I’m going to be 30 next month! I’ve been silently dreading this year for so long that I have to now pinch myself that its real, the time is here.

In my early 20’s, I had set a lot of goals to accomplish by the time I was 30. Predictably, almost none of those have materialized. That’s not a bad thing. Many of those dreams are not the ones I value today, some of them were bound by societal constructs that I don’t believe in anymore. You might have noticed a meaningful change in your own dreams too, right?

On the contrary, there are lots of goals that I am very grateful for! I’ve achieved a lot of different things that I’d never imagined I would, and I continue to be excited about everything else that is in my path.

Here are 5 things I wish everyone accomplishes in their 20’s. I only tried to do these towards the very end of my 20’s and particularly in the last 2 years.

Stop thinking, just do it

There are so many ideas all of us have on a daily basis, yet many of those just remain in our head. Sometimes we like to share these dreams with family and friends, many of whom good-naturedly tell us ‘if it was so good, why hasn’t someone else done this?’ and that’s where your dream dies. This is the problem. I wish I had the courage to just implement my ideas sooner instead of fantasizing about them. This is my wish for all of you reading this too. No matter where you are in life, or what age you are, I hope you find the courage to just implement and not wait.

Greatest impact, half the effort

Focus on what will create the greatest impact with half the effort. This will automatically make you collaborate with others to grow your ideas. It will also compel you to take advice from the right people. This is one of the pillars of strength at our Business Club! My co-founder and I split our responsibilities down to the middle, work hard to gain traction to our meetings, and then split the revenue equally too. Our impact is greater because we use two heads instead of one. Find your co-founder and get help, don’t try to do it all yourself.

Read more books

There were so many years throughout my 20s that I may have read just a total of 2-3 books all year. Thinking of that makes me cringe a little. I can’t believe I had no time to read books outside of dental course material. I think I would have had a lot more perspective, calm, creativity and efficiency had I read more books. Reading books has helped me stay sane in this weird COVID-hit world, and my wish is for more people to read books and feel inspired.

Find your why

Finding what makes you tick, what your core purpose and passion is, will help you filter out a lot of unnecessary stuff in your life. There are some of us that get pulled in a hundred different directions on any given day. If this is you, and you’re finding yourself fraught with time, you need to find your why. Read Simon Sinek’s book ‘Find your why’ on how to do it and get to work! I promise they’ll be the most worthwhile 2-3 hours of your life.

Value your time

Value and create more time for yourself. Most of the time in our days goes towards attending others’ requests. In dentistry, our time is for our patients and staff, at home, our time is for our spouse and errands, on the drive, our time is for a podcast or our spotify playlist. When are you in control?

Start with waking up an hour early and creating time in your schedule to journal, enjoy your morning coffee, or meditate. Get as close as possible to your thoughts. Understand what you’re thinking. Give yourself some ‘me time’ and ‘self-love’ before starting the day. I wish I’d done this throughout my 20’s. I started doing this only in the last 2 years and it has helped me remain creative, start my day on a positive note and feel calm.    

Any other things you wish you did in your 20s? Comment below!