10 things every woman should know before turning 30

More women in India than ever before are getting advanced degrees, thriving in their professional lives, starting their own companies and gaining economic independence. While more opportunities have arisen for female populations throughout India due to these developments, a portion of the female population still gain knowledge about critical life-skills needed such as budgeting and finance; setting boundaries; building emotional resilience; self-care; shopping; and cooking via experiential means rather than via formal mentorship or instruction by elders or role models.As women enter their 20s, acquiring these skills will assist women in developing self-confidence and creating fulfilling lives that demonstrate resiliency. Ena Khurana, CEO & Founder, Kie Foundation highlights a list of 10 essential lessons for women that must be learned between now and their 30th birthdays.

1. Understand financial conceptsAll people need to be smart about finances if they want to be financially independent. This means learning how to create an emergency fund and understanding health insurance, investing, compounding, reading your bank and credit card statements and filing your taxes.

These are not technical skills; they are important life skills every woman should acquire.2. Make your own decisionsYou probably spent years as a young woman seeking someone else's approval of your judgement, mostly due to social conditioning from people around you like family, older people, social media, and society at large. By developing your own thoughts and asking yourself what is truly important to you, what type of life you want to create, and what actions/experiences will enable you to create the life that you want will be your first step in creating self-empowerment because all your decisions, major and minor, from careers, family and money to purpose in the world are made based on your thoughts.

3. Don’t confuse achievement with self-worthDon’t confuse your self-worth with your achievements; we were all grown up thinking and judging ourselves based on our grades, promotions, recognitions, or relationships. It’s OK to value and celebrate what you have accomplished, but remember that life its true is constantly changing plans as it relates to careers, which can change to freedom to take a new direction or relationship that can change over time; and perhaps relationships evolve.

Your behavior is also very important; however, Your Self-Worth is just as important. Therefore, working at becoming more in tune with yourself - will help you adjust to your environment and accept change. You should spend time determining how to fulfil yourself with what you find meaningful, energetic, and fulfilling.

4. Set boundaries without feeling guiltyFor a woman, the message that she’s supposed to be nice always takes away from her ability to be strong or assertive.

Most women spend the bulk of their lives feeling guilty about saying “no” because they have been conditioned to accommodate others before being assertive. A simple “no” does not make you selfish. Having boundaries allows you to keep your energy, health and ultimately your ability to create meaningful relationships with others who matter to you.5. Value your health as an investment that pays off over timeThe things that start out as habits when you are in your 20's usually continue to be habits when you are in your 40's, 50's, etc.

Your sleeping habits, strength, nutrition, mental health, and using preventive healthcare should not be thought of as luxuries for those with time to spare. They will all pay dividends by creating a better version of yourself.6. Realize the importance of caring for othersMost of us spend years preparing for a career, but we don't put nearly as much effort into creating a support network/working on community building to support us in our caregiving journey.

It's important to invest in 2-3 deep friendships; spend time with family and friends; learn to ask for help rather than carrying every burden alone; and be a source of assistance to others when needed. At some point throughout our lives, we'll be giving care to our children, parents, partners, friends, and ourselves as we go through difficulties.

The misconception of being an adult is to be self-sufficient. The truth is that being an adult means being resilient, and being resilient means that you know how to care for others as well as how to receive care from others.7. Offering space to othersAnother significant relationship realization is that you cannot fix everything for everyone. Within the context of relationships—family, friends, work, or otherwisesometimes you require space to allow for your personal growth. Not all arguments/ disagreements/ issues require resolution right away. Additionally, not all silence is an indicator of a problem. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is step back and allow time for emotions to settle down and give the relationship to be able to grow and develop.8. Don't quit on your educationContinuing to educate yourself is important because our world changes at a fast rate and formal education cannot possibly keep up with the rapid rate of change created by technological innovations. Career paths are not as straightforward as they used to be because of the constant emergence of new opportunities. Learning, adapting and re-inventing yourself repeatedly is an important skill in today's fast paced environment; curiosity can provide one of the highest ROI.

9. Travel outside of your normal restraints.There is more to traveling than simply gathering new locations; there is also gaining accessibility to new ideas. When you travel by yourself or with people who are opposite of yourself, you will have the opportunity to explore new areas that will cause you to rethink about what you have previously thought as to how others function, behave, celebrate their success, and approach of how they deal with any obstacles they encounter.

The size of our world increases every time we travel. So does the size of who we are.10. Master the art of returningThe best thing that you can learn before the age of 30 might not even have to do with finding your career, the money to fund that career or being successful in the eyes of society; it will be to learn how to come back. For women, a lot of times, as soon as we start new habits and set new goals, life gets in the way from work to family, relationships to our everyday lives.

So, when life's demands and distractions take over, we have a tendency to think that we have failed when we have paused.

Women, in particular, spend so much of their lives caring for others that they often forget to come back to themselves. Learning to do so—without guilt, without shame, and without believing that every pause is a failure—may be one of the most valuable life skills of all. In a culture that glorifies relentless consistency, the power of return is often overlooked. Yet life was never meant to unfold without interruptions. There will always be distractions, setbacks, delays, grief, uncertainty, and moments of exhaustion. The true measure of resilience is not whether these moments occur, but whether the courage to return remains. When you return to healthy habits; when you get back to your dreams you had long before; when you get back to your relationships; when you get back to yourself. Every return is a sign of your resilience.