33 Things Everyone Should Stop Doing In Their 30s – Business Insider
Paul Johnson, Senior Copywriter: I’m looking down the barrel of my 45th birthday, and I’m still guilty of about 10 of these sins. Does that say something about me, or this list? I’m sure I’m below average when it comes to meeting the standards of full-blown adulthood, particularly when measured against my age, but what’s wrong with “seeking approval from other people”? If you spend a great deal of effort to gain that approval, I guess that could be considered immature. What would be the definition of “seek” in this context?
Shela Ward, Copywriter: With three years to go until I turn 30, I’m going to enjoy my “get out of jail free” card as long as I can. I’m only guilty of about 22 items on this list, so I guess I need to step up my game and get the most out of the remainder of my 20s. To respond to Paul, I understood “seeking approval from other people” as the kind of thing where, like, you dress or act a certain way to get approval from a certain group and you put a lot of effort into being “cool” (or whatever term kids are using these days). The one I take issue with on this list is “sleeping away your entire weekend instead of doing something fun or productive.” Who’s to say sleeping ISN’T fun or productive for me? I’m on the go all week, so occasionally, I’ll use a weekend to catch up on my sleep and Netflix binges. That extra sleep allows me to be “productive” the rest of the time. And sleep is ALWAYS fun.
Paul: Hmm, so maybe I’m guilty of just nine. If I wanted approval from my peers, I would sport khakis and tuck my shirt in during the week and wear “no-show” socks on the weekend. (I will spare Shela my long rant about grown, middle-aged men wearing socks that are designed for cheerleaders – she’s heard it plenty.) But sleep! Like Shela, I’m a big fan. Very few weekend activities are more enjoyable than an afternoon nap in the sun. But interestingly, it took me until my 40s to figure out how to sleep in or indulge in naps. And speaking of being old, I’ve collected a lot of friends over the years that aren’t worth the effort (Number 8: “Keeping bad friends around out of convenience…or [laziness]”). But that’s what’s good about moving every five years or so as I’ve done – you can leave everyone behind. Oh, and none of those friends are “bad,” they’re just boring or insufferable.
Shela: I’ve kept around some pretty toxic friends, but I’ve also let a lot of them go. The ones I keep, I do so out of a sense of duty or “history together.” It’s probably unhealthy, but…whatever, I’m not 30 yet. Number 9 (“Buying anything and everything you want when you’re shopping”) is sometimes an issue for me. I don’t allow myself to go shopping very often because I know when I do, I’ll spend an ungodly amount of money. My biggest downfall is shoes (I have so many, they are literally spilling out of my closet and there are more in boxes throughout the house). My only saving grace is that the shopping options in the area are so bad, I’m not often tempted to even bother with shopping. But then I remember the internet, and suddenly I have packages showing up at my door every few days.