This past weekend my wife and I took a last minute, spur of the moment trip to Las Vegas just for fun. It was not really like us as we are not typically spontaneous people. But we did it anyway and it was awesome. We had no plan. We just went.

Why did I suggest this last minute trip? What possibly could make me want to do something so out of my comfort zone?

I absolutely believe that I am having a Pre 30 Life Crisis.

There I admitted it. But I guess that is not something new for me because I have been telling anyone who will listen that I am not excited about my upcoming birthday. (It’s still 5 months away)

This is weird for me because I am not usually one to let things bother me. But for some reason the thought of turning 30 really is getting to me. So much so that I needed the adventure of a spur of the moment trip to Las Vegas.

I know that this Pre 30 Life Crisis is my choice. I know that I have the power to move past it if I choose. I am just not ready to move past it yet.

I am not ready to be 30. I like being in my twenties. This is an interesting confession for me because I have spent my whole life being the youngest or the young guy.

My whole life I have been trying to not act my age. I have always wanted to be older and to interact with people older and wiser than me. Now that I am actually getting a bit older, I am just not ready.

Thinking more about why I am having this Pre 30 Life Crisis, it seems that the real reason comes down to me not fully being satisfied with my life. Perhaps that is not something I should not admit, especially because my life is really great. I love what I do.  I really feel that I have essentially won the lottery with how awesome my life is. I have accomplished a lot.

But even with all of that, I am still not satisfied. I want to accomplish more. I want to learn more. I want to become a better husband, friend, family member, servant and leader. I want to accomplish all of my goals. I want to cross off all the things on my Dream List and continue to add more and do more.

The more I think about it, my Pre 30 Life Crisis is not really bad. In fact, it may be something I need to go through. I need to relax a bit and be more spontaneous. I did that this past weekend by going to Vegas. I also know that there is nothing more paralyzing in life than the status quo. Change is good! Really. It is.

My lack of satisfaction is a good thing. It is what will drive me forward and push me through times that are tough.

Here are Five Reasons to Never Be Satisfied:

• Satisfaction may lead you to stop learning and growing. Lifelong learning is a key to success. When you become satisfied you may begin to believe that you know everything you need to know and the enemy of growing is knowing.
• Satisfaction also leads to apathy, which is essentially being in your comfort zone. The comfort zone may sound nice and comfortable, but it also stunts your growth.
• If you are completely satisfied you probably never set the bar high enough for yourself. You should set big, hairy, audacious goals! Those goals should bring out the BEST in you.
• Satisfaction is really the avoidance of failure. You don’t want to do much more or try harder because you don’t want to fail. But failure is what makes us more effective leaders. We learn from failure. If you never fail, you probably never really tried.
• Satisfaction allows you to be good, but never GREAT. Bruce Springsteen (I will be seeing my 11th show in April) said that “More than rich, more than famous, more than happy… I wanted to be great.” Greatness is what drives The actual BOSS. This is what should drive us! We should all want to be great!

I am having a Pre 30 Life Crisis because I am not satisfied. Now please don’t get this confused with being content and happy. I am both of these. I choose to be happy with my entire life and to be content with all that I have. But that does not mean I should not want more and I do want more. Don’t you?

What if Steve Jobs would have been satisfied after being fired from Apple? He could have easily been satisfied. Most people would have been. He was already extremely successful. But he kept moving forward. He kept growing and brought us the iPod, iPhone and so much more.

Maybe my Pre 30 Life Crisis isn’t a crisis at all. Perhaps it is just life. It is just a part of my journey. I don’t know what it is really, but I certainly won’t let it control me.

I am extremely grateful for all of the blessings in my life. I am happy. I am content. I am five months away from turning 30 and I am not satisfied and I never will be.