Things I'm Learning In My 20's

Sometimes it's very easy to say that life in your 20's is as good as it gets. It's the years you have found your independence, have your first 'adult' relationships, figure out your career and have pets. But let's be realistic, how many of us feel like we actually have it all figured out this young? And now considering we have a 'wealth' of opportunities at our fingertips, are we just making life harder for ourselves by offering each other or the world too much? It's great to have all of these opportunities but why are we told to just pick ONE, and if we pick more than one we are being greedy?

One of my favourite things to pick at is when people use the saying 'Jack of all trades and master of none', because what they fail to remember is that the rest of the sentence says 'but oftentimes better than a master of one'. So far from being an insult, it's more rather a compliment to those who find they want to or can learn more than one thing rather than giving up after one. I have always had this desire to do many different things and as a child they were called 'distractions' or probably 'ADD' because I couldn't concentrate on one thing at a time and for the most part I 99% do have undiagnosed ADHD, it's pretty obvious. But what I don't like is the stigma attached with doing many things.

I recently read a bio for a guest speaker that was going to be talking at one of my clients events, and it said something along the lines of 'speaks 4 languages, plays tennis, enjoys walks, has run 3 successful companies etc etc' and I immediately read it and said THAT'S what I want my bio to say. Gone are the days where I feel I need to pick one thing. This life is short and why spend the whole thing sat in front of the TV or drinking my life away when I can have hobbies and skills and take everything the world has to offer?

I made the decision to do whatever I wanted and grab whatever opportunities I can and not to limit these to a year or two. Instead I want to build a future I don't want to get away from. Something fun with things I enjoy doing 24/7. I am learning languages I have always wanted to without the pressure of having to be fluent in them right away. Enjoying the learning process and enjoying discovering new words. Why make it so that I have to be good now and forget about it later?

I'm the same with Tennis, I have been learning at JEM Tennis for around two years on and off and absolutely love it. I enjoy going to the gym and am still a member at Southampton Harbour Hotel but there's something about learning a competitive sport that's more interesting to me. Piano is something I am also learning as well as Chess, but again these are more hobbies that I want to adopt for years to come rather than fads. Horse riding and Ice skating are two more I really enjoy and will go to and from intermittently when I want to, but I would love to be able to compete in a sport again as I miss the thrill of that.

As well as all of that my Psychology degree takes up some time but again it's something I see as more developmental rather than a 'quick fix' to anything. I enjoy reading about it and learning a new subject and applying that to my work and to life in general.

I personally think you're 20's are for discovering yourself and discovering what you like, what makes you feel alive and what you want to spend your time and money on. I recently sold a pair of designer shoes and instead of replacing them with more shoes I probably don't need, I paid for my ice skates and my 6 week beginner course. There are 10 courses in total and I honestly cannot wait to get started!

What are you hopes for your 20's? Or if they are behind you, what from this musing of thoughts can you take some inspiration from to move forward in 2022?