“On my 18th birthday, I should learn to drive. On my 20th birthday, I should be in a steady relationship. By 23 yrs I should have all my degrees in order. By 25, I should have a job that pays me well! By 30, I should be married! By 35, I should have traveled the world. By 40 I should have an Audi! At 50, 60, 70 perhaps my golden years?”
~ All of US
But here you are, wondering about your blurred timeline! Maybe you are 24 and still unemployed. Maybe you are 30 and still wondering about your career choices. Maybe you are 35 and single or have had your heart broken more than once. Maybe you are 40 and still haven’t got the bank balance, the car, or the success that you had been dreaming about in your teens. Maybe you are 50 and have lost your wealth!
Only if life didn’t throw surprises and curveballs at us and just allowed us to follow our timelines in a linear path. Our timelines were supposed to act as our compass and not as invisible bubbles of stress and pressure around us.
You may feel a lack of accomplishment because your failures or success are not exactly following the age yardstick you had set for yourself. But, maybe you have accomplished more than what you credit yourself for. In your anguish, you are unable to see or appreciate.
Don’t measure your life against any generic standards forced upon by the media and society. You and your journey can be unique only if you allow life to unfold exactly the way it is meant to be. Not hurried. Not rushed. Not dictated by an invisible timeline.
What do you do when you feel your timeline is blurred?
You put your head down and keep working on what you want.
Also read: Alone in a room full of people?