Getting a New Lease on Life in Your 30s

You are 30-something and feeling stalled. You have a career that no longer excites you; you are working long hours and feeling drained. What’s worse, things in your personal life have become mundane and boring. You spend a lot of time watching TV or surfing the web, and your love life could certainly use a boost.

Sounds like it’s time for a full makeover. Luckily, you are young enough to do just that. Now, where will you begin? Here are the steps you should take to get your new lease on life.

Create Two Bucket Lists

Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” And so, all change must begin with a plan – a bucket list of sorts.

When we think of bucket lists, we think of things that people want to do before they die. It can include such things as travel to specific places.

But your bucket list is much shorter in time span and it will take some serious thought about shorter-term goals. One of these lists will be related to your career, and one will be related to your personal life.

Let’s Talk Career

You are a millennial. And the stats show that the average time one of you stays at the same job is 2.7 years. You consider yourself very mobile and, if a job doesn’t please you, you find something else. It’s time to explore other avenues to have success. After all, other research predicts that young people in the workforce today will change actual careers about 3-4 times in their lifetimes.

What do you want from a career? Is there another career field that has grabbed your interest?

Make a list of what you want and what interests you most. Then make a plan of how you will get there. Perhaps you will pursue another degree. Perhaps you will look for a job environment in which you feel you are part of the “big picture” of the company’s mission and goals. 

Put your plan into place and implement it. Might it change again? Yes, and that is just fine.

Let’s Talk Personal Life

Again, what are your goals for a personal life? Do you want to travel more? Do you want marriage and a family, a home, or to live in a specific part of the country? Make a list of all that you want in order to achieve personal satisfaction.

Again, make your plan. For example, you would like to find a permanent relationship. Visit this app and connect with a host of other singles your age who are looking for the same thing. Get out and explore other interests and hobbies where you may meet others who share those interests.

You are young enough to achieve all of these personal goals.

How to Stick to Your Plan

Developing a plan is, admittedly, the easy part of this journey of yours. Far more difficult is to stay on track throughout that journey because we humans tend to have short attention spans, and sometimes it’s easier to just back off. You will need some strategies if you are to stick to your plan.

Make Your Goals a Priority Every Day

When you wake in the morning, remind yourself that you have goals to work toward. What will you do today toward those goals? You have your plan. Write down what you will do today to keep that plan on track. Will you refine your resume? Will you enroll in that coursework? Will you contact someone you met and arrange a date?

Write Down What You Plan to Do Today

When you write down what you are going to do, you are far more likely to do it. A goal is achieved by following the steps of a plan. Writing down a step for the day will keep you focused.

Find Someone to Hold You Accountable

Tell a trusted friend about your goals and plans. Explain the timeline you have set to reach the steps of your plan. Ask the friend to keep pestering and reminding you of where you need to be and what you need to be accomplishing, at least every week. When we tell others of our plans, we put more pressure on ourselves to implement them.

Track Your Progress

You have your plans in writing. Each step should be in chronological order. If you were to enroll in that coursework so you could begin the next term, is that step completed? If you have planned to set a date with that person you met online, have you done so?

Reward Yourself

Each time you can cross off a step of your plan, do more than just pat yourself on the back. Do something tangible for yourself – buy that new set of headphones you’ve been coveting.

Let’s Wrap

You want to make major changes in your life. What would those changes look like if you accomplished them? Set your goals, develop plans, and put those plans in writing, step by step. Find someone to help you stay on track, and reward yourself once you accomplish each step in the process. It sounds simple, but only you can make those dreams reality.