Mistakes.. Part 1

I came across this article while browsing on my Facebook Newsfeed. “13 worst mistake people make in their 20’s” Read original story here: http://www.businessinsider.com/worst-mistakes-people-make-in-their-20s-2014-8

It hit me hard, because I have committed all these 13 worst mistakes under the age of 25. I am 27 years old now, and it’s only been 2 years or so that I got up on my knees to correct these awful lapses I made through the course of my existence.

Since this is my first article for my blog (Hooray!!), I've decided to take this article as a template and embellish it using my own experience.

1. They think education and talent are enough to become successful.

When I was still studying, my idea is that being well educated and intelligence will give me a luxurious life, or rather, a better life. I relied mostly on the principle that the only way to get ahead of everyone else is to be school – smart and have studied in a known university.

After graduation, I have high hopes of working abroad or even working for a top notch healthcare institution (I am a registered nurse btw). But that is not always the case. I have transferred from job to job because I carry this ego that I am better than everyone else. And now, I am working in an IT company which has nothing to do with my background in the medical field.

Yes, getting a diploma is still an advantage to become successful whether you decide to become an employee or the employer, but what’s most important is our attitude towards people. We are living in a competitive environment wherein intellectual capacity is just a portion to be considered, the other half is our ability to be like, remembered and trusted.

2. They don't start saving money.

One thing I learned about this mistake is to “Find Happiness in Saving”. Saving money for my future was one of the most important lessons that life taught me. Why didn’t I start early? Many factors like I can ask from my parents anytime when I need it or the mentality in which you think you just have enough money as it is, let alone any extra money to save.

And then I became penniless. I got so flat broke that I don’t even have a single peso savings for myself. It came to a point that I need to borrow money from friends and relatives to survive. I was so embarrassed of the situation I promised myself that it will NEVER ever happen again in my life.

I then started to pay all my debts. After finishing them all, I created a plan on how I can pay my bills on time and save money at the same time. I listed all my expenses. I tried to live as frugally as possible. Now, I am debt free (there is a difference between bad and good credit). I still live a simple life, but I am now reaping the benefits of having more than enough – money. I have peace of mind knowing that whatever emergency situation arises, I am financially prepared.

3. They equate happiness with money.

I can actually connect this to Mistake #2. One of the reasons I was not able to save before is because of how I look at money. For me, having more money means I can buy more things and have more experiences than others, thus making me happier.

Now the question, what if you lose that money? Can you still be happy? At this moment, my point of view has changed. Though we cannot change the fact that it is one of the tools that gives us more choices when it comes to stability and freedom, money should not be the sole reason for someone else’s happiness. We look at being wealthy only in financial terms; we underestimate the other non-financial elements of our wealth, like health, which is Mistake #4.

4. They neglect their health.

I am taking this in a holistic approach. Physical, Mental and Emotional health.  We should always look at our overall well being. Unfortunately, I took for granted all 3 of these.

One example is my weight struggle. 

I was always on the heavy side since I was a child. It didn’t bother me, till I reach high school and college, wherein I took everybody’s comments personally about me being fat. I became emotionally depressed trying to lose weight. Crash diets, slimming creams, slimming pills (both legal and illegal) – name it, I’ve tried it. It gave me some psychological side effects like depression and paranoia. I did lose weight but in an utterly unhealthy way. I was thin, dry and soggy.

Though I am still guilty of some unhealthy practices now, I am doing way much better than before. Like what I mentioned earlier, our health is one of the most important non financial elements of our wealth. It may sound cliché, but health is wealth.

5. They give up when things get tough.

As a young adult, giving up seems the easiest way to get out of any trouble or problem. Failing an exam, losing a relationship, getting fired are just some examples.

I did this many times in my life. Giving up and losing hope when things don’t go my way. But hey, failure is an unavoidable part of our life. We can choose to do something about it or stay miserable about it.

I remember what JK Rowling said in her speech during the commencement exercises in Harvard University. She said “You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

6. They put things off.

Setting aside the things I want to do thinking I can do it at a later time in my life, then realizing that I had let all those opportunity past me so many times already.

One of the biggest regret I had till now is to further my education. I have always dreamed of studying a post college degree or studying medicine, but have always put that off on my current things I need to do. Now, I am way too far off from doing that. I should’ve done it when I was younger. I should’ve done it when I had the chance. But I let it pass.

7. They try to please everyone.

There is a saying “You can’t please everyone “, but why is it that we still try to please everyone? When I was much younger, I did try to please everyone by doing what they were doing, always agreeing to what everyone else is saying, being mediocre all the time etc. But even after doing all those things, there will always be someone who will dislike me, say bad things about me and even hate me – Big Time!

I stopped this behavior long time ago and it felt so damn good. I am my own person. I am not living in this world just to make everyone like me. Stop worrying and stressing yourself about what others say to you.

Am I still making sense guys? I know this post is already long so ….

Continuation of 8 – 13 will be on my next post.

Thank You for reading!