What life advice would you give to yourself in your 20s?

ishanijp·Apr 24, 2021

Posted in:Advice

What life advice would you give to yourself in your 20s? Context: I am in my 20s and going to graduate from university next year!

Monisha·Apr 24, 2021

@ishanijpBelow are few advice : 1. Explore as many fields as possible.2. Take as much risk as possible.3. Try to generate multiple sources of income.4. Do all the crazy things which come to your mind.5. Spend time with family/friends and at last stay happy :)

RebeccaStevenson·Apr 25, 2021

If I could go back in time? "Sell a kidney if you have to, and buy some Apple stock." Probably not useful for you. ;)If you can possibly swing it, do some traveling now. It doesn't get easier when you've got more responsibilities.

teresaman·Apr 25, 2021

Agreed with travelling! And solo travel earlier, at that! I remember how uncomfortable and nervous before embarking on my first solol trip when I was 20 or 21(?), and ended up learning so much from it, meeting so many great people and pushed myself beyond so many of my personal comfort zones.

rashmyb·Apr 25, 2021

Here's my two cents:1) Get into a sustainable exercise routine, you will thank yourself in your later years. 2) You don't need a huge social circle, don't go to that party if you hate most people there. Learn to cut out toxic people early and spend that time with the ones who actually care about you.3) Learn as many new things as you can, it's ok if you can not stick to it in the long run. You at least don't have to wonder later on if it was worth trying at all.4) Travel as much as you can.5) Invest wisely, it's never too early to start saving.

Iynna·Apr 25, 2021

I am in my 20s too but on the latter part :-) here are few things:- Had a little too much booze the night before and feel like you can't look at yourself in the mirror, guess what it's okay! Live, learn and move on.- Love yourself first, and don't expect any boy to give you that love if you haven't gotten there yet- Spend less time (over)thinking and more of it doingAnd lastly because I am feeling preachy: It's going to be OKAY, it always is OKAY and there is ALWAYS a light at the end of the tunnel :-)

NadineH·Apr 26, 2021

Hi @ishanijp ,I am in my late 20s, some of my advice may be repeated but here's what I'd suggest:1) Travel!! A lot of people have suggested -- honestly, it's the best haha.2) You've worked hard-- it's ok to take a break from time to time! I've only recently learned this, you don't always have to have your foot on the gas, it's ok to coast and enjoy where you are at the moment. And don't let society dictate what "success" looks like--define that yourself. 3) Find enjoyment in the little things, and try anything and everything! Explore new hobbies and try to get out of your comfort zone. 4) It's ok to fail!!! (also something I recently had to overcome haha) things won't always go as planned -- and it's also ok to feel lost--it's apart of growth.5) Quarter Life Crisis is a thing!! No one warns you about it! It comes with the territory of exploring and expanding your interests and trying to find out who you are/what you want in life. So just know it'll pass! 6) Things aren't as serious as they appear. At the end of the day, as long as you are happy and healthy, everything else really isn't that important. Best of luck with the last stretch of your studies! Congratulations!

ChristineP·Apr 26, 2021

I agree with everyone about traveling if you can! I couldn't travel until my late 20s and deeply regret it!Some other advice I would give myself:* Do high-impact internships or apprenticeships while you're in school. That means getting meaningful job experience in the field(s) you're interested in. This helps you build skills and career capital.* Take care of your health! Sleep! Wear sunscreen. If you don't, it'll all come back to bite you.* Don't stay at job where you only get a 3% raise in 3 years!* Find opportunities and take them.* Don't let others control your emotions. * Invest early for the long-term, even if it's just $10 a month.* Don't brood over things, because why make yourself miserable?* Take it easy, don't be so hard on yourself. Mistakes happens and you might have moments where you're deeply disappointed in yourself. Learn from those moments and move on! Those type of moments can be opportunities for growth and action.I'm quite hard on myself and sometimes go into regret-mode where I feel like I've wasted my 20s, but then I'm reminded of this quote from The Sympathizer book:“If youth was not wasted, how could it be youth?”It's more of a quote to make myself feel better because it reminds me to not take life so seriously and that it's okay if I'm not where I want to be yet!