PART-1: THE FIRST 10 OF 20 THINGS EVERYONE MUST KNOW IN THEIR 20'S

Being in your early 30's you feel a whole lot wiser, while you are living, loving, falling, growing and learning, you also start to see changes in yourself. I recently leveled up and realized that though every birthday calls for a celebration, its also a time to reflect on the lessons learned over all these years, as life is full of ups and downs and it teaches lessons the hard way.

Below are the 10 things from Part 1 (with 10 more to follow in Part 2 soon). Some I learned early, while others I wish I'd known in my early 20's that would have made my life different from what it is today- but as they say, better late than never.

In this two-part series, I'll be sharing 20 key takeaways in total (Part1 and Part2) that might help people in their 20's learn, reflect, and become more authentic.

1.TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FINANCES - Whether you are earning less or more, start setting aside a portion of your income. You can do savings and investments simultaneously as per your monthly budget. If you are still working on getting a good job, you can start something small and regular for yourself side by side or make a stable saving habit even if its small. Every little bit counts and one day you'll be surprised how quickly it can add up. And just like that, you'll feel good about it.

2.CONSISTENCY OVER PERFECTION- Consistency is way more important than being perfect to achieve long term goals and make an everlasting change. A person who is imperfect but consistent will progress gradually and see improvements than a person who is inconsistent but perfect (and don't forget that nobody is perfect). Consistency is a process where you have to remain patient and believable with your focus and efforts. Its a habit formation activity that can't be formed or practiced overnight, be kind to yourself and take one step at a time. Remember, perfection is a decoy.

3.SPEAK UP WHEN NECESSARY- Communication is meant to convey your thoughts and opinions and being in a democratic country, you must speak up for yourself when and where required but respectfully. Expressing your ideas and feelings in a clear and respectful manner not only prioritize your needs but also increase your influence and impact. You don't have to be aggressive or confrontational, just make your words talk not your tone. (at least till the time other party doesn't force you to do so ;) Jokes apart, in such situations where respect is not reciprocated, its always better to set a boundary and step back. No response is also a response.

4.LEARN ANY NEW SKILL - In today's hasty and ever changing world, its quite important to acquire a new skill. With no zeal to advance and widen your career paths and working with those old traditional approaches, won't be always fruitful when you try to look forward to open yourself to new opportunities and possibilities in this dynamic world. Learn new skills to stay updated with the latest trends and technologies, to find your new passion, to explore different fields, to develop new interests, to build new networking opportunities, to get acquainted with your creative side. Trust me, it can be rewarding and enriching experience.

5.EMBRACE YOUR INDIVIDUALITY - Always remember, you are one of a kind. You have your own distinct experiences, characteristics, personalities, perspectives and qualities. You are different and unique in your own way and you should never ever be ashamed of it. Embrace your quirks and flaws, even if that means to stand out of crowd. Celebrate your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses not necessarily to the same degree as focusing on your strengths. Just be happy with what you are.

6.STRENGTHEN YOUR FAMILY BONDS - Family love and support is an essential need. Keep it, cherish it and strengthen it the most because this is what greatly impacts on your entire emotional, mental and physical well-being. You never know what your career may ask you for or what destiny has to bring to your doorstep, be always connected with your loved ones to nurture those bonds and create everlasting memories. Remember, when life will hit you hard, only your loved ones will stay with you till the end.

7.DON'T BE AFRAID TO FAIL - You know what, its completely okay to fail and start afresh, instead, what's not okay is to not face your failure and try escaping from it. Try to face the discomfort because that's where you will feel the light from within to move ahead with a new zeal. I feel the more we try to escape from a situation, the more actively it tries to catch up with us.

8.READ BOOKS - Who says books are just to get knowledge? Well, besides getting knowledge from a book you can also use it to enhance your creative abilities, relax your mind, enhance your imagination power and critical thinking, build vocabulary, work on different sentence structures, become empathetic, resonate with the characters and idols and give your emotional well-being a therapy. Reading books have numerous benefits, all you have to do is pick a right book from the genres you are most interested in and make it your all time portable friend.

9.KEEP TOXIC PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIPS AT BAY - Relationships and friendships take time, efforts and energy to grow. They provide nourishment to you helping you to flourish the bonds, so better water the ones that are worth nourishing and invest in what matters. Relationships and friendships should foster your personal growth and shouldn’t be a reason for your downfall. Happily let go of the toxic people because that relationship might be serving you today but tomorrow it may not. Its better to take steps to distance yourself than regret forever.

10.PRIORITIZE YOURSELF - Prioritizing yourself is a crucial aspect of self -care. Its more to do with self-awareness than selfishness. When you are making yourself a priority, you are not being selfish instead, you are protecting your time and energy and working on maintaining your overall well-being for living a happy, healthy and fulfilling life. You need to understand the difference between being selfish and being self-aware.

STAY CURIOUS AS I'LL BE SHARING THE REMAINING 10 THINGS IN PART-2 SOON.

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