Hello! In 11 short days I will be turning 30. I had a small freak out two weeks ago but still don't feel 100% about turning 30. I am feeling all the pressure of society having a career master degree family/ kids house financial stable ideal body and weight etc... I am barely getting by as it is and that extra pressure all in my head cause no one really has told me this is not making it any easier to lose weight. I just keep self sabotaging my attempts.

Any advice on how to get out of this rut!?! Does it get better are my self expectations crazy? what do my 30's bring?

I would like to know too as I will be 30 in 7 days. I am trying to think about it as just another year but then I get freaked out too........

Hi and Welcome! I just turned 30 last year and really, it wasn't bad at all. Just another day, really! Only you can put those unrealistic expectations of what you "should" have achieved by a certain age.

I didn't think turing 30 was a big deal. Do I wish I was younger yes, but I didn't have kids until I was 30 and it wasn't a big deal. I think you might be freaking out too much. It's ok. Just vow to make your next decade your best!!

I turn 30 in 3 months. I'm not really freaking about it though like I thought I would.

I know so many women in their 30's who are enjoying life so much more than in their 20's because they just know so much more about themselves (this is what I've been told by them). And they are clearly much more happy and stable people, regardless of what they are doing in their lives, than they were when they were even just 5 or 10 years younger.

Career? Master's degree? Financially stable? I just work on being happy

I never finished university (I did finish college, but I don't use my diploma at all), I have a job that really isn't a "career", I carry a lot of debt.. I'm married but my husband and I are child-free which freaks people out ("What? You're almost 30, you better have some kids before it's too late to change your mind!" ... silly people, I will never change my mind), we don't own a house and probably never will (too expensive)...

We break all the social-norms that I suppose we're "supposed" to have by now. But you know what?

It doesn't matter! Because we're super happy and enjoying life.

If you enjoy life, why worry about all of those "shoulds" other people place on your shoulders? There's no such thing at the end of the day. Life is purely what you wanna make of it in any given moment.

Relax

I just turned 31. I didn't want to turn 30 last year. I had a lot of big changes I wanted to make in my life and I think hitting the big 3-0 without a career, marriage, house, kids, etc... (all the American dream stuff you're supposed to do) made me sad. So I changed.

In the last year I have lost 60lbs, ran 4 marathons, doubled my income with a new career with a great company (and had a job interview today for a promotion with the same company!), left an unhealthy abusive long term relationship, built new friendships, started counselling for the depression I have suffered from since my teens, got the braces I have wanted for my teeth for the past 20 years, and I'm shopping for my first home.

You can let another year pass you by, or you can change. The time will pass either way.

Don't worry about turning 30, when you are a woman it is ok to stay 29 for the rest of your life.

It is cliche, but age is just a number. You don't drastically change from 29 to 30 in one day. I turn 30 in a couple months and I am using the milestone to motivate my weightloss. You still have plenty of time to find a significant other, have children if you want and work on your career! 30 is still young! Your thirties will bring whatever you make happen!

I like this.

Wow!! Thanks everyone! I feel motivated!! I was thinking today, after a hard workout , about doing a list of things I want to accomplish by the age of 40. Like a list of 10 things one for each year. Fun thing really fun!! Again thanks so much ladies!!

I'm 32, and I love being in my 30's. But I also don't have any issues with getting older, when I see myself in the future I always imagine myself in my 80's tending to my garden.

I remember having a moment in the mirror on my 30th birthday, where I looked at myself and couldn't believe I was 30, it was shock more than anything, but it quickly passed. If you live long enough, you're going to get older, it's just life on life's terms. But I think the goal is to age well and truly enjoy your life. You couldn't pay me to be 20-somehing again.

i turned 30 last year, it really wasn't a big deal! it is just a number!

I am 38 soon to be 39 , When I turned thirty it was great. I enjoyed my life more and it didn't freak me out. As thirty isn't as old as you think it is, Heck I am even eager to see forty, isn't forty the new twenty or something like that?

As you grow into your full potential, you must learn a few rules. I am still learning. But here is one that will ring true, come what may!

Rule #1. Forget about what Society expects and find what works for YOU!

Totally agree with Raine! I'm 32, and I already did alot of the "expected" things in my 20s - got married, bought a house, had a "career" type job. Then got divorced, sold the house, got laid off from the job, all by the time I was 30 lol. Now I'm living with my boyfriend, in an apartment, and working at a job that pays nearly half what my old one did. And I'm sooo much happier. Don't worry about what's expected, or accomplishing things by a certain age. Just do what's important to you, right now, and the rest will sort itself out.