the constant feeling once you hit twenty five.
It is crucial and very essential that we learn how to breathe. To breathe through our frustrations. To breathe through disappointment. To breathe through losses. To breathe through setbacks. To breathe through all transgressions.
We need to learn how to take a step back and take a breather. It’s the only way anything can ever start to make sense.
Happy Weekend!