Well this is 25. Yesterday was my birthday and if I’m being honest I’ve been dreading turning 25 this entire year. Do you know why? It’s because I’ve placed so much pressure on myself (as well as taking on pressure from others) to have accomplished certain things by this age. Ever since I was younger I had envisioned where my life would be at this point…When I thought about life at 25 I envisioned having a hot husband who loved me, two little ones on my hips, being graduated from college and working on getting settled into a home and so much more. Newsflash, it’s nowhere close to being where I had pictured.  And that feeling is more than gut wrenching. These are all milestones I had set for myself and now being here it’s disappointing that I haven’t accomplished them.

Don’t worry this post will become less depressing because guess what? This week I’ve been doing a TON of deep thinking about milestones and where I’ve been in life and how much I’ve accomplished despite not reaching certain milestones. What I decided is that creating goals for ourselves is so very important, but creating timelines for big lifetime milestones is not. In reality life is a roller coaster and ultimately we cannot control every single aspect of our lives. Think about where you were at four years ago, now think about how much you’ve grown since then, what you’ve been through since then and how that is benefiting your life currently. Creating milestone deadlines in our heads is self sabotage. A set up for disappointment. Why would we ever want to rush finding love for ourselves? Or potentially having kids before we are adult enough to be parents? These things shouldn’t be rushed, they should have thought put into them and take time to cultivate. When you are rushing your life to meet milestones you won’t be taking the time to enjoy the growth and progress that comes along with facing struggles and learning patience.

Each year for my birthday since I was 19 I get up bright and early and start my day off going to the temple. This year I worked a night shift the day before and after my birthday so I didn’t have time to do a session, but I still drove to and sat on temple grounds. Usually during these days I’d be thinking about how I’m another year older and how I still haven’t accomplished the big milestones I had in mind. But this year was different. This year I’ve decided it’s a waste of energy to worry about what hasn’t happened in my life yet and to start putting energy towards having faith in gods timing for the milestones in my life. Like I said before, we cannot control every aspect of our lives and life is a rollercoaster. But when we take the time to have faith in our Heavenly Fathers plan for us it will allow us to enjoy the ride.

Stop worrying about your age. Stop worrying about the fact that you aren’t married. Stop worrying about not having the house of your dreams. Stop worrying about not being settled into a huge career. Create goals and accomplish them. Enjoy your life as it comes to you. Don’t rush it.

XOXO,

Lex