12 Ideas You Need to Totally Embrace in Your Early 20s

When moving out of your home and facing the world on your own for the first time, you question some of the most important rules to follow. You want to know the lessons you simply can’t learn in school or from another person. You want to know how to succeed later on in life and what you should be doing now to ensure a bright future.

Below are the rules that you should learn before you transition into your 30s. Perhaps you’ve already applied some of the rules below, or maybe you haven’t done any of them. Either way, there’s enough information for anyone to gather the proper information they need for their early 20s.

1. Quit Expecting Things To Approach Your Doors

Whether it’s waiting for the perfect lover to come into your life, the perfect job opportunity, or the lifestyle you want, you can’t expect any of it to magically approach you at the front door. Remove the idea that such as a book or movie, all you need is the perfect opportunity to strike.

Unlike the simple task of ordering Chinese food online, you can’t expect the opportunities you desire most to magically come knocking at your door. You’re going to have to work on it until you get the results you want such as a person who wants to lose weight, increase their income, or gain muscle. Always act on your desires and don’t sit still in wonder.

2. Live Like a Child Occasionally

By the time many people reach adulthood, they tend to act more serious than expected to avoid being considered a child. A conflicting mindset people in their early 20s struggle with is believing they need to be constantly mature and act as an “adult”.

But it’s necessary to release your inner urges to talk silly with your friends, make strange sounds, and sing in public. The act of letting go lets you see the bright side of life and remove the stress of how life can be.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Explore

Most people aren’t aware of what they want to do by the time they enroll in college, let alone high school or junior high. It isn’t always easy to locate your passion, but don’t think of it as an ultimate prize you need to discover. Think of it as a time to explore any hobbies you find interesting.

Perhaps you’ve always wondered how far you could go if you pursued your comic interest. Maybe you always wanted get yourself in a programming career. Whatever you’re interested in, don’t be afraid to try it out and see where it takes you. Even if you find whatever you’re interested in to be boring after a period of time of investing into it, move onto the next hobby. Such as what was said above, don’t think about your dream. Act on it.

4. Learn Whatever you Can

Learning isn’t only meant to get good grades in school, but as a means to expand your life’s path. It’s easy to forget the importance of knowledge after you graduate from high school or college. And it doesn’t help when you’re use to being constantly forced to study random subjects you’re not interested in, thus taking away the excitement of learning.

However, it’s possible to learn through a variety of free resources online to further your self education. Whether it’s in coding, history, or art design, put in the time to invest in learning something that can further your knowledge in your career or personal life.

5. Accept Yourself

Don’t hate yourself because you’re not where you want to be at in life or you previously failed at something. It’s human nature to occasionally feel lazy, get tired, and lack motivation. But sitting around in self-hate will only sabotage your mind towards a negative path.

Accepting yourself doesn’t mean you have to be okay with your bad habits, it just means you have to accept that it’s there. Failure is part of life and the biggest obstacle to overcome are your negative thoughts. There’s always time to change any habits you’re not comfortable with whether it’s an addiction, laziness or procrastination. Again, the most important rule to apply is to act on it and learn from your mistakes.

6. Don’t Categorize People

Just because you have a few wet dollars in your piggy bank doesn’t mean you have to throw away your entire fortune. Always make a conscious effort to know that a person’s background, culture, or education doesn’t define them at all. The world is filled with people in many shapes and sizes, and each have their own set of characteristics that makes them who they are.

Sure, you might meet a few rich jerks who think they own the world, but that doesn’t mean all rich people are evil. Sure, you might come across a few poor people who stole from others, but that doesn’t mean every poor person steals. In every group of people, there will always be the small bunch of intolerable people that gives the rest a bad rep. Thus, give yourself the habit of realizing that you can’t judge a few bad seeds for the entire group of people.

7. Think Independently

People are easily persuaded to agree with the majority of people to avoid being known as the “black sheep.” Although people usually agree with the majority of society to feel accepted, blindly agreeing with what others say could easily backfire.

You begin believing that you’re not wealthy enough, don’t have the perfect relationship, don’t have the perfect body, or you need a certain career. You lose sight of what you originally wanted to avoid conflicting thoughts with someone close to you. But when someone tries to sell you an idea that you must live a certain way, they’ll only giving advice on what they would do if it was their own life.

Sure, if you agree with someone that you want to own a business, then take whatever advice they offer you. But if your only reason to become a doctor was because your father wanted you to, think it over before you commit to such a lifestyle.

8. Escape Your Comfort Zone

Don’t live your entire life in the place you grew up at. Make an effort to live somewhere different whether it’s in another city, state, or country. It might be uncomfortable leaving the place you spent your childhood at, but living in a new environment open your eyes to the world. You don’t have to live there forever, but temporarily experience a different lifestyle or culture and receive a lifetime of memories. Speaking of which…

9. Buy Experience. Not Materials

Although buying a new watch, car, or boat can be nice that moment, those are material objects that can eventually wear and tear. Unlike material objects, memories are priceless experiences that remain with you forever. Remember, the older you get, the more commitments you get yourself into. Before you know it, you’ll have children, get a mortgage, and become serious about your career.

Thus, during your 20s, give yourself the opportunity to do things you probably never even considered. Instead of buying a new game console, buy an airplane ticket and travel to Vegas. Go sailing, scuba diving, and visit concerts to build experiences in the outside world.

10. Test the Waters

It’s common for people to constantly daydream about their ideal husband or wife. But sitting around daydreaming about it isn’t going to help you. You can imagine yourself being happy with a introvert, but maybe you’re better fitted with an extrovert. Figure out the type of person you want to settle with for the rest of your life by not being afraid to date often.

Rather than relying on the idea of a perfect spouse, put in the effort to get yourself out there. Sitting around doing nothing won’t satisfy those deep desires. People do that everyday and by the time they reach 30, they regret all the women or men they were afraid to take a risk on.

11. Manage Your Finances

When you’re in your early 20s, saving money can be a difficult process to maintain. Especially if you’re dealing with debt from your college tuition and renting your first apartment. But every week or month, save at least 10% of your income in a saving account for a rainy day.

Avoid the temptations of buying useless objects that you’ll eventually throw aside in the future, and save that money for a day you’ll need it. Manage the major difference between your needs and your wants before you make any major purchases.

12. Read As Much as Possible

A useful habit to uphold is reading a new book as much as possible. Read about love, romance, your interests, other people mistakes, and everything you can think of. The importance of having a mentor is the chance to learn from their expertise and walk a similar path. However, when mentors aren’t available, the next best source are books bcause it contain their mental thoughts and advice. Expand your knowledge by reading other people experiences and where they failed at in life so you could avoid them.

As a final thought…

Such as the advice mentioned above, one of the best ideas to apply is the ability to start now and just do it. And if you need more motivation, watch the video below:

Enjoyed This Article?

Share it with your friends on Facebook