{"id":2193719,"date":"2024-03-06T03:13:03","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T08:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/to-build-a-happy-life-young-women-must-learn-to-play-the-long-game\/"},"modified":"2024-03-06T03:13:49","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T08:13:49","slug":"to-build-a-happy-life-young-women-must-learn-to-play-the-long-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/to-build-a-happy-life-young-women-must-learn-to-play-the-long-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Young women must learn to prioritize their long-term happiness in order to build a fulfilling life"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fto-build-a-happy-life-young-women-must-learn-to-play-the-long-game%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2193719&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Julia Roberts: A Lesson in\u2062 Planning Ahead<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>On Dec.\u200b 12, 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbs.com\/shows\/video\/ZQvDMJbyrcfAwRtPZBdlwo8HyJGLvuzs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Julia Roberts was interviewed on \u201cCBS\u200b Sunday Morning\u201d with<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbs.com\/shows\/video\/ZQvDMJbyrcfAwRtPZBdlwo8HyJGLvuzs\/\">Gayle King<\/a>, where King played a clip \u200cfrom an interview Roberts gave more \u2063than 30 years ago for her 1988\u2062 film, \u201cMystic \u2064Pizza.\u201d Roberts was 21,\u200c and when the \u200binterviewer asked \u2062about her\u2063 future plans,\u2062 Roberts \u200bsaid, \u201cI \u2064think for now I\u2019m just working really hard until\u2063 that day, when it comes, when I\u2019ll be able to \u200benjoy a more normal life and\u200d distance\u200c myself from\u2064 the business a little more and not be forgotten about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When King pointed \u2064out that Roberts was successful in her goal, Roberts said, \u201cIt\u2019s interesting. I\u2019m speaking in such a way \u2063of such\u200c kind of \u2026 the long game of life at such a young age. Well done,\u200c me!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Julia Roberts\u200d is a rare breed, not just for Hollywood but\u2063 for American women in\u200b general. By planning ahead for leaning out of her\u2062 career, she got the best of both worlds: \u200ca successful career and a successful family. Roberts disappeared from acting for\u2064 a\u200c long time after having her \u2063three children. Now that they\u2019re older, we\u2019re seeing a bit more of her.<\/p>\n<p>When\u200d it comes to \u2063building a happy life,\u200b the secret\u2064 is to\u200c play the \u2063long game. Being as \u2063intentional about your \u200bpersonal life as you are about your professional life when\u2064 you\u2019re \u200byoung \u200doffers the best chance at \u200dbeing successful \u200cin all areas \u2063of life, \u2064not just your career.<\/p>\n<p>Despite what the \u200cculture teaches, our twenties\u200b aren\u2019t years to squander. \u201cEighty percent\u200c of life\u2019s most \u200cdefining moments take \u200dplace by age thirty,\u201d writes Meg Jay in <em>The Defining Decade<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>This is true \u2064for \u2063both sexes, but it is especially true for women, who, due\u2062 to their biology, have a\u2064 foreshortened \u200btime frame in which to map out their lives. The professional, relational, and financial choices women make in their\u200c twenties will\u2062 either set them\u2064 up\u2064 for\u200c success or set them up for having fewer choices, and a \u200dmore difficult time\u200d of it, down the\u2063 line.<\/p>\n<h2>Lean Out Long Before \u2064You Actually\u2062 Do<\/h2>\n<p>In 2011,\u2062 former Facebook (or \u2062Meta) COO Sheryl Sandberg delivered the commencement address at Barnard College, \u200can all-girls \u200dschool. During her speech, Sandberg assured the graduates that women have a \u200blong way to go to achieve equality and told\u2063 them to \u201clean in\u201d to their careers until \u2063the \u200clast possible moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not leave before you leave. Do not lean \u200dback; lean in. Put your foot on that \u2063gas\u2062 pedal and keep it there until the day \u2063you have \u200dto\u2064 make a decision.\u201d That \u2062decision is, of course, whether \u200dor not to leave the workforce to raise your babies.<\/p>\n<p>This is awful advice and the exact opposite of what \u2062young women should do. Planning in \u2063advance to step\u200d out of the workforce is \u2062essential to building\u2063 a happy, well-rounded life. Unfortunately, today\u2019s women are groomed \u2062to build lives\u2064 with careers\u200d at the \u200ccenter and receive\u200d zero guidance on how to be successful in the \u2062other, arguably more\u200b important domain: marriage and family.<\/p>\n<p>To wit, \u2063the only women who \u2064appear to know how to date with purpose and build a life that will\u200c allow them to stay home \u2064with their babies are those who had freethinking, countercultural parents. Most parents don\u2019t \u200dteach\u200c their children to reject what the media and their\u2062 mentors teach: that marriage doesn\u2019t\u200d matter and that staying home with one\u2019s children for a \u2063season is a\u2063 pipe dream because two-income families are a must in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n<h2>Yes, There Is a Better \u200cWay<\/h2>\n<p>All of this suffering \u200dwas, and \u2063is, avoidable. There\u2019s a completely \u2064different way for women to do \u200dlife, and it begins with this premise: <em>Whom you marry, and how that \u200dmarriage fares, will have more \u2062effect on your happiness and well-being than\u200b anything else you\u200d do<\/em>. Nothing else\u200b even comes \u200bclose.<\/p>\n<p>To be \u200csure,\u2062 this applies to \u2063both sexes. But it\u2019s especially important for\u200b women\u200b since they are the sex that gets \u2064pregnant, \u200dthe \u2063sex that breastfeeds, and \u200bthe sex that \u2064becomes literally attached\u2062 to their \u2062babies \u200band, as a \u200dresult, becomes attuned \u200bto\u2062 their needs in a unique and\u2064 primal \u200bway. This is \u2064something to celebrate, not something to dismiss as irrelevant.<\/p>\n<p>A much \u200csmarter and more effective life plan for\u200b women is to think as early as possible about what kind of life they want to \u2062live. Their early twenties is ideal, but \u2062earlier is even better.<\/p>\n<p>Forget about money and career for a moment. What kind of lifestyle\u200d do you envision for yourself 10 \u200cor 20 years from now? \u200dIf you want to be married, you must \u2063date with purpose today. If you date exclusively\u2063 for fun, with no direction or end goal in mind, you will likely not find a match. You\u2019ll just become proficient\u200b in\u200b ending relationships, which does nothing to help prepare you for building a strong marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Planning \u2062ahead for leaning out of the workforce also \u2062changes the way women date. If you know you plan to do this, it feels\u2063 reasonable \u2014 \u2063not backward, as\u2062 women \u200care told \u2014 to pay attention to a \u200dman\u2019s career\u2064 path. He doesn\u2019t need to be rich, but he does need to be on a solid growth track. He must have found his purpose. Too many women mistakenly\u200d assume they\u2019ll always be in the workforce and thus overlook \u200ca man\u2019s earning potential. Most come\u200d to regret \u200dthis.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, how many kids \u200ddo you want, and how do you want\u2064 to raise them?\u2064 Will \u200cyou be the \u2063one doing the mothering, or will you outsource\u2064 that work to family or hired help? Knowing this in advance will help you \u200bchoose\u200d the right career for you.<\/p>\n<p>I \u200balways advise women who don\u2019t know what they want to err on the side that they\u2064 <em>will<\/em> \u200bwant to stay \u200bhome, not that they won\u2019t.\u200d That way they\u2019ll have options when the \u200btime comes, which is super important since most \u2064mothers find they don\u2019t\u200b want to leave their babies once they have them.<\/p>\n<h2>Aim for Meaning Rather \u2064Than Success<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI\u2063 don\u2019t understand for the life of me,\u201d\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kqjJ3gl_m0g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notes \u2063Ben Shapiro in a 2018 speech<\/a>, \u201cwhy we\u2019re telling women that their best and greatest superpower,\u2063 <em>creating another human from their own body<\/em>, \u200bis somehow less important \u200dthan \u2063working as an associate law clerk \u2014 that working 2,100 billable hours and checking footnotes is somehow more important \u200bthan\u200c raising the next generation of human beings that\u200c you made with your own body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t either.<\/p>\n<p>The starting point for building a \u2064better life or,\u2063 if you\u2019re older, for <em>re<\/em>building it \u200dis to shift our priorities and begin with the premise that marriage matters more than career. When you do this, new choices\u200c open \u2062up because\u2063 now you\u2019re operating with a different\u200c set of assumptions. If you\u2019re looking for a \u2064husband,\u2064 it will change the\u2062 way you\u2064 date. If you want\u200b a family-centered\u2064 life, it \u2063will change\u2063 the way you think about which career to\u2062 pursue.<\/p>\n<p>It is never too late to shift your priorities and change your\u200d life. It simply begins with a \u200dmindset shift that\u2019s\u200d rooted in 4 truths:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Whom you marry is the \u200dsingle greatest decision you\u2019ll ever make.<\/li>\n<li>Career success alone will not make you happy.<\/li>\n<li>The biological differences between men and women are real, and they\u2019re \u200bhardwired.<\/li>\n<li>You can \u2063\u201chave it all,\u201d just not all at once.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The good news is, no \u2063matter where you are in life\u2019s journey, you can embrace these \u200dtruths \u2062and do a U-turn. When you do, you will have begun your \u200cjourney \u2063toward building a better life.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> In what ways can women lean out of their \u200bcareers and prioritize their families while still maintaining a successful professional life<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Side of caution and assume they\u200c will have children and\u2063 want\u2064 to stay home with them for at least a few\u200c years. This doesn\u2019t mean they\u200b can\u2019t \u200dhave a career; it just means \u2062they should choose \u2064a career that allows for flexibility and the possibility of stepping\u200d\u2064 out for a time.<\/p>\n<p>By thinking ahead,\u200b planning, and making intentional choices, women can save themselves\u2064 a lot of \u2063heartache and confusion. They can create a \u2063life \u2063that aligns with their values \u2064and \u200cpriorities, rather than trying\u2064 to\u200c fit themselves \u200dinto\u200c a \u200bpre-determined mold of what society tells\u2064 them they should want.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Julia \u200dRoberts is a prime example of someone who planned ahead and made deliberate choices to create a fulfilling life. By leaning out of her career\u2062 when\u2063 her children were young, she was able to prioritize her family while still maintaining a successful career.<\/p>\n<p>Women can learn from\u200d Roberts\u2019 example\u200c and apply the same principles to their own lives.\u2063 By\u2064 thinking about their long-term goals, being intentional in\u200c their decision-making, \u200cand prioritizing\u2063 what truly matters to them, they can build \u200ca life that brings \u200dthem\u200d happiness and fulfillment in all areas, not\u2064 just \u200btheir\u200b career.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time for women to lean out long before they \u200bactually do, to take control of their\u200c lives and design a future that aligns with their values and priorities. By doing \u200dso, they can create a \u2063life \u200dthat is truly their own and\u2064 not simply a reflection of societal expectations.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s take\u200d a lesson from Julia Roberts and start planning ahead. Let\u2019s build lives that\u200d are intentional, purposeful, and filled\u2064 with joy. The long game of life is waiting, and it\u2019s up to us to \u2064make \u200cthe most \u2062of \u200bit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Dec. 12, 2023, Julia Roberts appeared on &#8220;CBS Sunday Morning&#8221; with Gayle King. A clip from her interview for &#8220;Mystic Pizza&#8221; in 1988 was played, where 21-year-old Roberts discussed her future plans. She expressed her current focus without elaborating further<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2334,"featured_media":2193720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clay-banks-pfThjuy_jUA-unsplash.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2193719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clay-banks-pfThjuy_jUA-unsplash.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2334"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2193719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2193720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2193719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2193719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2193719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}