How late is too late in life?

Today we talk about - living life as a journey - not as a race.

Yes, we all heard in 3 Idiots that 'Life is a race, If you don't run fast enough you will be like a broken anda.' How true is it? And more importantly - How fast is fast enough?

My dad on Monday evening told me ''You must see some masters courses, this is your last chance of doing it'' and I was shook. Yes, I want to study more, but I have done that for 19 years and masters is a big deal, not a checklist I would want to check-off, let me think about it first but more than that - how come is it my last chance?

What does last chance mean? All the masters courses allow anyone to pursue them, yes, some have age limitations and we might be able to avoid that. We have the wide option of online diplomas if we want to get into it - so how about that? Last chance, is it so?

Or is it my last chance because I am 25, and I am running late to tick this off of my checklist? Or will it somehow disrupt the perfect timeline of '25 pe naukri, 27 pe chokri and 30 mein bache aur phir maut ka intezaar'. I kept thinking about this monologue long after the conversation had ended, from rebelling to spiralling into 'I am late, I should start prepping' and I couldn't think of anything else, I had so much planned for the week which went in vain.

As I started to see different people around me including my cousins, some friends and a lot of strangers - at 25, some were married, some were preparing for their higher studies, some had been married for a year, some heading to divorce, some were still trying to find a job that they love, some are trying to build a business and others were doing a decent job, partying on the weekends, and going back to work on Monday.

From when we are born till we are 22 - we have a set plan - Pre-school, School, High School and Bachelors and everyone is on the same track - in a different manner, but it is after 22 or 23 that you realise, you need to figure it out - what will make you happy, what you have to do now, take some time to find your strengths and weaknesses and live a little between all of it - socialise, take care of your health and brain, make some money. There is a lot on our plate which goes unnoticed by most parents and relatives.

Between 22-30, we need to accept that there might have been a set plan or compulsion back in 80s or 90s but we are here to break that pattern, we can find and make our own way, we don't need to rush because we are a certain age. We can take time and figure it out with a little support from the people around us, from spending more time with ourselves, from working on ourselves.

I am not saying to be laid back and not do anything. Obviously, this is time we are highly energetic and can do something for ourselves that our future self is going to be thankful for and I am here for it. It is the worry of my future-self which made me start this newsletter, when I got to know how several people go through the same thoughts. But as long as we are doing that, trying to find what is the right thing for us to do next which will make us happier now and in the 5 years, which will give us a quality life, that is enough.

It will look different for everyone - for some that is holding a job you love and enjoying the rest of the time with your friends, for some it will be getting your health back on track and working or trying to figure out a business you might be good at. Someone it might be upskilling each day, for others it might be the right time to get married, or to have a kid or to celebrate a promotion, and that is okay. As long as we love where we are at, it is okay.

Something more that I have learnt is be a Second-Order thinker meaning to think 'and then what' - So that you are working and knowing the consequences of it. So, it will just make you a little more aware of it how can you build a plan for your absolutely unique self, not walk on a given trajectory.

And this is a reassurance letter - you are not late, this is not your last chance at anything, you have a plan, you want to take a risk, you want to work at something of your own, or just want to be there enjoying the 20's, take a deep breathe and take in that you have made it this far in life - everything is absolutely is acceptable.

Just keep working, don't be Garfield and hate Mondays.

With Hope, Ayushi