Before You Feel the Pressure, Understand This

We go through life competing with ourselves and others around us. We question whether we are studying at the right university or if the major is right for us. Countless hours are spent thinking about where we should be by the age of 25 and where everybody else is. A lot of our days are spent living up to everyone else’s expectations because everyone says that by the time we are 30 we should have it all figured out. The truth of the matter is, there is no defined age by which you should have it all figured out. You go according to your own pace.

What if you’re not ready to purchase a house? What if this is not really what you want to study? What if you are not ready to be married? What if you can find success outside of what you learning in school? The pressure can be quite intense, especially if we look at our peers and realize that they have already hit those milestones in their life. Not only that but we start to feel compelled to get on the same level that they are. There is no hard and fast rule to living your best life, except that you do what makes you happy. There is something selfish about that, I know but when you are happy, a whole new world opens up to you and it gives you the chance to impact the lives of those around you.

We can sometimes be our worst enemy by putting realistic expectations on ourselves, we create a hostile environment that becomes the life we now hate. No one says you have to have a masters by 27 or that you have to buy a car by the time you are 24. Sometimes we finish college at 21 but never find a job but sometimes we finish at 30 and find a job right away. We look at others getting married at 24 and think that we need to do the same but never stop to think if they are actually happy or just living up to expectations. We should make every day count and do things according to our own timeline. Some of the most educated and successful people found their success at a much later age than expected. Learn to separate what is expected from you versus what you want for yourself.

Remember, there is no prescribed age for love or success but there is one for happiness and that should be every day.