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!
