Today, the 23rd of June 2023, is my 25th birthday.
It’s the halfway mark of my twenties, the start of the 2nd quarter of my life and the point in time that I’m forever closer to 50 than I am to having been born. Put like that it can be a little scary.
For time, with all its infinite possibilities, is forever slipping through our hands. Without a care in the world whether we lie-in until noon or seize the day at 5am, it marches on relentlessly, always ageing us all one day older.
We can delay its effects. By looking after our bodies, keeping our minds sharp and spending it’s finite time on what matters. But, however hard we try, we cannot stop it. And nor do I believe should we want to.
Because our limited moments on this planet are what makes life worth living. For it forces us to discover the most meaningful way to spend it. And to make eternally difficult choices between the many good options that enable us to connect with who we truly are.
It’s in these sacrifices that we let go of our previous selves and embrace our ever changing identities that mature our minds to the people we can become.
For growth. As people. As friends. As ourselves.
Is what I’ve learnt life is all about.
Have I Mastered My Twenties Yet?
No. Not quite yet. But, I am getting there.
Right now, I feel like I know who I am. I know which activities give me energy. I know who I need to be surrounded by. I know where I want to go. And I know the purpose I’m happy committing my career to.
All things I had no idea about when leaving school at 18 bright-eyed bushy-tailed with a passion for learning everything I could. Since then the only constant in my life has been change. Starting three businesses. Living in twelve locations. Realising sporting achievements I thought were impossible. Meeting more inspiring people than I can count. And still making the time to reflect - through my Sunday journaling, monthly diary and quarterly voice notes. It’s been a wild ride. But, I wouldn’t change one bit of it.
Each spin of the wheel of change has made me more resilient than the last. Every time providing me with the confidence to take on even bigger challenges than the last. All while grounding me with the tools of self-regulation to recognise my emotions, soothe myself through difficult times and make the tough decisions to bounce back stronger than before.
Taking the last 12 months as just one example, it’s an insightful look into how much changes in one year of my life… On this exact date last year I was full-time freelancing, taking part in two learning cohorts (Substack Grow and Let’s Level Up Accelerator), just about returning to fitness after cycling off a cliff and spending the evening celebrating my 24th birthday at The Piano Works with my girlfriend (and housemate). Flashforward to today and I’m spending it working a half-day at a start-up, making a start on next week’s newsletter article, getting in the last few sessions before Ironman UK and (probably) going for a walk around Wimbledon Common this evening.
It seems like I’ve embraced either forward momentum or change within the different aspects of my life. And I’m here for it.
So, What’s Left To Do?
If the first half of my twenties have been a journey of discovery I expect the second half to be one of foundation building.
With less “Yes”. And more “No”.
My main intentions will be to build leverage within the future of work space, see what’s possible in my physical peak and continue connecting awesome people together I find along the way. How I do each of these will likely change. It always does. But, I fully expect the intentions to stay the same. And to be shaped into reality by regular goal setting, reflection and adjustments.
It’s going be an exciting next 5 years. I can already tell. Partly because I have the luxury of spending a lot of time with people much older than myself. Whether it be the two co-founders at The Portfolio Collective, my 29 year old (soon to be 30!) housemate and fellow triathlete Dan or all the people I meet everyday through work, I’ve got a taste of the stages of life ahead. And more importantly (and less scientifically perhaps) because it feels like it can’t be anything else.
Now don’t get me wrong…
I’m sure there’ll be more change ahead. There always is. But, at least this time I won’t be making decisions blind. I’ll be using the experiences of my early twenties to choose what I know is aligned to who I am. I’ll be surrounded by a network of friends who are only getting wiser and more mature (I hope). And I’ll be further along the path of life that I know is right for me.
So, bring on five (ten, twenty and even fifty) more laps of the sun.
Because, I’m excited for where this beautiful thing called life will take me.