Tomorrow I turn 32. I still remember when I was a college student and I hear of people who are in their 30s I would be like “Wow that is so old and in such a long distant future to me”.
Today I am in my 30s… and getting older. After my little pre-birthday party tonight (you can read about it on my Dayre tomorrow), I started reflecting about what’s different and boy is my 30s a lot different than my 20s:
- I earn more but spend less on myself. Because I’ve had a little more time to build my career, in my 30s I find I’m not too strapped for cash. So I earn more than I did in my 20s but I feel I actually spend less on myself. I increasingly save more and more for my kids education and future and the dreams of owning a sports car become more and more distant each day.
- I exercise more and watch what I eat. I never used to care about what I ate. I ate and drank whatever I felt like but things are different now. I have friends around my age who have had health issues, cancer and all sorts of different illnesses. When I go to see doctors, I no longer get a “All’s good… you’re all healthy”. Instead I get a “Your sugar is way too high. Your cholesterol needs some work too”. There’s also the realization that I have to live longer not just for myself but for my kids. So I make it a point to do more things to live a healthier life.
- I’ve become more cynical about the world. As a young adult or a teenager I always believed that I could change the world. When people saw things in a negative light I always saw it in a more positive light and believed that I could change it. Perhaps it’s over years of experience or getting burned I’m more cynical now. I’m less eager to change people’s minds if they don’t agree with me and tend to just accept their opinions and move on. It’s a more peaceful route but I do miss that fiery passionate self always eager to convince someone else otherwise.
- My parents are getting older. The more time passes the more I can see my parents age and it’s become more and more real to me now that they’re going to sooner or later need a lot of our help. We’re gonna need to take care of them and more importantly spend as much time as we can with them now because they truly are getting older.
- Time becomes a lot more expensive. I feel like I have a lot less time for myself. My time is divided between what I want to do for myself, my family and my work. It’s a tough balance to strike. In the past I could just spend days doing nothing….. these days that’s become much less of an option.
- I’m more set in my ways. I hate to admit this but it’s true. I am more set in my ways now than when I was in my 20s and I can now relate to why my parents are more set in their ways too. There are some things I want done in a specific way… like how I want my bags to be packed when I travel, or that I want to drink juice every morning or something’s wrong.
In spite of all this… do I enjoy my 30s? I’ve been thinking about it and the answer really is yes. My 20s was one of the best parts of my life (I oddly didn’t really enjoy my teens or younger). But my 30s was the first time I met my kids and while I used to think that having kids would tie me down, I don’t actually feel that way. Yes they take up a lot of my time and attention, but what they give back is well worth it.
I also enjoy that I have fewer friends but I spend a lot more time getting closer to a few very close friends. It’s different.
Ah the 30s is a nice spot to be in. I wonder what my 40s will be like but the good news is hey… I’ve got another 8 years of 30s to go.
Now it’s time for me to go to bed so I can take my kids to a childrens’ birthday party tomorrow. Good night everyone!
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space