Twenty-nine things to help navigate our messy, fun 20s:
- Eat your greens, protein, and fruits daily. Eat that chocolate bar, too.
- Drink two cups of tea daily. One in the morning to awaken your senses, and another in the afternoon to soothe your mind.
- Sleep for eight hours every night.
- Move. If possible, walk 10,000 steps daily.
- Take care of your skin with the best suited cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and sunblock.
- Wear clothes and shoes that fit you well.
- When you’re feeling sad, catch the sunset to remind you of life’s sweetness. When you’re feeling hopeless, catch the sunrise to remind you of life’s progress.
- Discover at least one thing you enjoy doing with your hands—paint, draw, write, cook, build, play an instrument.
- Take the time to know yourself. Spend at least an hour of solitude with yourself every day.
- Take a deep breath when you’re feeling stressed to release the tension. Take a deep breath when you’re feeling euphoric to soak in the moment.
- Work to live. Fill the rest of your time with deepening relationships, creating something, or going on adventures.
- Muster the courage to reach out to people you admire and want to emulate. If they say no, you will still have learned what courage feels like.
- Know the difference between lifestyle aspirations and basic necessities.
- Meet your basic needs. Make room for the occasional splurges.
- Your time, energy, willpower, and attention are limited resources. Choose wisely where to invest them.
- There are only three things you can control: what you think, what you say, what you do.
- Be clear with your intentions. It will help you say no to things that do not align—whether that’s choosing a club to join, staying in or leaving a relationship, partying or staying home, persisting in your job or jumping ship.
- When you feel stuck, seek advice from people you trust or want to be like, meet someone new, or do something for the first time.
- Grow and maintain relationships with people who want to support you. Reciprocate.
- When you don’t like a situation or a person, there are three options you can take: accept and learn something new, influence change, or walk away completely.
- Express your thoughts and feelings. People who care for you will make space for you to say them.
- Apologize when you’re wrong. Apologize when you hurt someone even if you think you did nothing wrong.
- Make people who are important to you feel appreciated, loved, and cared for.
- Help others when you can.
- Respect everyone. More importantly, respect yourself first.
- Perfection is an illusion. Strive for excellence in areas that matter to you.
- Beginnings are both exciting and difficult. Persist through the initial friction and be mindful whether you are moving toward the right direction.
- There is merit in going slow at times. Slow down so you can allow the right people and right opportunities to catch up.
- Learn from bad experiences and take stock of the good ones.
