11 things everyone should start doing in their 30s
The older you get, the harder it is to change your habits.
But in your 30s, you’re still pretty moldable, and there’s time to adopt new, positive behaviors.
To help you pinpoint the changes you’ll want to make, we consulted recent Quora threads on this critical decade and highlighted the most compelling responses.
Read on for the best ideas.
1. Start laughing at yourself
“Laugh at yourself, laugh at the absurdity of life, laugh at the goodness and the badness of every situation,” writes Quora user Cyndi Perlman Fink.
Being able to find humor in your own struggles may be important for your overall health and happiness. Research suggests that people who are able to laugh at themselves are generally more cheerful.
2. Start appreciating your family and friends
In your 20s, you may be so busy getting an education and launching your career that family and friends fall by the wayside. Your 30s are a good time to get back in touch and remember how much you love spending time with them.
As for family, “if you can find a way to make a connection with them, you may find some things in common with them, more than you expect,” says Robert Walker.
And as for friends, Nan Waldman says: “Nurture them. Laugh with them. Be silly too. Contribute to their survival and enjoyment of life. Take the time every week to be in touch.”
3. Start keeping a journal
“Journal your life! Your written records will entertain and endear in your future,” writes Mark Crawley.
You don’t necessarily have to keep a secret notebook under your bed — a digital photo album with captions works just as well.
4. Start maintaining a healthy weight
Several Quora users noted the importance of maintaining a healthy weight in your 30s. “Keep your weight at a normal level that’s good for your body,” writes Fink.
To do that, it’s important to stay active and eat right. A growing body of research suggests that if you’re looking to lose weight, your diet makes more of a difference than your exercise habits.
5. Start saving money
One of the most important financial habits to start practicing in your 30s is spending less than you earn. “Make it a habit to live below your means,” writes David Leon. “I know way too many people who live hand to mouth at 50 due to excessive spending at 30.”
Bonus: If you start saving for retirement early, you’ll reap the amazing benefits of compound interest.
6. Start chasing a big goal
Up until now, you may have only dreamed about starting a family, buying a house, or earning an advanced degree. Now’s the time to go for it.
“It’s easy to put things off,” says Bill Karwin. “But it’s really true that time starts accelerating as you enter your 30s, and it keeps accelerating. The time that you’ll get around to those dreams should be now.”
7. Start learning from your mistakes
You probably made plenty of mistakes in your 20s. That’s OK — as long as you grow from your experiences. That requires accepting responsibility for what went wrong and understanding why it went wrong.
After all, as Amanda Frisk says, “everything in life is a way for us to learn, to be better.”
8. Start developing a love of reading
Super-successful people from Bill Gates to Oprah Winfrey boast a lifelong love of reading and literature.
Here’s how to start emulating them, according to Dylin Redling:
“Set aside at least 30 minutes every day to read something (and I’m not talking about a blog or social media post).
“I’m talking about an actual book — it can be fiction or non-fiction, hard copy or electronic. The more you read, the more you learn, understand other viewpoints, and develop your curiosity and creativity.”
9. Start learning to meditate
“No matter how privileged your life may be, you will find yourself under stress,” Redling says. “The best way to deal with all this stress is to know how to calm and center your mind, and the best way to do that is with a daily meditation practice.”
Indeed, research suggests that a regular meditation practice can decrease stress and boost memory and concentration.
If you’re a first-time meditator, remember that you’re not trying to “calm your mind.” Instead, focus on the sensations of your breath and simply observe your thoughts as they arise.
10. Start saying ‘yes’ to opportunities
Writes Karl Pillemer: “Your orientation at work should be to embrace new challenges at every turn, saying ‘yes’ as often as possible. And one of the most frequently reported regrets about work are those times when opportunity knocked and they didn’t open the door.”
11. Start defining your personal values
Anna Lundberg quotes the late Stephen Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“: “It doesn’t really matter how fast you’re going if you’re heading in the wrong direction.”
Lundberg goes on: “[T]he number one priority at this stage is getting clarity on what your priorities actually are! A great way to do this is to define your personal values, getting to a list of your top three is ideal.”
You can then craft those values into a personal mission statement, which will help motivate you to be a better version of yourself.
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