PPL Share What They Wish They Knew In Their 20s.

I am well into my 30s now, and I often have moments where I think to myself I wish I knew this in my twenties. On the surface, our twenties seem fun and carefree. However, for many, its a rollercoaster and a difficult path to self-discovery. It can sometimes feel like you’re a grown teenager trying to figure out this whole adulting thing. I asked our Instagram followers to share what they wish they knew in their twenties and here’s what they said.

1. “That I was enough and deserved the good stuff.”

The lesson? Don’t be so hard on yourself. You don’t have to earn rest and compassion.

2. “To save and invest.”

Save? Invest? Sure, it was on my mind but I chose clothes, going out to eat, and clubbing over being financially smart. I often think of those expensive night-outs and cringe.

3. “To take more risks, bet on myself, and to say yes to opportunities more often.”

If there was a time in my life where I could take the most risks, it was in my twenties. However, I barely took any. I played it safe. Too safe. I wish I tried more jobs, took more classes, and said yes to more opportunities. I often turned down opportunities because I was scared or didn’t think I had what it took. Or I thought it just wasn’t a part of my plan.

4: “Take advantage of time. Sh*t goes too fast and I feel like I have none with a kid now.”

I had so much time in my twenties, even with a job and college classes. I was just somehow unaware of it. Now? I feel like I have to schedule showers and eating around the crazy amount of daily tasks I have along with work.

5: “Follow my intuition.”

I rarely trusted my intuition. I often confused it with my anxiety. When I look back, I see how many things went wrong when I didn’t listen to that little voice.

6: “Don’t ignore red flags.”

Red flags in my twenties were a challenge. I wish I never tried to fix anyone and just worked on myself.

7. “To let people go sooner.”

Walking away is hard. It’s even harder when your in your twenties and not sure of yourself. There are so many relationships I kept clinging to that were way past their expiration dates because I was afraid to set boundaries.

8: “Never settle to make other people happy.”

I wish I focused on my happiness more. I don’t know why, but I worried more about others than myself. I cared what other people thought. I wasted so much time and energy trying to make other people happy when it was not only impossible, but not even my responsibility.

9. “That money isn’t the goal but happiness and peace of mind are.”

Sure, money is important but I wish I considered my happiness more when choosing a career or path. I often only considered money when choosing a job, certificate, or degree and let my passions fall to the side.

10: “Explore different streams of income.”

Back then, having one stream of income was the goal. It was safe. It was what most people were taught to do. I wish I knew that I didn’t have to put all my eggs in one basket and that having side hustles or other avenues or streams of income was a boss move.

11: “I Wish I knew how fast your 20s go by.”

I feel like I blinked and I turned 30. I wasted so much time worrying instead of enjoying it.

12: “I wish I knew to trust my gut.”

My gut feelings were always right. The problem? I never really trusted it and often kicked myself later when I did the exact opposite.

13: “I wish I knew how challenging motherhood would have been. Also, I wish I enjoyed myself too. Lastly, that everything is really going to be okay.”

I definitely did not expect motherhood to be as hard as it is. And so I rushed into it. And I didn’t even give myself a moment to enjoy my twenties. I was always in a rush. I wish I knew that everything would be fine and to just have more fun.

14: “Stop chasing people who don’t care about you, even family.”

There’s this weird transition in your twenties where you outgrow relationships your never thought you would. And so, I held on and tried to make them work. After all, they had worked for so many years before. One of the hardest lessons was learning that you outgrow people–even family. And that some people were around for the all the wrong reasons.

15: “How fast time goes. Enjoy the moment.”

And just as quickly as you made it through this list, I often feel it was the same as my twenties. I wish I knew just how fast it would have gone by. I would have enjoyed it way more and would have been more present and in the moment.