14 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 21

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Oh to be 21 again, right?

That age when you know everything and you’re pretty much invincible. The world is big and wide and life is all ahead of you, the possibilities are endless.

I think back to when I was 21 and I always felt like I had to do it all then and there. I had way too much stress at such a young age and felt like I needed to have it all together.

There are so many things I wish I knew when I was 21, and if I could go back right now, sit myself down, and have a good chat, this is what I’d tell that younger version of me.

1 – You Don’t Need To Know What You Want In Life Right Now

Toward the end of school, we were always told that we had to prepare for the rest of our lives.

We needed to know what we wanted out of life and chase it.

I finished school when I was 16 years old. Would you trust a 16-year-old making life decisions?

Uh… no.

The thing is, what we want in life changes all the time.

What I wanted when I was 16 is very different from what I wanted in life when I was 21 and what I want out of life now.

There are times when I don’t even know what I want. When I’m just coasting through because I don’t have a clear direction.

That’s okay!

You don’t need to know what you want out of life every single minute – just make sure you are doing positive things and moving forwards.

The direction will come to you.

2 – You Can Change Your Career Anytime You Want

For some reason, we seem to get caught up in the notion that when you have decided on your career then that is it… that’s your career until you retire.

The way things are at the moment, the retirement age for me won’t be until I’m 75.

Will I still be a Paramedic then? Probably not.

Will I still be a writer? Who knows.

Careers are not set in stone.

This means two big things – if you’re stuck in a career that you don’t like then you can change it.

And… if you’re after a career but never had the chance to get there then there’s always time to do it.

Take my mum for example – she wanted to be a teacher from when she was in primary school herself. Because of life circumstances, she never had the opportunity to study and become a teacher.

When she was in her 30s (sorry mum) she went to university and studied her butt off to get her degree. Now she has the career she has always wanted.

3 – Debt Is Not A ‘Normal’ Part Of Life

Now – don’t get me wrong here. There’s necessary debt such as a mortgage, there are not many people in the world that can go out and buy their home outright.

I’m talking about unnecessary debt – credit cards and personal loans.

If I had set myself up better financially when I was 21 I would be in a much better place now.

Educate yourself about money, debt, and finances.

4 – Make Big Boals And Chase Them

I read a quote somewhere that said ‘if your goals don’t scare you then they aren’t big enough.’

Goals are not a place where we need to be conservative.

This article from Life Hack explains why setting big goals for yourself is important.

If we all set goals we thought we could achieve then we wouldn’t really push ourselves now, would we?

5 – Family Is Everything – They Are The Ones Who Will Be There No Matter What

I’ve had both friendships and relationships come and go in my life and the one constant has always been my family.

Regardless of the situation or circumstance, my family has stood by me through the good times and the bad.

They are the ones who will always be there – treat them like they are the greatest people on earth because they really are.

6 – Don’t Give Up On Your Friends For A Relationship

As above, I have been through a few relationships in my time and sadly a few of them have been quite controlling and manipulative.

Jealously managed to rear its ugly head and the person I was dating at the time forced their way between myself and my friends.

At the time you feel like you’re in love and that your relationship is the most important thing but anyone who loves you, truly loves you, will accept you for who you are, and will accept your friends.

They don’t have to like them, but they will accept them.

7 – Know What You Want In A Partner And Don’t Settle Or Anything Less

I had always thought that love was enough to get my relationships through anything.

I would date a guy and think that the little things they did to annoy the crap out of me didn’t matter. Those little things become big things.

There were certain traits I wanted in a man – someone who looked after their health, someone who was strong and masculine, someone who had the same or similar family values as me, someone who was a positive and happy person, someone who treated my family well, someone who enjoyed being spontaneous – getting outside and doing things but could also appreciate a day at home, someone educated and intelligent and more than anything else, someone who loved me for me.

None of my relationships met this criteria – until I met Steve, my husband. And I have never been happier.

8 – Manners Are Essential

One of the things that irk me more than anything else is poor manners.

A simple ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ will get you so much further in life.

This extends to taking the time to thank people for things they have done for you or for helping you.

A simple Thank You card in the mail will absolutely make someone’s day.

9 – Kindness And Sincerity Will Get You Much Further Than Hostility And Deceit

In keeping with the theme of the previous point – kindness and sincerity will accelerate you through life with a smile on your face.

Being hostile and deceitful will only put massive blockades in your way and will stop people from wanting to help you.

10 – Learn To Enjoy Time Alone

This little gem took a solo holiday to Thailand for me to realize.

Time alone helps you to understand who you are and helps you to place value in yourself.

You need to learn who you are, be happy with who you are, and know that time alone is not a bad thing.

11 – Take Your Health Seriously

Back in my early 20’s my metabolism worked like a charm, I had little understanding of what ‘health’ actually meant and figured it was all about dieting and exercise.

Now I know that there’s so much more to it than that.

Understanding the basics of how the body works is essential in understanding health.

It’s not all about rabbit food and treadmills.

Holistic health involves nourishment for your mind and body and is the key to being truly healthy.

12 – There Is More To Life Than Work

I know so many people who slave away for their jobs – I was one of them!!

While I completely understand that your job is important and it may very well be your passion, it should never come before your family.

I’ve worked for companies that have taken everything they could from me, I worked 70-hour weeks and was only paid for 40 hours, and I gave up days off, weekends, and time with family and friends to help them out.

And what happened when I needed a favor returned?

You guessed it.

There is an art to balancing life and work and sometimes we mess it up but as long as we remember that family comes first no matter what then all works out in the end.

13 – Sometimes You Just Need To Take Time For Yourself

When was the last time you did something for yourself?

In my early 20’s I was always busy doing things for others, for my job, for friends, for family… I never really understood the value of taking time for myself or doing something that was just for me.

Now I do.

Just 5 minutes is all it takes to see things in a different way, create a new mindset and just stop and appreciate a few minutes alone.

14 – At The End Of The Day, Be Happy

I mean this literally – do not go to bed cranky.

You will not wake up feeling better in the morning.

Do whatever you need to do to get those negative thoughts out of your mind and focus on something happy to end your day.

For me it’s writing – I write down anything that is clouding my mind in order to clear it.

Then I talk to my husband about positive things before going to bed.

It can be as simple as talking about the funny things our son has been doing or something that’s coming up that we are both looking forward to.

You need to make sure that at the end of each day, you are happy.

So there’s a lot I’ve learned and discovered about myself, about life and about relationships in general during my 20’s..

It makes me wonder what lies ahead for me.

What lessons have I yet to learn and what will I be wanting to tell my ‘younger’ self in my early 30’s?