Introduction to the book I never wrote

This is written for people who struggle to figure out if they are on the right path in life. The ones who wonder if they are spending their time wisely, the ones who feel overwhelmed by choice, the ones who are curious about opportunities, and the ones who are looking for inspiration. It is particularly for the people who are 20-something that are going through life’s rollercoaster as they are witnessing friends getting married, losing friends, seeing friends without jobs, friends starting families, friends starting businesses, leaving school, starting in school, partying, studying, getting new hobbies and dreams.? All of these things are perfectly natural, yet they feel terrifyingly defining and permanent. I find it fascinating and scary as my own life seems to be more defined than ever as my 20’s unfold, while I am overly intrigued and excited as my whole life still seems to be in front of me.?

This piece is based on my never ending questioning of myself; whether I am doing the right thing, if what I am doing today will take me to where I want to be in the future, and where do I even want to be in the future??

I am 28 myself. One moment I think I am a rockstar that can do absolutely anything I put my mind to. I even have a tendency to be a tad arrogant at times, thinking I can do most stuff well, and even better than the majority. The next moment I am doubting if I am good enough to hold the job I have and fear the people around me have too high thoughts of me. In other words, I have learned that I at times suffer from the Dunning Kruger Effect and the Imposter Syndrome.??

Then I relax for a moment and feel proud of myself. I feel balanced, energised, hungry for life and all its richness. As I am enjoying my balanced state of mind, I find myself browsing for news or scrolling through my feed on LinkedIn or Instagram and I feel an instant anxiety and heavy doubt. This does not happen everyday, week or month, but boy does it happen.?

I feel afraid that I am behind, scared if I will ever know and become what I want to be, and I feel that people are ahead of me in life. I feel ordinary. I am not even sure what being ahead nor being ordinary means. Nonetheless, I feel irritated and uncomfortable. Mostly because I have a hard time dealing with this fluffy feeling. I am not sure what to do with it, but I feel that it is there. I find that it can be difficult to talk about, but also difficult to tackle. That is because whenever I try to introspect by zooming in on the thoughts that produce this anxiousness they keep changing their character and never seem very specific, but the feeling stays. Sometimes it is dormant and my mind can run freely without being caught up in questioning myself, and sometimes the feeling takes over. As I talk to friends, family, colleagues and read the news, I realise that I am not alone. Many feel a certain amount of doubt about their path in life, and particularly people in their 20-somethings.

I am well aware that not everyone can or want to be Forbes 30 under 30, astronauts, digital nomads, in a relationship, have children and all of that. I do not believe one path in life is better than another, at all. However, I do know that the path I desire to take is the path of peace and growth with full attention to enjoying the ride, without this feeling of anxiousness and doubt. I hope this piece will provide its readers with a sense of calm, clarity and free up headspace for the peaceful path, knowing that you are not alone. ?

Take care & remember to talk to each other.

If you are curious, this piece of text was intended to be an introduction to a book I never got on to writing. I wanted to call it "20 Piece of Advice for People in Their 20-somethings". After the introduction, I wanted the book to have 20 chapters. Each chapter should be dedicated to a person I look up to that are past their twenties, and contain a short biography of them followed by 20 advice these people would give to themselves in their twenties, based on what they know now. Maybe I will pick up the writing again later, but for now I just wanted to share this with you.