19 Realizations You Owe It To Yourself To Have In Your 20s
1. You have to just embrace the madness. We’re never truly going to know when the timing is right, or always have all the right answers. And to be honest, it’s essentially impossible for things to always go the way we’d like them to. Embrace the confusion. If something feels right for the moment, go for it.
2. You experience the pain to experience the pleasure. Painful situations often indicate that a shift is occurring in your life and you are embarking on a new journey. The most painful experiences are the ones that teach us the most valuable lessons. When we feel the pain, we feel the pleasure.
3. Rejection is just another part of life. Rejection shows you what is really meant for you. It’s an indicator for what’s supposed to be a part in your life and what isn’t. Something better will always come around if you allow it to. You will then realize how important rejection really is.
4. Forgiveness is less about them, and more about you. Forgiveness is a gift you keep giving yourself. You don’t forgive because you are weak, but because you are strong. Realize that the only way to let go of resentment is to forgive yourself first.
5. No one can dictate your limits. If somebody tells your that your goals are unattainable, don’t shrink them to match theirs. Always set your goals as high as you can and reach for them regardless of what anyone else thinks.
6. Life isn’t supposed to be fair. No matter what cards we’re dealt, we always have control over what we choose to do with them. If you were dealt with a sh*tty hand, you can either allow your circumstance consume you, or you can take it upon yourself to write your own ending.
7. Life is more about the journey and less about the destination. If we keep treating life like it’s a destination then we end up missing out on what life is truly about. There’s no finish line. Life is a continuous flow of highs and lows and until you learn to master the lows you won’t be able to relish in the highs.
8. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. It’s a great feeling to have people who love and support everything you do, but what’s even better is doing those things for yourself. If you don’t believe in you, why would anyone else? You have to be your own biggest fan and your own biggest critic.
9. Sometimes the best part of life is realizing why it’s better than things didn’t work out. One of the biggest moments of clarity in your life will come when you are grateful that things didn’t work out like you once hoped they would. The good, the bad, and ugly. They shaped you into who you are today and you finally appreciate them for exactly what they are.
10. Having luxuries is nice, but they aren’t everything. The happiest people I’ve ever met are also the poorest, and they are grateful for just life itself. It’s so important to never lose sight of what really matters in life.
11. You will fail before you flourish. The prospect of failure makes reaching a goal that much more rewarding. You’re going to fall on your face a couple of times before you get it right. Embracing criticizing will help you utilize it to become a better version of you. Failing does not mean that you are a failure. You’ll surprise yourself by what you’re capable of accomplishing when your back is against the wall. Nothing is more motivating than threshing on the edge of failure— and it will inspire you to do unimaginable things that you never thought were possible.
12. Your thoughts are just thoughts. The way you choose to interpret your thoughts is solely up to you. You are the awareness behind them, and you give them life. If you allow thoughts consume you, life will be a lot longer than you’d like it to be.
13. Nothing will change you like having your heart broken will. In many ways, having your heart broken is a sobering experience. It shows us how important it is to love yourself and how sometimes things aren’t meant to last for a lifetime. The relationship you have with yourself is something you should always cherish and take care of. Learn from your heart break. The outcome it is entirely up to you. You can either allow heart break destroy you, or let it make you become even stronger.
14. People will either lift you up or drag you down. Life should be a fun and exciting journey, so ditch people who only bring you down. Someone else’s negative attitude has absolutely nothing to do with you, so spend all of your time and energy with people who lift you up. You are the sum of the few most present people in your life. You have control over who you engage with, so surround yourself with interesting people who inspire you.
15. You need to let go of fixed plans and concepts, and then the world will regulate itself. When you let go of any fixed expectations you may discover that reality is much greater than you anticipated. Stop focusing on what you think your life should be like, and start making your life the way you want it to be.
16. The desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are directly related to one another. If you’re constantly seeking security through others you’re resisting the ability to feel secure on your own. When you feel secure with yourself, you won’t need another person for validation.
17. Life is not a zero sum game. Someone does not have to lose in order for you to win.
18. Small opportunities are still opportunities. It’s okay to start small. Dream as big as the sky, but don’t become prideful. You will come to realize that small opportunities are typically the ones that will lead to bigger ones.
19. The meaning of life is to be alive. Realize that there is no correct way to live your life, and no one can tell you how you should do so. We’re all headed on dissimilar journeys, separate paths, with different demons just trying to find our way. 
