Exiting the 20's and hitting the big 3's should be an exciting transition but for most of us {talking to the ladies here *wink*} it can be a cocktail of emotions.
When I turned 29, I craved for super powers to freeze time so I'd stick there for the rest of my existence or rapture would happen cause I honestly dreaded the big 30. I lost sleep thinking how I wasn't ready to leave my 20's. Unmarried, no mini-mes running around, still building my career & a business making baby steps is definitely not how I envisioned I would get to my 30's. I spent so much time regretting the missed opportunities and wasted chances - wishing I could get a 2nd chance to get things rights. Throwing pity parties and feeling sorry for myself featured top on my list of things to do. Long story short, I staggered into my 30's intoxicated with self pity and full of regrets. I'd walk around like a Zombie blaming the universe for my "nasty luck" & felt like life owed me.
A chance encounter with a young girl {story for another day} snapped me back to reality. You can imagine a 10 year old challenging me to seize control of my life as only I have the power to decide the course of my life. It's not like she was telling me something I already didn't know, in fact it was a conversation I had had countless number of times while trying to encourage someone who was on the edge and felt like giving up. Only that, I was caught up in a valley of disappointment & regret that none of that was making sense. Time had moved too fast and it was already mid year, so if I was to make anything out of 30, it had to be fast. Lessons I learnt as I was picking myself up were valuable.
Here goes:
1. Life doesn't just happen. You have to intentionally seek out whatever path you want your life to take. You cannot sit back and expect that things will sort themselves out.
2. Comparison is an enemy of progress. Be careful you do not get caught up in the comparison web - I'm sure you have heard such statements pop up in conversations once in a while "my schoolmates are all married and with kids yet I am single & no male species is showing interest/my friends have all bought cars while I still have to jav" etc. That is a sure way to invite self pity and regret.
3. Stop, take a deep breath, smell the flowers & appreciate the beauty of God's handy work. The allure of having a comfortable life has us grinding endlessly just to ensure we live large. We get so busy that we forget to stop and just exhale. When was the last time you went for a nature walk - either at Karura, Ngong Forest or Safari Walk or even just visited the National Park to check out our beautiful wildlife, better still take a road trip out of town & enjoy the beautiful scenery that Kenya has to offer. Make it a point to take time of your busy schedule and just exhale.
4. Make A Plan. If you hadn't drawn up a plan before, do it as a matter of urgency. You need to write down your goals & aspirations and what you want to achieve. Have clear timelines on achieving them and also have a breakdown on how you intend to go about each of them. Once in a while, do a review and see if you are on track - if you are not, take practical steps towards getting back on track.
5. Practice S.I.S.I - Save & Invest and Save & Invest some more. Are you like me whose 20's was all about spending, spending and more spending? Well, some bad decisions when I was still young & foolish had me going into my 30's with both my accounts in the red - ooops!!! I know better now. Teach yourself to save, more than you spend. Have a budget and stick to it - I learnt budgeting basics the hard way. My crazy spending habits were getting out of hand and I had to do something about it asap. I drafted a budget with only the basics getting priority and I struggled to stick to it. The first few months were tough but I vowed I wasn't gonna quit. With time it became easier to follow the budget and I was a new convert when I discovered I was dealing with less stress while handling money matters.
6. Live, Love & Laugh. As I always say - you've only got one chance at life, Eminem's lyrics - "you've only got one shot, do not miss your chance to blow; this opportunity comes once in a life time" come to mind. Don't let life pass you by - dance in the rain, laugh like no one's watching, love like your heart has never been broken, enjoy those Smokies pasua on your way home or if you enjoy mutura the better {these are Kenyan street kitchen delicacies that are to die for....I'm especially a fan of Smokies Pasua lol}.