Here’s How An Existential Crisis In Your 30s Is Different From Your 20s

A common existential crisis of your 20s is not knowing when to care or not care what people think. In your relationship choices, your clothing choices, your music taste, and more, it can be really hard to discern between when it is a good time to go wild and when it is a good time to stay conservative.

In your 30s, the existential crisis seems to be “Why bother at all?” You now know that relationships should be classy, clothing choices depend on the situation, and a helter skelter music taste is cathartic. But now you’re wondering, why should I cook anything at all if I can buy it? Why should I try to make a joke if this person might not laugh? Why should I go out if I can have fun staying in?

We were all hoping that the weight of our 20s existential crisis would be lifted upon our 30s birthdays and we would have lightness to our step associated with kids who don’t know what work is yet. But the weight continues at times. Sometimes it feels heavier.

We gained so many amazing skills in our 20s, like cooking, a sense of humor, and social skills. So why not want to use them at all? Retirement is so far away, work-wise, so maybe it just seems like retiring our skills, in somewhat of our prime for so many things, is cathartic. It’s not.

First of all, you want to stay emotionally healthy. Even if you are too tired to cook, or make a joke, or go out, releasing creativity, humor, and social interaction, can be a way for us to feel healthy. Sure, I’m not an expert here. I didn’t write a book about emotional health. But don’t tell me you disagree with me, right?

Next, the 30s are prime years for monetization trajectory. Baking a new recipe you invented, reciting a piece of standup you heard, or driving an hour to see a friend for their birthday are all actually productive activities when it comes to monetization skills. See that hobby, effort, and drive go into your job, as you are creative, personable, and loyal.

You don’t want to lose your skills, because soon we’re all going to get really ugly. We’re all going to lose our husbands, God forbid. We’re going to lose our parents, God forbid. We’re going to lose our siblings, God forbid. Imagine if you have an outlet like Rachael Ray, the sense of humor of Wanda Sykes, and the social skills of Drew Barrymore.

We can’t forget that learning is fun. Learning is fun when you’re a small child, then there are the grind years, and then in our 30s we still feel really accomplished from what we still retain. In your senior years, you start signing up for classes again. What happened in between? Your brain and hands are still so good. Use them!