If you happen to find yourself in the shoes of a young man who has a lot on his neck to accomplish, you wouldn't complain about the way they think. This same thing has not only happened to me before, but it is something I experience daily. Thinking of the next two hours, thinking of the next two years, imagining myself in the next ten years.
I still remember this exact moment when it started happening to me. I wouldn't want to call it a drama that was being played before my eyes, nor will I say it was the moment when a lightning bolt flashed before me in the midst of a storm, and I will not say it was a motivational speech from one of Nelson Mandela's shows from decades ago.
It all started in the middle of the night when I was scrolling through my phone. Well, I felt tired, and this tiredness was not only a physical one but also a mental one. I was tired of drifting away, I was tired of the uncertainty of my tomorrow, I was tired of living only for today.
That was when I got to the realisation that the future was no longer an option.
Most young men, my colleagues, reach this point sooner or later in their lives. It is the stage when fun, freedom, and youthful experiments begin to give way to questions beyond their thoughts. They begin to ask:
- Where is my life going from here and in the next?
- Is there anything meaningful I am building?
- What will I have to show for these years?
Why Young Men Eventually Become Future-Focused
1. Responsibility
Responsibility has a way of catching up with every young man. In every early adulthood before the age of self-responsibility, life often feels like forgiving yourself. The mistakes you make will not seem to be a big deal, and the feeling that you have more time is just unimaginable. But gradually, things begin to change
- Bills become so real, I have to pay them myself.'
- Career choices begin to matter; I have to be a doctor or a pilot
- People begin to depend on you, including hospital bills and utility bills.
At this point, many begin to fear. Not because they won't be able to stand it, but because they fear they'll disappoint someone. It is maturity, and because they still feel like mom and dad are there, some don't take it seriously. And that is a mistake we will live to talk about on another day.
2. You Start To See The Cost of the Time You Are Wasting
I came across a popular saying in one of my kindergarten books when I was growing up. It said, "Time and tide, they say, do not wait for any man. Growing up, all we would ever do was play, jump around, play games that made us tired, dirty our clothes, and at the end of the day, eat and go to bed. But then, when the right time comes as you are becoming of age,
You begin to notice:
- Older men who are stuck in the jobs they hate
- Friends who are struggling now because they didn't plan for their future
- And missed opportunities that don't ever come back
And as you begin to notice, and this awareness kicks in, that is when it becomes almost impossible to ignore. It is not the time when you start feeling you are left behind, it is the time when you come to know that, hey jack, there is little time on my side. At this very juncture, every minute matters, and that is the moment when you fail to be a good Samaritan to yourself.
What Young Men Usually Start Thinking About
Young Men Start Thinking About Their Career and Their Purpose
At a point in every young man's life, the questions they ask themselves become different. Instead of asking themselves questions like "What job can I get?", they now ask themselves "What skills am I building?".
At this point, some
- Learn a good skill that will make them earn some extra income
- Begin to think way ahead, getting money quickly.
What Other Things Do They Begin to Think About
- They begin to think of how to become financially stable
- How to save, spend, and invest their money
- They begin to find ways and means to earn money from different sources
- They begin to think of their relationship
- The kind of husband or father they want to become
- They begin to panic instead of planning
- Some chase shortcuts and compare timelines as they try to figure everything out at once
- They start looking for means to better approach situations.
For Young Men Thinking About The Future
Every young man has a vision for themselves, and for those who do not have one yet, maybe their mind is still locked in one of those days when they still think like babies.
If you are a young man thinking about the future.
First thing you have to do,
- Ask yourself if you are doing the things that will lead you to a better and brighter future.
- Invest in yourself and have mentors whom you look up to
- Take care of yourself, especially your thoughts
- Do not be lazy and keep postponing your dreams.
- Be self-reliant and depend on yourself as much as possible, and only ask for help if the situation is beyond you.
