Why do our 20s matter?

People in their 20s know their 20s matter, so they want to get them right, they want to move to the right city, they want to take the right job, they want to find the right partner, they want to have the right answers; the bad news is there are not right answers of how someone should settle down, these are what we call “large world problems” because there are too many unknowns; no app, no algorithm can ever solve these problems or answer these questions for you. The good news is, because there are not right answers, there are not wrong answers either. There are only your answers. So your 20s are a great time to listen and to be honest with yourself. They are a great time to have a conversation with your future self.

Picture yourself in the future…

Sometimes we neglect our future selves because of some sort of failure of belief or imagination. When we are young it can be difficult to imagine or believe that you could ever really be 35. Research shows that our brains think about our future selves similarly to how they think about strangers. It can be difficult for us to care about a version of ourselves that we haven’t met yet. If we find a way to be emphatic with our future selves and we start thinking more about what we could do now to be kind to ourselves down the line; I assure you that you’ll be happier and live healthier.

The pursuit of life purpose and most defining moments happen by around age 35. So, imagine yourself at age 35
What would you do differently? Would you start saving more money for your retirement? Would you stop eating junk food? Would you start drinking more water? Would you change your work? Would you find a hobby to do in your free time? Would you stop procrastinating? Would you start working out now?. The idea by asking all these questions is to try to get to know your future self, connecting your present and your future somewhere in the middle, along the way.

If you have the courage to start exercising now, I invite you to take this Dance Cardio fitness workout on StepFlix YouTube channel. You will thank me later.

Also take this quiz: What dance reigns your heart?

I know it could be scary or overwhelming to answer tough questions, but what you really have to be afraid of is not taking the chance to modify your future. Don’t settle yourself for what society has imposed on you. You are in control of your life, of your purpose, whether you’re thinking of it now or in 5 years from now. And I know I focussed more on young adults but to be honest this is something you can apply at any stage of your life and at any point. I chose the 20s as a reference because that’s the age we kinda start figuring out what we want, who we are and where we want to get. We get better at it over time though, and then in our 30s, 40s and 50s we have more built-in connections to our future. The older you get, the more natural it becomes.

Next steps with your future self

It depends on the goal you have, along the way you might realize other things that are important to you down the line that you want to make sure that you get in there. Take this thinking further by checking in about your progress: Ask yourself if you are being true to yourself and to your future self in terms of what you said you were going to start prioritizing more. It doesn’t matter if that check-in is once a month or every new year’s eve or on your birthday. Like with any goal you have to keep digging into it and circling back around. It’s ok to change our mindsets and our perspectives, we all evolve and start seeing things differently, what is really important is to be aware of your purpose in life and converse with yourself if what you are doing is still what you want. Find what passions you, whatever triggers your happiness make sure to follow it.