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5 Things You Should Worry About (and 3 things you shouldn’t!)

Sponsored by Vic Super
I

have high functioning anxiety. I’m also a huge over thinker which is a super killer combo. I appear to totally have my shit together but some of the time I feel like everyone hates me and wishes I’d bugger off. This is a cheery little post isn’t it?

I’m working with Vic Super this month to talk about our/my generation (20 to 30 somethings) and the things we worry about. And there’s A LOT of things we worry about. Which is actually great. Most Australians really care about the future and want to act in a socially responsible way but we’re often a bit overwhelmed about how we can do this.

I jumped at the opportunity to work on this campaign because worrying is one of my favourite hobbies. I worry about missing planes, I worry about Mr Smaggle dying, I worry about my hair going totally straight as I get older and I worry about what the new Rocky Horror Picture Show movie is going to be like. I spend quite a lot of time analysing what’s worth worrying about (honestly it’s not a lot of stuff), and what’s not worth worrying about (99% of the stuff I worry about).

I narrowed down a list to help my brain – I hope it helps your brain too.

5 things you should worry about…

1. Your health when you’re old

Honestly, no one really has a magic formula for being a healthy old person but there’s a lot of research and solid proof that supports a balanced lifestyle, lots of daily movement, keeping active in your body and your mind, eating lovely fresh food and laughing a lot. I walk 10,000 steps every day not because it helps me lose weight or tones my thighs (I suspect it does neither) but I do it so I can walk around Italy eating gelato when I’m 80 years old without groaning the entire time. It will totally be worth it. You can absolutely neck a bottle of red every now and then with your best mate or eat a whole bag of pizza shapes but just don’t do it every week because your 80-year-old self might not be too pleased about it.

2. Your superannuation

Well you don’t necessarily have to worry about it but you should certainly get it sorted. At the very least, roll your super into one account and go from there. Superannuation makes up over quarter of household net wealth in Australia – so it’s pretty important to get it under control and as early as possible. The power in our super funds is huge—at more than $2 trillion, it’s bigger than Australia’s GDP. How insane is that? If you don’t yet have a super fund, look into Vic Super. I did a campaign with them last year and they’ve been named one of the best value for money funds in Australia which is pretty ace. They also have a Platinum Rating (the highest possible) which sounds super fancy. Does that count as a pun? SUPER fancy? Geddit?

3. Supporting things you don’t believe in

I’ve never been one to turn a blind eye to the things I care about but I also like to be flexible (as my little Type A brain will allow) in my approach to almost everything but there are some things I just won’t do. I’ve been offered lots of campaigns with companies I can’t support and I have to turn the campaigns down. With that in mind, how can I give my super dollars to a fund who doesn’t support the general world views that I do? Vic Super has a Socially Conscious investment option so its members can invest their money responsibly. They created it specifically for people who want to avoid investing in companies that potentially contribute to climate change, cause social harm or infringe on humans rights. It’s an option that achieves all of this, while not compromising on return, fees, or service. It’s such a rad idea and they cottoned on to it before most other super funds (in about 2007) but they just wanted to remind people that it’s still available.

4. The environment

Guys. We messed up big time. We’ve really done some terrible things to the planet and yes, we do need to worry. You don’t need to go all Zero Waste on that (although Zero Waste people are so freaking amazing it kills me) but do whatever you can, when you can. Even little things like taking a reusable cup when you get takeaway coffee. I’m currently writing this at a cafe and I have not seen one reusable cup walk past the door and it’s busy AF in here. That’s 30 disposable cups going into land fill. It’s not that hard. I had a plastic re-usable cup years ago that broke but I kind of hated it anyway because it made my coffee taste weird, so now…? I use a glass jar and I LOVE IT. It’s a washed out old jam jar that cost me nothing. Just little baby steps, when you can. Also for the love of god stop using plastic bags. Get yourself a cute fabric tote and take it everywhere with you. Boom. Now you don’t have worry. I just therapied you.

5. Spending enough time with the people you love

I lost my first grandparent 3 years ago (I still have 3 which makes me so damn lucky) and it’s made me very aware of using my time on this earth effectively.

We live in a weird time where somehow we’re working more than ever, we all have side hustles and work/life balance is as elusive as ever. Take time regularly to just be with the people you love, without hurrying away to do something else. You will never regret spending a lazy Saturday hanging out with your family and friend-family, I promise.

3 things you shouldn’t worry about…

1. The appearance of any of your body parts

We’re done with that. Your only body goals should be health related, the rest kind of just follows. Three brisk 45 minute walks a week won’t make you look like Beyonce but really, nothing will. Believe me, I’ve tried. As long as your body can carry you around a dance floor, hug someone when they’re sad, give a wee one a piggy back and haul the groceries out of the car what more do you really want? I used to teach kids with special needs and when you see a full of beans little 7 year old bouncing around in their wheelchair because they just want to get up and run around but their broken little body won’t let them, you get over your lack of thigh gap pretty darn quickly.

2. What other people think of you

It’s actually none of your business. Unless you’re going around pushing in line at the super market deli (you MONSTER!) or consistently tapping out on the bill when you go out for dinner, I can guarantee you no one is even thinking about you. I have to tell myself this every day but it really works. Think about it right now – are you sitting there thinking that someone else is a total loser? No? Me neither. So no one is thinking that about you.

3. The past (and your past specifically)

It’s over. There’s literally nothing you can do to change it. Sometimes I find myself lying in bed at night worrying about a thing I said to someone a decade ago. A person I’m not even friends with on Facebook. If that’s not the biggest waste of time and energy, I don’t know what is! I know this message gets thrown around a lot but it’s a bloody good one and sometimes you need a reminder that no one is thinking about that awful thing you did in 2011 except for you.

The good news is that the things you do have to worry about are totally fixable. You can be less of a meanie to the environment. Tick! You can spend more time with your fam bam. Tick! And you can also invest your future-old-self cash monies into a investment fund that doesn’t support companies who like to roll around in fossil fuels. Click here to check them out. 

So tell me… What are you worried about? And what are you NOT worried about?

P.S Also you should totally sign up for my newsletter. It’s full of cool stuff.
P.P.S Don’t forget Crochet Coach has a free trial offer period at the moment so float on over and join my crochet mail list.

9 Comments

  1. Drstumpy 7 years ago

    On the whole super thing, I went super fund info seminar thingy (tip for feeling young and fresh faced, hang out with pre-retirement people for an hour). Anyhoo all it really did was explain a few of the numbers of my statement ment and it turns out there had been a calculating error in 2014 and they owed my $35000. Yes that number again $35000. I’m never going to get $35000 for a couple of hour my time ever again.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 7 years ago

      Oh my god that’s amazing! I hope that happens to me. What an amazing weird gift.

      • Drstumpy 7 years ago

        It was super amazing (ha ha -pun). But seriously worth looking into these things

  2. KezUnprepared 7 years ago

    I worry about whether I’m being a good parent. Which comes with so many handy sub categories. Then I will worry about whether other people think I’m being a good parent. It’s so fun haha.
    As a fellow over thinker, I hear you on so many levels!
    I worry about my super. I don’t have very much! Actually, I think I don’t worry about it enough. Hmm.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 7 years ago

      I’m kind of the same – I’ve been very sporadically employed over the years and I really need to knuckle down and roll it all. I have a fund I contribute to consistently with Vic Super but I need to get all the stuff in there too!

  3. Missy D 7 years ago

    I’m also always worried about my health when I’m older (I just don’t want to be limited like one of my grandmothers due to lack of movement. I want to be like that grandmother in Melbourne who passed her driver’s license test at the age of 101).

    And my finances, I’m probably one of the few 35 year olds who not only knows their super balance but also annually checks in and changes the investment options.

    Something I’ve started to become less worried about is my career. I’m at a manager level now and almost consider stepping back and doing less so I have more free time.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 7 years ago

      You’re my hero! My super is sorted (ish!) but because I’m self employed I should be better at managing it. That’s this year Carly’s job to get that sorted out properly and make better contributions to it.

  4. JauntyDame 7 years ago

    “Three brisk 45 minute walks a week won’t make you look like Beyonce but really, nothing will.”

    This made me cackle with delight. How right you are.

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