Your Twenties Do Matter

Meg Jay, PhD THE DEFINING DECADE—Why your twenties matter--and how to make the most of them now.

Our twenties only happens to us once, and what we do during that time matters more than most of us thought. That is the premise of clinical psychologist Dr. Meg Jay's book The Defining Decade , Why your twenties matter--and how to make the most of them now. These years are much more important than the current "hype" we hear in magazines, social media, and in popular conversations.

Dr. Jay helps the reader understand these years are a "defining decade" (pg. xv) and what we do with them determines our pathway into later adulthood. Dr. Jay encourages those in their twenties to use  this time wisely and with purpose to propel oneself into where and who we want to be. In each of her sections, "Work," "Love," and "the Brain and the Body", the reader learns more about why "thirty is not the new twenty" (pg. xxvii). Using current research on the adult brain learning theories she supports the thinking that during our twenties we have optimal opportunities to create the pathway to a purposeful and meaningful life.

Although I am well past this period in my own life I have adult children in this stage of optimal personal and professional development. How to share this information becomes a delicate dance. Pushing too hard into this conversation they pull away and look to other resources to validate their reasoning. Waiting for the right opportunity becomes the better solution. Dr. Jay refers to Carol Dweck's, growth mindset way of thinking. "For those who have a growth mindset failures may sting but they are also are viewed as opportunities for improvement and change" (pg. 158). Building your "identify capital" at home and in the work force (pg. 3), by developing new connections with "weak ties" (pg. 17) can make the unthought known" (pg. 33) to build a "customize life" (pg. 54) so your life actually is better than what you find on Facebook (pg. 41).

Here is a summary in Dr. Jay's own words on TedTalk:  http://www.ted.com/talks/meg_jay_why_30_is_not_the_new_20?language=en