{"id":31973,"date":"2021-04-10T23:41:50","date_gmt":"2021-04-11T03:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=31973"},"modified":"2021-04-19T21:26:38","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T01:26:38","slug":"the-defining-decade-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-defining-decade-book\/","title":{"rendered":"The Defining Decade: Book to Navigate Your Twenties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is <em>The Defining Decade<\/em> book about? Why are your twenties your defining decade and what does that mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Defining Decade <\/em>book by Meg Jay is about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-twenties\/\">how to make the most of your twenties<\/a>. Jay discusses the important choices you make in your twenties in work, love, and friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more about <em>The Defining Decade<\/em> book and what your twenties mean for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>The Defining Decade <\/em>Book: Why Your Twenties Are Important<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Baby Boomers and the generations preceding them often started their adult lives around age 20, getting married, starting families, establishing careers, and building a home life. Today\u2019s generations of young adults start their lives much later, believing that they don\u2019t need to start making serious decisions until age thirty, and that their twenties are a time for unencumbered fun.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the truth is that a good career and a good relationship don\u2019t magically appear at age thirty. <strong>To ensure they will happen for you in your thirties and forties, when you finally feel ready for them, you need to prepare for them in your twenties.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meg Jay is a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping twenty-somethings figure out their lives. In <em>The Defining Decad<\/em>e book, she offers insights to help you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-take-control-of-your-life\/\">take control of your life<\/a> and pave the way for future happiness in both work and love. Your decisions today can greatly affect your options tomorrow, and she encourages all twenty-somethings to take these years seriously\u2014even while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/have-more-fun\/\">having fun<\/a>. She walks the reader through how to find success in work and in love, and discusses why twenty-somethings are uniquely positioned to establish their adulthood because of both timing and biology.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Finding Work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To end up in a career you\u2019re happy with down the road, you need to make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/making-hard-decisions\/\">difficult choices<\/a> now\u2014and the sooner you start, the better. Without purposeful planning, it\u2019s easy to live day-by-day and put off the difficult tasks of making meaningful career choices. The following guidelines explore ways you can begin to craft a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fulfilling-work\/\">fulfilling work<\/a> life. This is one of the major topics in <em>The Defining Decad<\/em>e book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Finding Love<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Defining Decad<\/em>e book also covers finding love. We get much less information and training on how to find a long-term partner than we do on how to find a career. And yet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-find-the-right-partner-for-marriage\/\">choosing a marriage partner<\/a> arguably has a more lasting effect on your long-term happiness. Giving the topic serious thought now, in your twenties, will decrease the chances you\u2019ll have to settle later. The following sections are some guidelines that can help you approach the subject mindfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Understanding Your Brain and Your Body<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In your twenties, your brain and body are developing in remarkable ways specifically designed by evolution to prepare you for the rest of your adulthood. This process is unique to this period of your life, and it won\u2019t continue as you age.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding the opportunities and limits of your brain and your body during this decade can help you better anticipate and plan for the future. Some of the steps involved in this process are detailed in <em>The Defining Decad<\/em>e book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is The Defining Decade book about? Why are your twenties your defining decade and what does that mean? The Defining Decade book by Meg Jay is about how to make the most of your twenties. Jay discusses the important choices you make in your twenties in work, love, and friendship. Read more about The Defining Decade book and what your twenties mean for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":31982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,7],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-31973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-lifestyle","tag-the-defining-decade","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Defining Decade: Book to Navigate Your Twenties - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the Defining Decade about? 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