Saturday is my 30th birthday.  I feel good about turning 30.  I truly feel that I have learned so much about myself in this past year and I hope that because of that, my 30’s will be a real time of accelerated growth.

In my twenties I made some arbitrary goals to reach before I was 30.  At the time I didn’t think they were arbitrary, but I also thought that I had to reach all of my goals by the time I hit 30 because I figured life would be over by then.  Not death, but in my immaturity I thought my chance of fulfilling dreams would go out the window once I hit that age.   I figured I’d be “settled down” by then.  This is the most “settled”  I’ve ever been, but I no longer think that being settled is a hindrance to fulfilling my dreams, in fact, it’s just the opposite.  Having consistency in my schedule gives me a stable launching pad to live my life.

I wrote about those goals in a post a couple of years ago.  I also wrote that my twenty something year old self didn’t know very much about my almost 30 year old self.  Even since writing that post two years ago, another huge part of me in my twenties is gone.  I no longer do photography, even though I once truly identified myself with that passion of mine.

Anyway, here’s 3 things I wish I would have done in my 20’s.  I probably wouldn’t have listened to myself though… stubborn, know it all, twenty something.  

1.  Had a consistent exercise schedule and eaten healthier

I’ve been getting up every morning and walking around Magic Island for an hour.  This week I added some push up and crunches and stretching to that as well.  In my twenties I wasn’t consistent at all with exercise, and I ate whatever tasted good instead of caring about nutrition.  As I’m turning 30, fast food really doesn’t taste as good as it used to and I now feel the different effects when I eat non nutritious foods and when I eat healthy foods and exercise.  My mood and productivity are really affected by what I eat.  It’s an ongoing battle to choose nutritious food and exercise.   What would life be like today if I would have made the hard choice to make those changes in my twenties?  Life would probably have been easier and more productive in some ways.

2.  Saved at LEAST 15% of my income for retirement

We JUST this month were able to start saving for retirement.  Like good Dave Ramsey followers we’ve been following the baby steps.  Starting to save now for retirement is better than nothing, but it’s later in the game than I’d like to have been.  We would be in a much different place if I would have from the time I started working at 15, been saving at least 15% for retirement.  I can think of some really dumb ways I wasted money in my 20’s.  15% or more, would not have hurt at all when I had a “disposable income” and was living at home.  15% over those years, wouldn’t have been a huge lump sump, but it would have been a nice nest egg that would have really added up with compounding interest.

3.  Been consistent about reading the Bible

I’ve pursued a lot of things.  Music, photography, and poured hours and hours into studying and practicing those things.  Even though I see those things as a tool in my tool belt that might come out again someday, I wished I would have been consistent in my study of the Word.  If I would have been disciplined about reading and studying the word of God I would be much more familiar with it now.  The Bible is hard, and it requires focus and discipline to sit down and read and study, but the more you read it, the more familiar it becomes, and the more the dots get connected.  What would life be like if I had put in the time and effort to be consistently disciplined about being in the Word?  How would my life be different because of a consistent pursuit of truth.  How would my mind and life have been transformed?

The good thing is that I’ve got the next decade to do all of this.  Well, really the rest of my life.  I feel much more focused now.  I’ve dabbled enough in life to know what I value, and where I want to invest my time and energy.  My twenties were awesome, I’m blessed to have travelled the world, and met a ton of people and to have experienced more than people get to experience in a life time.  I want to spend less time doing mindless things like staring at facebook and read real books and gain real knowledge.  I’ve realized that I FEEL the best when I’m productive.  I want to be healthy so that I can keep up with the call of God on my life.  I want to be wise with my finances and save for the future.  I’m grateful for God’s miraculous provision and I want to be faithful and generous with it.  I want to value God’s written revelation of His character and Truth and His story.  I want to be a student of the Word of God, I want to know it, and have it radically transform who I am, to be more like Him.

I’m looking forward to my 30’s, I’m expectant for them to be amazing.  

What three things would you have wished you did in your 20’s?