It’s never too late to chase your dreams. If you feel like you wasted your youth, you can overcome regrets of missed opportunities and take action toward the things that will bring you the satisfaction. (Estimated reading time: 3 minutes)
“No experience is wasted. Everything in life is happening to grow you up, to fill you up, to help you become more of who you were created to be.”
— Oprah Winfrey
Youth is a glorious time for many. It’s a time when we can explore, experiment and learn from our mistakes, so that we can grow up and decide what will work best for us later on in our lives.
However, once you cross that youth threshold, there’s subtle (or overt) pressure from society to have everything figured out and be prepared to put down roots. We should be ready to choose a life partner, have a steady career path and a solid bank account balance.
Considering the average life span of humans, this timeline to establish stability and security makes sense. But I believe that this foundation can be created in other ways that do not necessarily follow tradition.
Despite what others say, building a strong and steady foundation is an internal game, and we can decide the vehicles that will create that sense of stability within us, based on our personal values and purpose.
There are more and more people embracing unconventional lifestyles, which do not adhere to the customary ways of living, to meet their needs.
One of the biggest reasons that this trend is taking place is because people want “extended youths”, because they were unable to do everything that they wanted to do in their teens and 20s for a variety reasons.
Being a late bloomer myself, I recognize the need for more time to explore and experience more so that I can further increase my self-awareness.
I have seen many people, make the wrong choices in their relationships, careers and health in their younger years, and only begin to figure things out later on. It may be only be later that they have the insight, time and resources to turn their ship around in a direction that feels right to them. By that time many feel they like they wasted their youth and it’s too late.
If you’re one of those people, who may have “messed up” in your younger years and wasted your youth, I say don’t let the societal pressures of being your “age” stop you from realizing the dreams from your youth. It’s never too late!
35 and want to back-pack in Cambodia? Do it.
42 and want to date with no strings attached? Do it.
50 and want to go back to college? Do it.
As long as you’re not reckless or living in denial, your “age” shouldn’t stop you from doing things that you love.
Yes, there may be naysayers that will disapprove, but they’re either envious of your guts or are projecting their insecurities onto you.
So pull out that Bucket List and begin working on a plan to realize all those things that you’ve always wanted to do and revisit missed opportunities.
Let your heart sing and your spirit soar so that at the end of your life you will feel like you’ve lived your life fully- with courage, passion and faith.
All my best on your journey,
Seline
Question for you: Do feel like you wasted your youth because you didn’t do certain things when you were younger? If yes, ask yourself what is holding you back from doing it right now?
Did you like this post? Sign up below and I’ll send you more awesome posts like this every week.
Another great post Seline. Your blogs / articles / whatever you call it are extremely thought provoking. I am not one of those who has wasted my youth. But whatever work / job I have been doing since the last decade or more, doesn’t give me a sense of satisfaction. I always believe that I have been born to do something else. Here comes the frustrating part – I am still not sure what this something else is 🙂 .
My approach to life is keep on learning new things – and one day I hope to identify why I was born. I hope to identify what is that one thing for which I was born. Keep doing your great job of writing and we will continue reading it.
Cheers. Swapneel.
I truly appreciate your kind words Swapneel. I know that it’s not always easy to find a career that truly fulfills you which is why I put together a free career discovery E-book: https://thedreamcatch.com/follow-your-career-bliss/ I encourage you to read it and perhaps it can give you some kind of direction. Let me know how it works out for you. All the best!
What if you’re 40 and regret not getting the proper 20 year old college experience? “So go back to college!” Doesn’t cut it when you’re no longer 20, can’t act like you’re 20 around 20 year olds, and it would be inappropriate if you tried.
Nils, you don’t have to do the exact same thing that 20 year old does in college. You can replicate the experiences that call to you without the inappropriate behavior. Get creative and think outside the box.