5 Mistakes High Achievers Make in Their 30s (And How to Avoid Them)

When you hear the word "generation," what comes to mind first? Maybe it's the endless debates about millennials versus Gen X, or perhaps you think about the technology gap between you and your parents. Most of us view generations through a cultural lens—different music tastes, communication preferences, or workplace dynamics. But what if I told you that God has a completely different perspective on generations, one that could revolutionize how you think about your purpose and impact?

We live in a time of unprecedented generational tension. Four different generations are currently navigating the workplace together, each with distinct values shaped by the world events they experienced during their formative years. Your grandparents might prefer handwritten letters, your parents rely on email, you default to texting, and the teenagers in your life communicate primarily through social media platforms you've never heard of.

This generational divide often becomes a source of humor—like playing trivia games where different age groups know completely different answers. But it can also create real frustration and even pain in families, churches, and communities. The differences run deeper than just communication preferences; they touch our core values, approaches to technology, and fundamental worldviews.

Yet here's what's remarkable: despite living in this age of generational hostility, some communities manage to bring multiple generations together in meaningful ways. They create spaces where 90-year-olds and newborns, teenagers and middle-aged professionals, can not just coexist but actually thrive together. How is this possible?

The Bible uses words that we translate as "generation" or "generations" more than 250 times. Clearly, God has something significant to say about this topic. But His perspective is radically different from our cultural understanding.

While we tend to focus primarily on our own lives—and maybe extend our concern to our spouse, children, and grandchildren—God thinks on a much grander scale. Consider this perspective from Ecclesiastes: "A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). And from Psalms: "For the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:5).

God sees your life not as an isolated event, but as part of a continuous story that spans centuries. His plans and purposes are far greater than what any one person can accomplish in a single lifetime. Every single one of us is part of something much bigger than ourselves.

From the very first pages of Scripture, we see God's generational thinking at work. In Genesis 1:27-28, after creating the first man and woman, God immediately gives them a mission: "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it." The plan was always to create multiple generations who would carry forward His purposes.

This plan continued through Abraham, where God promised: "I will establish my covenant between me and you, your offspring after you, throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7). Fast forward about 2,000 years to Jesus' birth, and Matthew's Gospel traces this generational line: "So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ, 14 generations" (Matthew 1:17).

That's 42 generations—42 sets of parents passing something vital to their children, who passed it to their children, all leading to the birth of Jesus. And if you're a follower of Christ today, Paul tells us in Galatians 3:29: "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." You're part of this generational story.

Since God's plans extend across generations, no single leader accomplishes everything. Instead, God uses different leaders throughout different seasons, like runners in a relay race passing the baton from one to the next.

Think about the biblical pattern: Abraham passed leadership to Isaac, who passed it to Jacob (later named Israel). Moses led God's people out of Egypt and passed leadership to Joshua. In the New Testament, Jesus passed the mission to His apostles, who passed it to other leaders, continuing for 2,000 years until today.

The key to successful generational transition is like that Olympic gold medal relay race—each person must run their portion well and execute a flawless handoff. When done right, it's beautiful. When botched, the mission suffers.

Here's something that might challenge your thinking: when it comes to God's kingdom, retirement isn't really the right word. A better term is "redeployment." You might retire from a formal position, but you never retire from serving God—your role simply changes as you age and develop.

Think of life in three phases:

1. First third (roughly 0-30): Primarily learning, developing, and preparing
2. Second third (roughly 30-60): Doing, building, leading, and beginning to mentor others
3. Third third (roughly 60+): Encouraging, praying, mentoring, and finishing well

As someone likely in that second third of life, you're probably in your prime "doing" years. But here's the crucial insight: you should also be beginning to think about mentoring and preparing the next generation. What wisdom are you accumulating? What stories are you collecting? What legacy are you building?

Psalm 78 gives us a powerful blueprint for generational impact. The psalmist writes: "We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done" (Psalm 78:4).

But here's a crucial point: even if you're in your thirties, you're an "older generation" to someone. Whether it's your children, younger siblings, nieces and nephews, or junior colleagues at work, people are looking up to you and learning from your example.

The responsibility involves three elements:

Priority: Pass on both the character of God (your personal stories of how He's worked in your life) and the content of Scripture (God's truth lived out practically).

Process: This isn't classroom teaching—it's integrating God's character and Scripture into every facet of your daily life. As Deuteronomy 6:7 instructs: "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

Product: The goal is that the next generation will set their hope in God, understand their place in His larger story, and obey His commands so they can build their own testimony to pass on.

Here's an encouraging and sobering truth from Acts 13:36: "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers." In simpler terms: David did everything God wanted him to do, and then he died.

That should be the story of every life—serving God's purposes fully in our own generation. The question isn't whether you have a role to play; it's whether you'll discover what that role is and step into it boldly.

As a professional in your thirties, you're likely in that crucial second third of life—the doing, building, and leading phase. But you're also beginning the mentoring phase. Here are some practical ways to think about your generational impact:

Start collecting and even writing down stories of how God has worked in your life. These aren't just the dramatic, life-changing moments (though include those too), but also the smaller ways you've seen His faithfulness. One pastor called this "building a visible biography of the intervention of God during your moment in history."

The next generation needs to see God's Word not just quoted but lived out practically in your marriage, your work, your finances, your parenting, and your relationships. They need to see that God's ways actually work in real life.

Who in your life could benefit from your experience and wisdom? It might be formal mentoring, or it might just be being intentionally present and available to younger family members, neighbors, or colleagues.

What do you want people to say about your impact 50 years from now? What kind of foundation are you laying for the generations that will follow?

Imagine being part of a community that spans generations—where 90-year-olds and newborns, teenagers and middle-aged professionals, all contribute their unique gifts and perspectives toward a common mission. Picture a place where wisdom flows from older to younger, energy flows from younger to older, and everyone understands they're part of something much bigger than themselves.

This isn't just a nice idea—it's God's design for His people. And it's desperately needed in our fragmented, age-segregated culture.

As you consider your role in God's generational plan, take some time to reflect on these questions:

Think about specific times when you've seen God's faithfulness in your life. How could sharing these stories encourage someone younger than you?

Whether you realize it or not, people are watching your example. Who in your life could benefit from more intentional mentoring or encouragement from you?

If you could fast-forward 30 years and look back, what impact would you want to have had on the next generation?

In what practical ways are you living out biblical principles that others can observe and learn from?

Based on what you've read, what's one specific action you could take this week to begin thinking more generationally about your impact?

If this vision of multigenerational community and purpose resonates with you, I want to invite you to experience it firsthand. Every Sunday, our church brings together people from their twenties to their nineties, all united around the mission of discovering and experiencing God's ways so that lives can be changed.

Whether you're just beginning to explore faith, returning to church after a long absence, or looking for a community where you can make a real generational impact, you'll find a place here. We believe that God has plans and purposes for your life that extend far beyond just your own happiness and success—He wants to use you as part of His ongoing work in the world.

Come join us this Sunday. Experience what it looks like when multiple generations come together, not despite their differences, but because of what they can learn from each other. Discover your role in a story that began before you were born and will continue long after you're gone.

Your life can have a generational impact. The question is: Will you step into the role God has for you?

Join us this Sunday at Hope Church. Together, let's build something that will last for generations to come.