The Ultimate Guide To #Adulting
Because #ADULTING.
Do you feel in the dark? I know I did after I graduated college! Here's everything you need to know to start your SUCCESSFUL adult life!
So many people feel so lost after they graduate college.
There are so many options for your life, so many different routes you could take, and so many decisions to make. It is so overwhelming.
After I graduated college I felt so in the dark about literally everything. I didn’t know the steps after college.
I had been pursuing something my whole life – to graduate college – and now that that was done, I was paralyzed.
Should I move back home? Get an apartment with friends? Where should I live? What type of job should I look for? Should I continue my studies? Where should I spend my time? What hobbies should I pick up? What dreams should I chase?
And the thoughts kept going on and on and on.
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I know tons of other college graduates that feel the exact same way.
Your life has been laid out for you until this exact moment, where you are given suddenly more freedom than you ever realized to do whatever you want. However, you’re probably also drowning in debt or a small bank account.
Is this you? You want to set up the rest of your life for success but you’re just not sure how.
You just don’t know what exactly to do next and you hope that you make the right decisions in the end but you’re not really sure if they will pay off.
Welp, I just walked that same route. I had to make some hard decisions for what was best in my life, and I was left in the dark too.
I just wanted someone to guide me on what to do next. My whole life I had someone pointing me toward a goal, to graduate college, and I felt like I still needed that to set up my life for success.
After lots of research and trial and error, I found twelve strategies, I like to call them, that helped me find satisfaction in this season of my life and created a path for me to pursue. These build on each other, so don’t skip through them.
Here are twelve strategies, or the next steps you need to take after you graduate college:
1. Determine Your Priorities (One of the most important steps after college)
Stop right now.
I’m going to be asking you some deep questions in the rest of this post. If you’re like me, you’ll probably skim some of them, give them a quick thought, and then move on.
Don’t do that.
Take a pen. Take some time alone. Ponder these questions.
If you’re serious about setting up your life for success, then you’ll take the time to not just read but take action.
So, what do you want to accomplish with the rest of your life?
Picture this, you lying on your deathbed, looking back at your life. You’ve lived for 100 amazing years.
What have you accomplished? What difference have you made? What passions have you expressed and used to benefit others?
You’re probably going to get an entry-level job out of college. Something to pay the bills and maybe throw a little bit at student loans and have some fun on the weekends.
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But after that, after you start on the bottom of the food chain and have a boring job to make ends meet, and now you have the financial freedom to do what you love, what is it you are going to be doing?
Write down your top five priorities in life right now.
Are they tangible, like owning a lake house or living in a different country? Or are they intangible, like living off of 10% of your income and giving away 90%? I suggest a mix of both.
Your priorities will change as you mature and different things happen in your life but find the priorities that matter most to you now and you can always adjust every couple of years.
See my favorite book on Adulting on Amazon here!
See my favorite book on Adulting on Amazon here!
2. Set Some Goals
Ok, now that you have your top five priorities for your life let’s make them a reality.
I’m going to assume you know the importance of goal setting already. Without goals in our life, we fail at everything. Goals give you something to work towards and help you apply actionable steps toward them. You are able to accomplish your goals when you write them down and make a plan for how you will reach them.
I quickly learned after college that if I did not have goals, everything was going to go downhill.
Without financial goals, I started spending my new paycheck at my first big-girl job way too fast. The money was gone before I knew it. I didn’t have the right steps after college.
Without health goals, I realized I was gaining weight sitting at my cubicle each day.
Without spiritual goals, I realize my faith was suffering and I needed to make an effort to maintain it.
And the list goes on. See without goals, I started doing anything and everything I wanted but that just meant I felt horrible after doing it.
A year flew by and I looked back at it, thinking about what I have accomplished this year. It was hard to see any progress.
I had nothing to compare anything to. A goal allows you to see where you started and how far you have come.
Now it’s time for you to set some goals. Goals need to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
What do you want your finances to look like a year from now? Five years from now? Do you want to be out of debt? What kind of budget will you have? How will you keep track of everything?
Related Post: How To Create Your First Successful Budget After College
What do you want your health to look like day-to-day? How often do you work out? What does your diet look like? Do you have accountability?
What do you want your spiritual life to look like? Do you have a faith community? Are you involved in volunteer work? Do you meditate in your free time and read self-help books?
Now is the time to set goals, write those goals down and put them in a place where you will see them. Share your goals with others so there is some accountability for them.
3. Make a Bucket List
One of the best things I did in my life was to create a 30 in 30 bucket list. This includes 30 things I want to do before I turn 30 years old.
I didn’t write down anything I couldn’t control, like getting married or having kids, because those are dependent on if the timing is right. However, I did include several categories.
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Travel included visiting my friend Marlene in Norway and seeing a killer whale in the wild. Lifestyle included living debt free, owning a puppy, and maintaining a beautiful garden. Find My Passion included helping lead someone to Jesus, writing a book, and growing this blog into a business. Fun included going skydiving, running a marathon, and seeing the northern lights.
By doing things we have always wanted to do, going out of our comfort zone, and trying new things is where we can really learn who we are, dig deep into our passions, and love the life we are living.
So, what will be your 30 in 30??
Don’t forget to continue reading the steps after college below!
Keep Reading: 12 Steps You Need To Take After You Graduate College – Part 2
The Ultimate Guide To #Adulting
Because #ADULTING.
Do you feel in the dark? I know I did after I graduated college! Here's everything you need to know to start your SUCCESSFUL adult life!
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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These are all great ideas. It’s really important to have some priorities whenever you are venturing into a new chapter.
Thanks Lecy!
Great tips! I knew that after I graduated college, I wanted to find a job in my field as soon as I could. I began looking for jobs right before I graduated. I made of list of goals to set after graduating as well.
That’s awesome Mistle, great steps to take!
These are all such wonderful ways to begin life after college. I wish I would have been this thoughtful about it! I honesty floundered for a few years. Your way is better. 😀
Thanks for the tip, Christa!!
Talk about an amazing post for navigating life post-college. I didn’t go to college, but I still had these questions to ask myself once I finished high school and decided what I wanted to do next. I wish I’d had a mentor like you to lead me through how to think through these steps! This will help so many people!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Stephanie! That means a lot – the purpose behind this blog is to help others in that season of life!
These are all great ideas, I wish I knew about them when I graduated or at least to have someone to guide me.
I hope they help lots of people!
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