25 is an interesting age. I have friends who are married with kids. I have other friends that are probably shrugging off an unexplainably painful hangover (it’s Thursday morning for reference). I have people asking when I’m going to get married and others asking when I’m coming with them to the club. It seems like no one has any idea of what the fuck I should be doing at 25.
Collectively we can get carried away comparing ourselves to everyone else. Mike from college has a great job and a golden retriever with his long term girlfriend. Megan just had her third kid and her husband just got a promotion. Ryan is getting married and just bought a tiny house. This is the shit we hear about regularly at 25.
I’m here to remind everyone including myself that we don’t all want the same things and that’s OKAY. I don’t want a fucking golden retriever and a safe job. I don’t want to get married to a girl I’ve fuckin known for 6 months because I think she’s the one. I definitely don’t want a fucking tiny house. I’m not the play it safe guy, I never have been, it’s not in my character. Has being the not safe guy caused me pain? Abso-fucking-lutely. Would I change my path for anything? Not a chance.
To anyone that has read this far — I want you to get really fuckin clear about what you want. Like details. The scarlet red Ferrari, the cobblestone driveway, the 3 beautiful kids, the work life balance, the Forbes cover, the wife or husband that could still be a swimsuit model into their 40s, the Nike shoe deal, ALL OF IT. What do you really fucking want?
Once you’re clear on what YOU want you’ll have an easier time staying on your path and saying fuck it to what everyone else is doing. Maybe you actually do want the safe job and the safe spouse and the white picket fence — that’s okay too, that’s actually fucking awesome, I just want you to make sure it’s what you actually want. For you. Not for your mom or dad. Not for your girlfriend or boyfriend. For fucking you.
So to all of my mid 20s readers — I’m asking you to do something that may be foreign to you — I want you to want things. I want you to want them so fucking bad that nothing clouds your vision — not even the 17th Facebook engagement you’ve seen this week.