Our 30s are a weird mix of being together but still getting it together. You’re not a rookie at life anymore, but you’re not at that stage yet that you feel like you’ve got it figured out. But the good news is that your decisions can have long-term repercussions without feeling cast in cement forever. If you’re looking to shake things up (for the good), here are ten options that can lead to an even brighter tomorrow.
1. Changing Careers (Even if It’s Late in Life)
By now, you’ve probably spent several years in a job that once felt right, but now, it feels like a habit more than a passion. Making a career transition can be frightening, but many do it successfully in their 30s. Whatever it is that you want to do–a career transition into a different type of industry, starting your own business, or freelancing–now is the time to consider if your job still aligns with who you are today.
2. Travel More (Even If It Means Less Stability)
Maybe you worked your way through your 20s and now have the means to see the world. Or maybe you realized that waiting around until “the right time” to see the world is a losing game. Long trips, remote work, or even living temporarily overseas can teach you things that no job or degree ever could.
3. Being More Intentional with Friendships
Friendships in your 30s shift in a way that no one warns you about. Everyone is busy with their life now, some move to other towns, and it takes more effort to maintain people. Quality over quantity is what you have to focus on now. Let go of those friendships that become obligatory or one-sided and spend more energy on those that do matter. Pick up that call, schedule that hangout, and don’t let those “we should hang out soon” texts become hypothetical.
4. Being Wiser with Money
Your 20s were spent making errors with your finances. Your 30s were spent making it right. This might have been aggressively eliminating debt, creating that investment account at long last, or getting a clear plan in place for your financial life. If you’ve been winging it with your finances up to this point, now’s a good time to take control.
5. Prioritizing Health (Not Gym Memberships)
If you’ve been treating your body like it’s invincible up until now, your 30s will let you know otherwise. This is when all those all-nighters and bad choices come to haunt you. Health doesn’t necessarily equate to hitting the gym—it equates to sleeping right, eating right, and actually making it to your doctor’s office instead of wishing something will magically heal itself.
6. Family Decision Making (Whatever That Means to You)
Not everyone wants the same things out of family. Some people can’t wait to have children, some people don’t want to have children at all, and some people fall somewhere in between. If you want children but aren’t ready yet, look into options like egg freezing-or become an egg donor for someone else can be something to consider. Whatever you decide, your 30s are a good time to think through what family means to you and if there’s anything you can do now to preserve your options.
7. How to Say No without Guilt
By now, you’ve probably spent years saying yes to things out of obligation. Social events, more work, time-wasting favors—does that ring a bell? Saying no (no guilt trip required) is a skill that will save you from burnout.
8. Letting Go of That Time You Believed You Had to Follow
We all had some timeline in our head of where we would be at 30. Maybe you had envisioned you’d be married by this point, have your own house, or have your dream job. If it doesn’t look like that right now, that’s fine. Life’s not a neat to-do list, and your 30s can be a good time to release yourself from measuring yourself against expectations that no longer work for you.
9. Investing in Your Own Development (You’re Not Finished Yet)
You don’t have to allow self-development to slow down with your increasing years. Whether it’s therapy, learning new things, reading more books, or shaking off archaic ways of thinking, your 30s are your time to invest in yourself to become your best self. Development is not just what you do on the outside—it’s what you have in your head.
