Your 20’s. An exciting, chaotic, glorious, and stressful mess! It’s no wonder why they call it the turbulent 20’s. Although our 20’s are often riddled with more responsibilities, tough decisions, changes, and stressful situations, these years are also critical for our personal growth and development. This when your life starts to get busy and the realities of “adulting” tend to set in pretty quick. However, this is also the time to begin focusing on yourself, your needs, and your decisions. Throughout the years, self-care becomes a necessity and taking time to invest in your mental health becomes crucial! Because after all, we are all trying to steadily navigate our twenties and reach overall happiness and success in our lives. So with that, these are the 6 things you need to let go of in your 20s in order to live your best life!
1. Toxic relationships/friendships
Your twenties are the perfect time to evaluate the people you call your friends and let go one the ones who bring you any negativity in your life! This is the perfect time to start focusing on yourself and surrounding yourself with good and trustworthy people. One’s that will build you up instead of trying to compete with you on everything and constantly make you feel bad about yourself.
Same goes for relationships! If you are currently in a relationship that seems to make you feel more depleted and unhappy rather than assured and encouraged, then you need to call it quits. Again, this is the time to focus on yourself, your happiness, and your independence. Don’t settle in a relationship where you keep giving from a cup that’s only half full. With that, you can’t expect to find yourself in any kind of demanding and exhausting relationship. Do it for the sake of your mental and emotional wellness! Letting go of a toxic person is never a bad or selfish thing to do!
2. Timelines
There is no perfect or correct time for anything. Yet, we get caught up on these timelines that we installed into our ideal plan for success or for life in general. I am definitely guilty doing this! However, in the past year or so, I’ve learned to let go of these crafted timelines that I had given myself for years. I always told myself “I need to be done with the school at this time to begin my lifelong career at 22” or “I should be making this amount of money by now,” and so on.
Ultimately, this mindset is potentially holding us from finding our true passions and potentials in life! You don’t need to be living your 20s focused solely on what’s “supposed-to-be” or the “shoulds” as opposed to what you are doing right now, today! Embrace today and don’t let your brain or society fool you that you need to be in doing something else. What you are doing right now is the exact path that you’re supposed to be on. With that, there is no need to stress or worry about what “should be” happening. You are on your right path and you are taking the right steps that will take you towards your goal!
3. Letting someone else define you
Never let anyone else’s opinion, criticism or judgments define who you think you are. When you put too much attention and value on someones else’s definition of you, you begin to live your life under someone else’s priorities or standards. Not to mention, it shows others that you undermine your self-worth and the trust that you have in yourself. You become dependent on others and start living a life that is right for them. Regain your independence and start putting more trust into yourself, your decisions, and your values! How you live your life is entirely up to you! Nobody else can have a say in it. And if they try to, don’t let them redirect you off of your chosen path.
Related Post: “4 Things You Need To Stop Apologizing For Right Now”
4. Comparison
We’ve all heard that phrase time and time again, “comparison is the thief of joy” and it’s 100% true! I think we all are guilty of getting caught up in a toxic situation where we compare ourselves to people on we see on the internet. This is especially true with social media! Whether it’s a celebrity, a blogger, a fellow parent, or someone that we know in real life – we have all done it. And we have all felt the insecurities that comparison can put on us.
But in return, it comparison causes us to feel bitter, depressed, and often angry with others and ourselves. These emotions get the best of us and it begins to take a toll on our mental health. For us to find joy and peace in our lives and in ourselves, we have to practice letting go of the negativity anytime we feel those insecurities start to creep up on us. Also, it is so important to remember that comparison won’t get you anywhere, sis! It will only cause you to resent the wonderful things that you DO have in your life and the wonderful people that you have in your life.
Take a moment of gratitude anytime that you start to see yourself comparing your life to someones else’s. You don’t know what goes on behind the scenes in their life anyway! The main thing that I want you to take away from this is: start being happy with where you are in your life right now and who you truly and uniquely are!
5. Saying yes to everything & everyone
Your 20’s are supposed to be your “selfish” years! Embrace it! Of course, there is nothing wrong with helping others and looking out for the people you care about – but you have to look out for yourself as well. Don’t forget about that and do not neglect your mental health, boundaries, or decisions for the sake of someone else’s wishes. The moment you begin to stop people-pleasing and start putting more value on your wants and needs, the happier and freer you will feel! You are not responsible for anyone else’s happiness. It’s easier said than done, but your 20’s are the perfect time to start practicing this quality.
Related Post: “How to Say “No” Without Feeling Guilty”
6. Letting failures or setbacks keep you down
If you want to get over your fear of failure, then you need to become obsessed with the process towards your goal. Not just the end goal alone. And if you are one who lets failures keep you down, then keep reading!
You need to be able to get back up every. single. time. you fall down. That is how average people have found abundant success in their lives. They did not have a bad week or bad month and say to themselves, “I stuck, I quit, I can’t finish it, I give up,” and so on! There are so many people who are excited, optimistic, and highly motivated when they begin their journey to reach their goals. However, when they are not seeing results as quickly as they had hoped or they are not making money their first day or first week, they give up. You need to remind yourself that success takes time!
Not only that, but success is also very personal! Everyone’s definition of success is different in their own unique way. We need to stop letting others define success for us and focus on our OWN goals, passions, and dreams. It’s okay to “fail!” Failure promotes growth, knowledge, and resilience! Have some faith in yourself! After all, it took Thomas Edison 1000 different tries when inventing the light bulb. So it may just take you a few extra tries to reach your goal too!
Related Post: “The Top 7 Characteristics You Need To Be Successful”
What are some things you have learned to let go of in your 20s?!
Share some of your best advice with us in the comments!
xo, Cydney
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