Here Is The Quarter-Life-Crisis Pep Talk That Will Make You Feel A Lot Better About Everything

I hate the word, but I’ll say it: I’m a millennial. Yuck.

I don’t have kids, I’m not married, and almost everything I do revolves around ME. I do what I want, when I want, and there’s no one tugging on my leg to be picked up or so kindly keeping me company while I pee.

Instead, I have a great job with some pretty amazing people where I get to use my creative marketing skills on a daily basis. So why is there that nagging feeling that I’m just not doing enough?

I blame the internet. Online, we have the opportunity to mold our lives into what we want others to see, i.e. how the lives of YouTube content creators can appear flawless. On top of this, we’ve been conditioned since childhood to compare our personal accomplishments to those of our peers, to see if we ‘measure up.’ “Am I good enough?” we worry. We spend our days carefully crafting our LinkedIn profiles and searching Indeed for the latest posting, just in case we miss a new or better opportunity than the job we’re currently in. We’re never happy being ourselves and breathing for a second.

As a result, I’ve come up with a coping mechanism for this feeling of inadequacy, or rather, a few things that I remind myself that help in quelling any self-doubt. Maybe you’ll find them useful as well. Here are some things to remember:

1. You are moving at your own pace, trying your hardest, and doing what’s best for you. Don’t lose sight of your goals and yourself by trying to be someone you’re not.
2. You’re busy at work for at least eight hours every day, and you just don’t have the time to do everything.
3. You have a long time before you “need” to think about having kids, if that’s something you choose to do. Studies show that women who have children after 35 have increased memory function, due to the boost in hormones. There’s no rush!
4. You’re independent and don’t need to conform to societal (even if just local) standards to pacify family members, friends, or that rude old lady in church. Do you.
5. Creating quality content takes time. If you’re a writer or you host a blog and want to publish a solid post with research behind it, it’s going to take some time to organize things.

The quarter life crisis happens to a lot of people; don’t let it get to you too much. As Leslie Knope once said, “I love personal crossroads.” It’s okay to just enjoy it and do your best.