Your 30s Are a Time to Go for It⁠↗

You can choose to focus on your career. At that level, candidly, it will require support from your significant other, understanding from your family, and may affect your health.  You may also need to make so much money that you can afford to support aspects of your domestic life via child care, personal trainers, elderly care, and other support. Do this on purpose, because you are in a zero-sum competition with people who are willfully sacrificing and find great joy in having a singular focus.

There is no ideal choice but there is a “wrong” choice: Not choosing at all. The destructive thing to do is to limp along, zombie-like, banging your head against an invisible career ceiling, never fully committing. You will find yourself judging your self-worth by your career accomplishments but not actively exploring the changing dynamics of your career as you advance. You will spin in circles and be not be adapt at servicing your career or friends or family or health. The only mistake is trying to have all of your burners turned on, but only at half power while your mental image of yourself is one of a high achiever, yet you know in your soul you’re not making progress. This is to bear the downsides of both options with none of the upsides.