27 Lessons in 27 Years
Call it late-20’s introspection or a quarter-life crisis, but the candles don’t fit on the cake anymore.
1. Rule ’em out!
For a quarter of my life, I thought things had to ‘be a certain way’ because people said so. I’m glad that quarter’s over, cause you know what the best part of growing older is? Ruling out the so-called ‘rules’ and making your own.
2. It’s-just-a-number
No, really, it’s true what they say. There’s a whole list of things you might’ve not accomplished versus a whole lot that you have. Things happen, deadlines change and it’s really okay if your goals happen to get pushed by a few years.
3. The short films lead to the big picture
Micro goals and micro habits, one day at a time, form the big picture eventually, consistency is ✨everything✨
4. Dream, Doubt, Dream
And do it all over again. 20-somethings are not strangers to existential/mid-youth crises — let the doubts arise, over and over, but don’t let the dream cease.
5. Can’t catch ‘em all
(Only a 90’s kid would reference Pokemon). I’ve learnt that no matter how hard you try, you can’t keep everyone in your life and that those who have to go, will go — and as much as I love the colour, the grey area with people isn’t the best place to be.
6. Eliminate the A-word!
A-n-x-i-e-t-y, probably the millennial’s most used word. Or if you can’t eliminate it, by all means, use it and embrace it, but try to fix it, don’t live with it.
7. Can’t let Atychiphobia get the best of us
That horrific word there translates to fear of failure. ‘We can’t let the fear of failure overshadow the confidence in ourselves and our passion’, someone wise once said and it stayed with me.
8. It’s an extrovert’s world
And us introverts are just living in it. But that’s okay, we’ll just be here (silently) achieving our goals and enjoying our own company whilst at it.
9. Party of One
With every passing year, the birthday invitation list gets smaller. And that’s okay too, nothing better than being surrounded by less people and lots of love, rather than the other way round.
10. Don’t go down that rabbit hole, Alice
Being happy shouldn’t take so much effort. Our chronic bad habits lead us into a downward spiral and in the rabbit hole of unhappiness. But here’s a fact, our innate state, which takes the least effort, is being happy. Find the innate self!
11. Love is far from perfect
It’s easy to spell and hard to define, and when found, puts you on cloud 99. The beauty is not in the perfection but in the work, and in the hearts that beat to each other’s rhythms.
12. No-BS people are the best kind
The world needs more people who wear their hearts on their sleeves — 100% true and transparent. No more of these brooding, ‘wait 24 hours until I text back’ ones. Yep, I said it.
13. The ‘5 AM Club’ FOMO
If you’re not wired to be a morning person, that’s completely okay. ‘Morning people and night owls are just born that way’, says ✨science✨. It doesn’t mean we aren’t trying hard enough to wake up and get sh*t done, it just means we’re evening people and are our best selves in the PM.
14. The thing about second chances
Everybody deserves a second chance. Maybe sometimes even a third. People make mistakes but they also evolve, grow and become more self-aware with time.
15. Spirituality is AWESOME
It’s life changing. The simplest of thoughts and practises, with a simple message — live freely, love fearlessly and dance to the tunes of this life. ‘The Essential Rumi’ is my go-to spiritual guide, if you’re ever looking for a light, comforting spiritual pick-me-up.
16. You do You, hun
Embrace who you are and find people who love you for it. Easy to say, not the easiest to follow because the world tries to change you. Change for the better (a better version of you), but not for the world.
17. The heart knows best
When it comes to ‘Mind or Heart’, let the heart win. It’s closer to your gut :)
18. ‘Find Yourself’ is the most overrated thing
Not everybody finds themselves. And that’s okay. The truth, in my opinion is, you never really “find yourself” because you’re evolving everyday and instead you find parts of yourself along the way, parts which make a whole.
19. Big Bad World, they said
The world is only as cruel as you make it to be. Everyone will tell you it’s a bad world out there…but there’s also beauty, love, friendship, purpose, and so many other great things we often tend to overlook.
20. The tortoise won the race
There’s no harm in slowing down sometimes, not everyone can run at the same pace. We’re all really out here at different stages — some married, some with kids, some kicking a** in their careers, some single — so how do we compare?!
21. We really, truly live for Art
Art is the best form of indulgence. Music, films, books, poetry…we were made to create, appreciate and fall in love with art.
22. You’re your best cheerleader
Being your own self-starter and self-motivator is the best thing you can be. Nothing like your own inner voice telling you to GO GET ‘EM instead of ‘nah, you can’t get em.’
23. Learn, learn, learn
It doesn’t have to be as big as learning new courses, it can be the littlest of things which can be incorporated every day — a new word, a new concept, a new dance, a new anything!
24. Remember to pause
Watch the sky, stop and smell the roses and all that — you’d be surprised how refreshing the smallest of things can be.
25. Perfection is overrated.
And an obsession with it is never good. Another rabbit hole you don’t want to go down, Alice.
26. Not everyone finds their passion
If you’ve never found your passion, that’s okay, no, that’s awesome because you end up trying different things. The constant chase of “purpose” is, in all honesty, exhausting.
27. Promise yourself to laugh, love and live
Don’t take things too seriously. Everything heals. Laugh a lot, love a lot and live a lot — it’s why you’re here, grandma.
