#69 The Chart of Life
Are you one of those who believe in the societal chart of life or you are the one curating your own chart? Read to know more.
Complete your School- Target Age: 18 years
Complete Bachelor’s degree- Target Age: 21/22 years
Complete Master’s degree- Target Age: 25 years
Get a Partner- Target Age: 27/28 years
Start a Family: Target Age: 30/32 years
Work- Forever post-25 years of ageDoes this chart look familiar to you? Is your mind now buzzing with all such conversations you might have had with your parents, relatives and poky neighbours and also how frustrating that sounded in your head?
To top it all, your Insta/ FB feeds are flooded with marriage, baby shower posts, and vacation posts and LinkedIn is flooded with your friends getting promoted, and starting a new venture and here you are thinking that they have a sorted life.
Well, what parameter you used to compare that? Oh did you also test their success with the age and stage of the life they are currently in and maybe you aren’t as per the chart?
If you are getting stressed because you are trailing behind the targets as per the chart, then this blog is for you!
Few questions for you.
Who created this chart?
What happens if you go off this chart?
Do you know the rationale behind this chart?
Looking around the world, is the whole world living to fulfil the targets as per the chart?
Does this chart guarantee that you will get everything you aspire to from your life?
While you are thinking about the questions, let me also give the answers which are coming to my mind (in chronological order):
Some society people
Nothing
No, but what people say is that this is the ideal way of living life and everyone kinda does this
Not really, people are out there exploring their life, and their love and making mistakes
Hahah, I wish this chart could fix my life and set the tone right. But unfortunately, this chart is not a secret sauce to everyone’s life and hence every individual is given a unique life paper to solve.
I don’t know how come we have fallen into the trap of societal norms of studying hard, getting marks to get the best education and then top the class to get the best jobs. Now we are again falling for another trap by way of this chart of life. The only difference is that the first trap was harmless but this trap can change everything.
Am I saying this chart is completely flawed and shouldn’t be followed?
No, people have followed the chart by choice and have made some right decisions in their life, or maybe you can say that this chart with some flexibility has worked out for individuals, The reason behind that was not blind faith in the chart but rather their conscious decisions and the path they have chosen which helped them.
So now, What to do?
We all know that life is not a set pattern game which you follow, learn, grow and achieve. It is flexible, filled with ups and downs and completely unique to you. This chart or any other for that matter will not solve our life problems, not answer our career questions and won’t even take decisions on our behalf for a smooth life ahead.
Everything has to be done by us and if that is the scene then why get stressed about how other people are doing or what they are saying? We should instead focus on our open questions, and what we want, figure out our path better and take all necessary steps to make our plans work.
It’s okay to take time to rework and rethink your job, career and work even at 30. You can take time to find out what you enjoy and like
Life is not a race with a finishing line. It is indeed a journey full of mysterious people, unknown paths and surprises
We have one to live and not to get stressed. Be content and happy about what you and others are doing
Finding love, a life partner, and building a family are very personal decisions and also key turning points. Don’t cage such beautiful moments into a time-bomb scene
Look at the bigger picture and not some short-term fulfilment. No matter what others are saying today, they will stick by and support you if they have to anyway and that should not be a deciding factor for you
Go out and try those activities that have been sitting in your bucket list from so long. Make new mistakes and gain new experiences to get ahead in your life
Don't judge yourself and stop taking new chances just because some past decisions turned unfavorable. Take calculated risk but don't run away from making choices and decisions
If this post today gave you some motivation to go out and create new experiences, the give a big fat thumbs up to this post.