PSA: 30 Is Not the New 20

Awakenings for Women, a sober living home for women in Boca Raton, Florida reports that journalists and media sources might be coining the 20’s “an extended adolescence”, but doctors and clinical researchers warn that those in their 20’s need to take absolute advantage of all the options this decade presents.

Dr. Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist and author of “The Defining Decade” gave one of the most empowering Ted Talk’s in recent years called “Why 30 is Not the New 20”. The goal of her talk: to warn 20 something’s to stop putting off life’s biggest moments and decisions until their 30s.

Psychologists, sociologists, neurologists and specialists are all in agreement: your 20s are a sweet spot for developmental growth. In your 20s, your brain completes its 2nd and last growth spurt ever, which essentially rewires it for adulthood. Studies show the most transformative time in a person’s life is in their 20s, in terms of work, love, fertility, and happiness. Personality change is most possible during this decade, as opposed to any other time in your life. Meg Jay explains that an estimated 80 percent of life’s most defining moments take place by the age of 35-  so by your mid 30’s almost all major events have already happened. Scientifically and mathematically speaking, these opportunities will not present themselves again.

The overall theme is clear: stop making destructive decisions in your 20s that you believe you can deal with later, perhaps in your 30s. Meg Jay suggests as a culture we stop “patting 20 somethings on the head and saying ‘you have 10 extra years to start your life”, as the most critical time for growth and change is now.

Drug and alcohol abuse are a clear example of incapacitating your own potential in the prime of your life. 30 is not the new 20: Now is the time to shape your life the way you want it to be. Start maximizing your potential today with the help of Awakenings for Women.