Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2013; the current crisis it mentions is Spain’s economic crisis of that time, and the author’s description of himself as being in his thirties refers to 2013.
Psychologist Meg Jay has a message for twentysomethings that, at first, may seem to go against popular beliefs about your 20s, among them that you are still young and have time to do lots of things. But one thing is certain: once you turn 30 (and this comes from a thirtysomething), people still consider you young, but you become aware that for many things it is already too late.
In this short but intense video, full of words we should take very seriously, especially if you are in your twenties, Meg Jay gives you an excellent message so that you don’t get caught out in the “musical chairs” game: you watch everyone in their 20s having fun circling the chairs while the music plays, and once the music stops, everyone has sat down except you, still standing. This psychologist’s talk was given at TED under the title “Why 30 is not the new 20”.
Watch: Meg Jay: Why 30 is not the new 20 (TED)
Takeaways from the talk and my own opinions:
1. Your 20s do count.
While it is true that you should enjoy your 20s (you only get them once in your life), it is also true that this is when you should start making some decisions of real importance. Here, where we talk about the importance of a financial, saving-minded outlook from an early age, I can assure you that your 30s will go better if you already have some financial knowledge. Your 20s are a good age to be creative.
See also: Basic investing principles: before you invest…
2. You don’t need to know exactly what you want.
Obviously, if you know exactly what you want to do from a very young age, so much the better, but if not, don’t get depressed either, since many people find their calling at 40. That said, the sooner you are clear about it, the sooner you can get started.
3. You shouldn’t quit a job just because you don’t like it or your boss is a total a******
Today I wouldn’t work at something I didn’t like, but I think that in your 20s, if you want to work and/or save, especially with the current crisis, you can learn a lot of lessons both from having an incompetent boss and from having a crappy job, as long as you’re getting paid for it. It is the best way to understand, later on, the problems many people face, including those of your company’s workers (if you become a business owner one day). Having bad bosses was always a motivation for me, because I always thought that if so many companies were run by people like that, as soon as I was running one of their competitors it would be very easy for me to win their market. I also learned what not to do when you are a leader.
4. People will tell you not to take crazy risks in your 20s.
There is no better time to take big risks than your 20s. It is an age when you still have time to correct any mistake, learn from it and go on to make 20 more. Once you are past 30 or getting close to 40, people tend to take far fewer risks.
Further reading
