All I see and hear these days is the pressure we have to be successful. I mean, what does that even mean? Success is different for everyone. But there seems to be a big rush to get to life milestones in your 20’s. University, job, marriage, house, kids, promotions, self-employed – we want all these things and we want them now.
When I was looking for another job (and failing at it!) I started noticing more and more people putting tweets out saying things like ‘I’ve just been offered my dream job!’. It’s hard.
It’s hard to watch other people be successful in the things you are not successful in. It’s hard to feel like you are falling behind. It’s hard to feel like in your 20’s you had a decent job and flat and now you’re in your 30’s and all those people around you are now getting better jobs, bigger houses, married, starting families and there you are – still in the same place you were in your 20’s and feeling a bit stuck.
That’s how I feel. In my early 20s, I became a manager right out of university. It was a decent job and though my salary has increased a fair bit, I am still on the same work level. My friends that were earning less than me are now being promoted and I don’t want to go any higher my current job since those jobs I had my eye on have been since made redundant.
I am unfulfilled and frustrated in my career and after trying to look for jobs late last year and being unsuccessful in 3 interviews in a different sector due to them wanting people with more experience, I took a break from the job hunt due to my self-esteem being beating to a pulp with all the rejection.
The thing is, there are things I have achieved in the past 10 years that I need to remind myself of. So that’s what I am going to do now.
- Ran two half marathons.
- Stuck to a fitness routine and gained muscle.
- Bought a house with my boyfriend.
- Run three websites that are registered as a business.
- Earn a part-time income through my blog.
- Had amazing blog opportunities.
- Stopped smoking.
- Stopped drinking.
- Am completing a distance learning course in marketing.
- Got 3 interviews that went well, meaning I didn’t completely fall apart.
- Saved money for a house deposit.
- Refuse to allow people to treat me like crap.
- Have a stable long term relationship.
- Am financially secure.
- Have great friends.
What have you achieved in the last 10 years?
