10 Life Lessons You Must Learn Before 30

Life is the greatest teacher, and it teaches through obstacles. We learn the most from the challenges we face, and life will keep repeating the same problems until the lesson is learned. Overcoming the challenge is the only way to move forward in life.

Turning 30 happens to be a significant milestone for most folks. However, most of us turn 30 not feeling prepared to face the next stage in life. By learning these seven lessons, you will be equipped for your future.

1. Money Is Not Everything

One of the lessons you must learn before 30 is that though money is essential, but it is not everything. In your 20’s, one is excited about the freedom money offers. You are not happy about the place you live? You can move to a quieter and greener neighborhood. Health problems? You can get medication without worrying about affordability. It offers you convenience as you can afford a comfortable lifestyle.

However, we are meant to be a river and not a reservoir. Let money be a means to an end and not the end. Focus on value; i.e., connected with people, friendships, contributing to your environment and society as a whole. After all, the best things in life are free.

2. Take Care Of Your Body

Your body probably works pretty well when in your 20’s. However, the effects of your life choices will be evident as you grow older.

Moreover, your body is the vehicle to your success. It will take care of you when you take care of it. So exercise regularly, about 15 minutes to one hour daily, and ensure you live on a healthy diet. Exercise not to show off, but to celebrate what your body can do.

3. Failure Is Good

Another life lesson you must learn before 30, is that failure is necessary for your learning process. We were wired early on that failure is bad, but as you age, you will realize that not all failure is dreadful.

Failure happens to be freedom in disguise as the worst has happened; thus you can move forward. You also learn what doesn’t work, and by evaluating the lead up to the failure, you learn what you did wrong. Therefore, embrace failure. Fail fast, fail forward as it is the only path to success.

4. Listen To Your Inner Voice

How often have you had an eerie feeling about a person or a situation and ignored it only for your suspicions to be confirmed? One of the lessons you have to learn before 30 is to listen to this inner guide; to trust your gut instinct.

Yes, pay attention to what others tell you, to what you read, but ultimately listen to your guts. You have all the answers within you, and your soul/gut is your most trusted adviser.

5. Pace Yourself

When in your early 20’s, one feels like they have to do everything now. The need to get to the top, find love, experience everything, and plan our lives is too overwhelming.

However, we have limited potential, and we cannot do everything let alone do everything now. Therefore, focus on one thing at a time, be good at it, complete it, then move on to the next. Don’t rush things, but let life unfold as it should.

6. It Is All About Perspective

Everything in life seems so important; from the job you did not get, to the fight you are having, to the college that did not accept you. However, they are only important because you make them important. Perspective is one of the life lessons you should learn before 30.

How you view the world, determines how you react or don’t react.

“Life is about perspective and how you look at something. Ultimately, you have to zoom out.” – Whitney Wolfe Herd

7. You Can’t Please Everyone

It is human to want to be liked, respected, and to belong. However, it should not get to a point where you seek validation from other people. That comes from inside.

Understand that not everyone will agree with you, not everyone will like you, and not everyone will respect you. But remember, the respect that matters most is self-respect.

8. There’s No Shame in Not Knowing

No one has it all figured out. Nobody has all the answers. There’s no shame in saying “I don’t know.” Pretending to be perfect doesn’t make you perfect. It just makes you neurotic to keep up the pretense of manufactured perfection.

We have this idea that there is some kind of stigma or shame in admitting our limitations or uncertainly, but we can’t possibly know everything. We all make mistakes and mess up occasionally. We learn as we go, that’s life.

Besides—nobody likes a know-it-all. A little vulnerability makes you human and oh so much more relatable.

9. You Don’t Always Get What You Want

“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” – John Lennon

No matter how carefully you plan and how hard you work, sometimes things just don’t work out the way you want them to… and that’s okay.

We have all of these expectations; predetermined visions of what our “ideal” life will look like, but all too often, that’s not the reality of the life we end up with. Sometimes our dreams fail and sometimes we just change our minds mid-course. Sometimes we have to flop to find the right course and sometimes we just have to try a few things before we find the right direction.

10. Don’t Take Anything for Granted

We often don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone: that includes your health, your family and friends, your job, the money you have or think you will have tomorrow.

When you’re young, it seems that your parents will always be there, but they won’t. You think you have plenty of time to get back in touch with your old friends or spend time with new ones, but you don’t. You have the money to spend, or you think you’ll have it next month, but you might not.

Nothing in your life is not guaranteed to be there tomorrow, including those you love.

This is a hard life lesson to learn, but it may be the most important of all: Life can change in an instant. Make sure you appreciate what you have, while you still have it.