Lifestyle

Adulting: 28 Lessons I’ve Learned By 28

Life goes on— Seriously, what’s the point in dwelling? You can’t change the past. Move on.
You teach people how to treat you— This one is major. If you teach people that you’ll put up with just any sort of behavior, they likely won’t give you their best.
It’s okay to be a little selfish– Do what you need to do for you. As long as you’re not hurting anyone. Don’t feel too obligated. Obligation can become a prison.
You get what you give— It’s simple. The effort you put in, you get back. That goes for work, school, and relationships.

5. Learn to find the good in everything– This is something that I’ve taught myself over time. If you learn to see the good in everything it makes life better. It can be something simple. For example, on cold winter mornings in Wisconsin, I’m grateful for a garage so I don’t have to go out to a cold car.

6. What you allow, is what will continue— If you allow people to treat you in ways that are less that great, they will continue to do so.

7. Don’t be in a rush- This is one that I’ve learned recently. I’ve tried to rush my life. Feeling like you should be in a different position is damaging to your process. Being in a rush is a sure way to get in an accident.

8. Literally no one has it figured out- I think sometimes we can get stuck in a rut. We often times can get down on ourselves for not having our lives figured out but the truth is, everyone is wingin’ it. We are all just trying to figure it out day by day. The sooner you accept that, the better.

9. Be nice to yourself, you’re listening- How many times have you said unkind things to yourself by calling yourself: fat or ugly? My motto: if you wouldn’t say it to your best friend, don’t say it to yourself.

10. Cut your hair, it grows back- I’m a major proponent of having fun hair. Cut your hair, get extensions, and dye it. Do whatever the hell you want to with your hair. It’s just hair, it grows back. Obviously, some things can be damaging to your hair so you have to do your research and/or seek professional hair care to ensure the health of your hair is maintained. But hair should be fun!

11. Don’t succumb to the beliefs of societal timelines- It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of where you “should be” by a certain age but everyone is different and everything is on your time.

12. You are who you are, you better start liking you- You only get one life. It’s really important to fall in love with who you are. Embrace your features, the wonder in your flaws and the beauty in your strengths.

13. Seeing a therapist is not shameful- As we know mental health amongst millennials is a hot topic. As we are getting more open about our anxieties and depression, it’s important to talk to someone who can help.

14. Those once perky and firm boobs are going to start to soften (dammit)– I have no real advice about this one. It’s just a really annoying fact that your boobs are not going to stay the same and it sucks.

15. You can’t drink Friday and Saturday- When I was 22, I could go out almost every night. I would go out, drink, and do the same things the next night. Now, at 28 I cannot drink two days in a row. I also prefer to drink Fridays because if I’m going to be worthless, I’d rather be worthless Saturday than Sunday.

16. Acknowledge toxic shit and walk away from it- You deserve to rid yourself of things that don’t serve you. Staying in a toxic friendship, job, relationship does not serve you. And a relationship does not mean just romantic, this can be a parent or a sibling as well.

17. Travel– Travel as much as you can. See the world. Learn other cultures.

18. Go with your gut– That sneaky thing called intuition was given to you for a reason. Learn to trust yourself and listen to your gut.

19. Set boundaries for other people– Don’t give too much of yourself to others that makes you uncomfortable. Set boundaries and expectations and walk away when the boundaries are pushed.

20. Be true to yourself– Do whatever it is you need to do for you. Don’t continue to do things because they make other people happy. Do what makes you happy.

21. What you think, you attract– As a person who firmly believes in the law of attraction, I believe that what you put out into the universe, the universe gives it back. So make sure it’s positivity.

22. You have to get uncomfortable to grow– I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a really long time. I knew I had the skills to do so but I didn’t have the drive. I was scared of what people would think. I was scared that people would laugh at me for taking a leap, but I realized that you have to get uncomfortable to grow. Your growth is just on the other side of your fears.

“Your growth is just on the other side of your fears.”

23. Set goals– If you don’t know what you’re working toward, you likely will do the minimum. I’ve learned that you should set daily, weekly, monthly goals. I read the 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. This is where I learned to set goals and the template to use.

24. Happiness is in you, you just have to choose it– I think sometimes people (including me) try to find happiness. Once I realized that happiness was everywhere and I just needed to choose it, things got better. There is so much beauty around you but you have to decide whether you see it or not.

25. Take some time to yourself– Life gets busy. We are always running around and getting things done. Sometimes we rarely stop and just take some adequate time for ourselves. If you live alone, take some time during the week to reflect. If you don’t, I suggest making time to get away. Even if it’s just for a 30 minutes a day.

26. Live and love with passion– Only do things that set your soul on fire. You won’t create a magical life doing things that you aren’t passionate about.

27. Loving is apart of life and missing is apart of moving on– This is something I learned during my first real break up. I was about 23 years old. I was in love with this person, we were on and off constantly. I knew it was time to move on. I missed him. That kind of missing someone where you literally feel ill. I kept making excuses to see him. He never denied a meeting but afterwards I always felt depleted. Eventually, I learned that loving was apart of my story but so was learning to miss.

28. You deserve the very best- Don’t ever mistake this. You deserve the best from yourself and the people around. Never ever settle for less than the best from yourself or others.