6 Tips for Navigating a Quarter-Life Crisis

Entering the latter half of your 20s or early 30s into such a digital and fast-paced society can be quite the challenge. There’s no rule book or set of guidelines to help you understand every emotion, accomplishment, and difficulty that comes into your life. Also, as a millennial, you are exposed to a specialized set of experiences that no other generation has dealt with before. 20-year-olds aren’t just navigating their own lives within their own friend groups and their own environments.

These days, with the overwhelming amount of information that millennials can take in on a daily basis, you are now subconsciously carrying the weight of an entire generation of people you don’t know.

Managing Your Quarter-Life Crisis

Every success, challenge, thought, and experience of those you come across on social media can unknowingly be downloaded into your own brain in the form of comparison, regret, doubt, and pressure. However, there are a number of ways that you can prepare yourself to overcome that stressful quarter-life crisis in every facet. Whether it’s an emotional, mental, financial, or social struggle, here are some great tips to help you conquer this stage of life.

Take a Break

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A large part of finding stability and purpose in your life is really stepping back from such a busy society and leaving room for your mind to “breathe.” This is a common struggle for many of us because of how connected we all are. For some, this break from social media, events, and busy schedules gives us a fear of missing out.

However, with a little strategy, it can be just what you need to get yourself in a positive and productive headspace. If need be, try adopting a relaxation schedule to start. For some, this can be dedicating days away from social interaction. For others, relaxation may come by taking the time to sit and think or even just dance freely for an hour. Whatever form of a break you decide to take on, rest assured that over time you will develop a greater urge to step back from the world and spend more time with yourself.

Confer With Yourself

In order to successfully conquer this mid-life crisis, you must have a serious talk with yourself — yup, just you. Taking the time to speak out loud or write down important goals and plans for your life can help you to fully hear and dissect each thought. Some great questions you can start with are:

• Who am I?
• What am I passionate about?
• What and who do I love?
• How do others perceive me?
• Am I happy with who I am?
• Do I like where I live?
• Do I feel fulfilled in my career?
• Am I happy with my financial circumstances?
• If I could change anything about my life, what would it be?

Questions like these are great starting points for discovering who you are currently and who you wish to be in the future. Many times, they open up the doors for the pursuit of lost dreams and aspirations which, in turn, can transform you into the newfound self that you hope to become.

If there aren’t any new dreams and discoveries left to make, questions like these will help with reminding you of who you are. Living in such a deeply-connected world, it’s easy to drown in other likes, dislikes, thoughts, and opinions and ultimately, begin to forget your own. So at the very least, a regular conversation with yourself can bring to light all that you are without the outside voices.

When it comes to your career, lay out your plan of attack for getting to your desired position. If it’s moving up in your current company, you should be connecting and working with higher-ups to express your interest and become familiar with your desired position.

However, if you want to change your career field entirely, do your research on the qualifications that are necessary for that particular path. Walking into a new field blindly can bring on added stress that could’ve been avoided. So instead, work on skill development ahead of time to help you be the best candidate for the position.

Also, in your late 20s and early 30s, you will likely be tackling large financial decisions and adjusting to exciting transitions like buying a new home, going back to school, or starting a family. To ensure success throughout each of these periods, you should prioritize planning and strategy in regard to how you will allocate your money and achieve financial freedom down the line.

When financing your new home or education, you should explore all options that will give you a headstart on saving and financing a potential loan. A great tactic for planning ahead for these transitions is getting preapproved for your home loan or student loan. Both of these are key to understanding exactly how much you can afford and planning accordingly for it.

When starting a new family with a spouse or children, you should really look to personalized budgets to help organize all the money coming in and out of your household. Developing small financial plans such as these ahead of time can save you a lot of time and money in the future.

Take Your Time

A common myth that many millennials believe these days is that they are behind in life. Whether it’s because you are stuck at a job you aren’t passionate about or you just haven’t been able to find a stable and quality relationship, rest assured that this is normal. In fact, about 60% of millennials across a range of countries admit to this period of doubt surrounding their careers, relationships, and finances.

So now that you know you’re not alone, realize that you don’t have to rush. Instead of sprinting into every goal, you have made for yourself, just stride. By definition, striding allows you to take long, decisive steps in the right direction as opposed to rushing into everything. In other words, prioritize quality over quantity. If you have to wait a few extra years to save for the house you want, then so be it, because many will regret the rushed choices they made due to outside pressure.

It’s important to remember that there’s no one timing your life. Everything you have done and will do is in perfect timing for you; exactly as it should be. So, eliminate all unrealistic expectations you have pinned on yourself and adopted from others. Instead, relieve yourself of the pressure and allow room for a little more freedom and flexibility.

Invest in Yourself

Arguably one of the most important things you can do to overcome a quarter-life crisis is to invest in yourself! You are the most important person in your life and you should consistently treat yourself as such.

Once you have written down or established your passions, values, and goals, you should begin putting them into action. For example, if you have a passion for travel and adventure, start planning your next vacation. If you want to prioritize your hygiene in the future, adopt a self-care routine as well.

Be sure to make the point of doing these activities solely for your own personal growth. Try to avoid asking for outside thoughts and opinions on what you choose to do and instead, dive in fully to each activity just because you want to.

While every experience may not be as exciting as you had dreamed, it will still help you to find yourself and discover what is and isn’t for you. Essentially, there’s no real downside to investing time, money, or care into yourself. Whether you enjoy it or not, you’ll likely learn something new about yourself that you can carry into the future.

Small steps like these take your ideas from just abstract ideas and expand them into tangible actions within your regular routine. Instead of just hoping for a better life in the future, you will slowly but surely start living your desired life now.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of counseling, therapy, or mental health experts. Depending on which you choose, they are trained to listen and help you discover exactly what you’re looking for mentally, personally, financially, socially, or career-wise. If you can, try to schedule a regular appointment for additional support.

The bottom line

A quarter-life crisis is different today than it has been in previous decades because of the intense connectivity that millennials face. Luckily, these steps are great ways to bring yourself back to the person you truly are and desire to be.

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