What I Wish I Knew At Age 20

Here's everything everyone wish they knew at the age of 20. The number next to it indicates the age the author wrote it at.

Hey 20 year old, If it's too much to complete a habit, just try 10 minutes of it first. 10 minutes of walking outside, 10 minutes of meditation, 10 minutes of looking up new healthy recipes, 10 minutes of journaling your day, 10 minutes of gratitude, and so on.

Hey 20 year old, There are going to be things in this world you cannot control, and that is a dark truth you will have to accept. Learn to focus on what you can control, do your best with that, and that can expand your domain of control over time.

Hey 20 year old, If you have trouble getting out of your comfort zone, do the tiniest thing you can to grow. Even if it's just to clean your room or iron your clothes one day. Tiny habits will grow the more months and years pass, so start now.

Hey 20 year old, If you've been trying to fix a problem with the same solution for years, it's try to do something else. For example, if beating yourself up for not doing well has never made you actually do well, it's time to try something else.

Hey 20 year old, If you complain too much about the different relationships in life, find time to appreciate and show gratitude to those around you. If you only see the positives about a person or people, look to see their flaws. Be balanced in judging character.

Hey 20 year old, It's best to have a career you are passionate about, but the ideal career is never going to be 100% fun all the time. Even if you love a career, likely 80% of it will be fun, and at least 20% of it is exhausting. That's normal. Work is still work.

Hey 20 year old, You can't change the past, but you can change the future. What happened in the past doesn't have to determine your future. As long as you're alive, you can always start over, start anew and find a new beginning.

Hey 20 year old, If you forgot the type of things that made you happy, look back in childhood when you were very young to see the types of things that you enjoyed.

Hey 20 year old, PS : If you want to learn more about why the world is such a mess, look up the stages of spiral dynamics, based on a psychology study by Dr. Clare Graves of the stages to maturity.

Hey 20 year old, When stuck on a lack of inspiration, borrow ideas from multiple sources and combine it into something new. Have more than one passion and can't decide what to choose? Find a way to combine it into one big project.

Hey 20 year old, Obey and respect your dad

Hey 20 year old, Sometimes to vent to someone you hate that you've released contact from, write an angry letter or as many as you want to them without sending it. Then if you want, destroy it.

Hey 20 year old, In this world, everyone wants you to be someone else. Just know that if you want to find yourself, you need some time alone to reflect. If you don't know how to be alone, then you're going to have to learn how to not be lost.

Hey 20 year old, There's no one right way to live life. There are definitely wrong and immoral ways to live life, but that doesn't mean there is only one right choice. A different way to live is not necessarily wrong.

Hey 20 year old, Sometimes in life, there are multiple factors and causes to a problem in life, especially if it's a larger problem for much of society. Solving one cause doesn't mean every other thing is solved. It's complicated.

Hey 20 year old, Know that love doesn't mean someone controlling your every move and action because they 'love' you, whether that's in romance, in friendship, in family or anything else. Real love allows the other to be themselves.

Hey 20 year old, If you want a complex system to handle more complicated personal development issues, I suggest looking into Enneagram or looking up websites like Personality Hacker, Personality Junkie, Psychology Junkie and Personality Growth.

Hey 20 year old, If you don't know how to have sex and how to masturbate even as a legal adult, especially as a woman, it's okay to look it up and delete your browser history. Be safe and informed about this, before you try.

Hey 20 year old, In business and talk to people in confidence

Hey 20 year old, Yes, it's ideal if you end up with a career you love, and I'm not saying give up on that. Just know that if it doesn't turn out that way early on, that a career is not the only place you can find meaning in life in, after all.

Hey 20 year old, PS : If you have the attention span to understand personal development in 1 hour+ videos, look up Actualized.org if you want in depth videos for existential crises, not just the mundane.

Hey 20 year old, Learn to see different perspectives on one issue. I'm not saying you have to agree with everything, but consider as many opinions over an issue as possible. If you seek advice only in one or a few places, seek others' views.

Hey 20 year old, Without needing to have it as a degree, it's helpful for anyone to learn psychology for their own mental health and to learn how to talk to others. Look up for example Verywell Mind, Healthline, Psychology Today, Psych2Go or Healthy Gamer GG.

Hey 20 year old, You don't need one grand singular purpose of life. Sometimes people's purpose in life is to do a variety of random things and to contribute to the world with multiple random projects throughout their life.

Hey 20 year old, If you're interested in big philosophical questions to think about life, I suggest looking into philosophical schools like existentialism, absurdism, stoicism, and even Eastern philosophy if you keep wondering about questions like that.

Hey 20 year old, If you need help with self care, there are apps like Woebot, Wysa, Aloebud, Fabulous, Finch, Plant Nanny Water Tracker Log, To Don't, Happify, Habitica, Sparkle, Focus Plant, Insight Timer, Headspace, Calm and Shine.

Hey 20 year old, Know the signs of depression, the signs of anxiety, and especially the signs of suicidal thoughts. You or other people around you may be exhibiting these symptoms, so please at the very least, look it up online.

Hey 20 year old, If you want to look into therapy, I suggest looking into ones such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MSBR).

Hey 20 year old, nothing just worried about futur

Hey 20 year old, When you envy other people's successes, know that you never see the struggles that made them who you were today. For example, if you know someone muscular in the gym, you've never seen how for years before, they were far from that.