As I’ve entered my 30’s, I’ve noticed a few subtle, yet substantial changes in my life.
Unlike many people, I didn’t dread the day when I turned 30. In fact, I did the opposite: I embraced it. My 20’s, while a blast and filled with adventure, were also incredibly chaotic and disorganized. I started the process of becoming the person I wanted to be, but it was a mish-mash of big ideas and dreams mixed with an equal amount of chaos and lack of focus.
Quite honestly, my 20’s were a necessary component in my development, and I don’t regret them one bit. And that is why I am more excited about my life path at this point than ever.
I view my ability to reign myself in, reflect, adjust, and execute immensely better than where I was just a few years ago. I’ve given up smoking, the least productive habit I ever started. I’ve begun exercising regularly, and generally practice positive self-care and engage in proper amounts of maintenance. But I’ve also begun to notice something about my weekly routine that is dramatically different from before.
I value Saturday mornings vastly more than I used to.
I certainly enjoy a good night out on the town. I relish in the moments of spontaneous fun with friends, musical events, hangouts, parties, bar crawls, etc. But I also have been down that road long enough to know that I always live to regret going too hard the next morning.
Inevitably, an overly joyous Friday night eventually ends with me sleeping too much the next day and I have much less energy than I would like to tackle the weekend.
Waking up early is gratifying beyond belief. I used to sleep in past noon and not blink an eye or care about the lost productivity. But over time, I’ve begun to realize how limited my time is, and how much I want to utilize every second I can towards the things I care about.
Alcohol becomes less enjoyable with age
Upon leaving for college, I hit the booze hard like many among us who are jumping with joy to finally be out from under their parent’s watchful grasp. I personally think there’s a better way for individuals to transition to the party life that accompanies college, but unfortunately, our culture of sheltering children has the effect of backfiring and creating much larger problems down the road.
As a 31-year-old, alcohol has increasingly become less appealing over time. Sure, I still enjoy a few drinks here and there to unwind, and occasionally still like to get intoxicated with friends.
But like BB King famously said, the thrill is gone away from me. Almost without fail, if I have more than 4 drinks and I haven’t space it out and drank enough water, I feel nothing but regret the next day.
And you feel like you’re stuck in your own version of Ground Hog’s day, doomed to repeat an endless loop of days that feel eerily the same.
Making the change to taking it easy on weekend nights and waking early the next morning has been a boon to my productivity and overall mental state. I wake by 7 am most days, if not earlier, and get shit done before I’ve even eaten breakfast.
Unlike my more rambunctious nights out on the town, I almost never regret taking it easy on a Friday night. It sets the tone for the rest of the weekend and allows me to achieve far more than I ever thought possible in my earlier years.
Let’s not delude ourselves: 30 is not the new 20. But frankly...that’s a good thing.
All uncredited pictures from the pixabay.com
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