You’re Allowed To Start Over In Your Twenties

You’re not supposed to have everything figured out in your twenties. Your twenties might be the point when you have to start from scratch. It might be the point when you realize what you’re doing isn’t working and you’re in desperate need of a change.

You might quit your career and switch to another field. You might leave your long-term relationship to embark on another. You might flee from your town to build a future someplace else. You shouldn’t worry that it’s too late to do those things. This is the perfect moment. You’ve learned so much more about yourself during the last few years. You should take that knowledge to build a better future for yourself. Don’t settle for what you already have if you’re worried it’s not going to make you happy, long-term.

You’re not supposed to have everything figured out in your twenties. You’re not supposed to feel like you’ve mastered the art of happiness. It’s natural for you to have doubts. It’s normal for you to feel lost and unsure, maybe even more lost and unsure than you were ten years earlier.

Although it might feel like everyone around you looks like they have their life together, like they’re successful, like they’re in love, like they’re off living their happily ever afters, you have to remember that these people are only showing you what they want the world to see. They aren’t going to show you their breakdowns. They aren’t going to show you their failures and rejections. They’re only going to let you see the best aspects of their life, which will paint an inaccurate picture of what they’re experiencing.

Remember, you shouldn’t be trying to live their life according to their rules. You’re not supposed to stick to some imaginary timeline. There isn’t a set date when you should get married, when you should settle down in a house with children and a white picket fence. Everyone moves at a different pace and it’s okay if the people around you are moving a little faster. It’s okay if you feel like you’re falling behind as long as you constantly remind yourself that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be right at this moment.

However, if you’re unsatisfied with your life, it’s good that you’re aware. It’s good that you aren’t pretending. It’s good that you aren’t lying to yourself.  The next step is to make a change. To do something about the unhappiness you’ve been experiencing.

You’re not supposed to have everything figured out in your twenties. You’re still young. You still have so much to explore about yourself.

You’re allowed to start over. You’re allowed to quit your job, break up with your partner, and move across the country. You’re allowed to begin again. You might feel like you’re being pushed back to square one, like you’re ruining all of the progress you’ve made, but you know more this time around. You have a better idea of what you want.

Don’t remain in the wrong place because you’re scared of chasing after what would really make you happy. Don’t settle when you could reach for the stars.