"People aspire to live a memorable life, and there's this tragic reality that most of us don't," Dustin Garis said last year during his TEDx talk. For
two years Garis traveled around the world, and on his journey he says
he learned that "life is not the number of days you live; it's the
number of days you remember." The key to living a
memorable life, he says, is pursuing one through breaking out of
routine, incorporating change every day, and the "epic and everyday acts
to save the day from being lost."
Work on important life skills
There are a number of life skills
people need to master, and your 20s is the time to start practicing.
Without the pressure of parents or school to motivate you, you'll need
to exercise discipline and motivate yourself to learn the essentials. These skills can range from patience and dealing with rejection to living within your means and good table manners.
Take preventative measures to stay healthy
"Investing time in caring for your health ... will certainly yield
you more time, literally — in days, months, if not years tacked on to
your life," he writes. "Yet we often take our health for granted until we experience a wake-up call." Instead, he suggests proactively investing your time in your health
by eating well, exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep, regularly
seeing your doctors, and taking care of your emotional, mental, and
spiritual health.
Ask yourself daily questions
Benjamin
Franklin began and ended each day with a question: "What good shall I
do this day?" in the morning, and "What good have I done this day?" in
the evening. In fact, many great thinkers embraced the idea of constantly questioning things. As Albert Einstein reportedly said, "Learn from yesterday, live for
today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop
questioning." Of course, getting into the habit of self-reflection is easier said
than done, as we often prefer to avoid asking ourselves the tough
questions. As philosopher and psychologist John Dewey explained in his
1910 book, "How We Think,"
reflective thinking involves overcoming our predisposition to accept
things at face value and the willingness to endure mental unrest. But enduring this discomfort is well worth the effort, as it can result in the confidence boost necessary to perform better in our work and daily lives. Questions to ask yourself could include Steve Jobs' "If today were
the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do
today?" or Quora user Michael Hopkins' "How are you doing?" and Quora user Soham Banerjee's "Why so serious?"
Fail
"Fail," advises Arpit Sethi. "Out of our teens, this is the best thing that can contribute in the making of an adult. The more we fail, the more we learn." You'll never have more energy or ability to think than when you're in your 20s, says Shulamit Widawsky,
and you'll never be more vulnerable. This is the time to push your
limits and recover from the failures that are inevitable when you take
risks. "Knowing what you can do and what you can recover from will make the whole rest of your life more successful," she says.
Take up a mentally stimulating hobby
As the stresses of daily life become more burdensome in your 20s,
it's important not to forget about taking care of your mental health.
Mehta suggests starting a mentally
stimulating hobby like playing chess, role-playing games, or solving
puzzles to keep your mind sharp. Hobbies can also be a good creative
outlet or an exercise in relaxation
Spend time by yourself
Garv Suri recommends spending half an hour every day alone to get to know yourself better. Tonya Turpin says that actively becoming aware of what's going on inside your head is the only way to truly understand yourself.
Get involved in meaningful causes
"You will never have this much energy, health this great, or this much disposable time again in your life," writes Heidi McDonald. "Make the most of it. This is your best chance to make a difference in the world." Volunteering can also do wonders for your professional life, too.
Donating your time can teach you a new skill, help add something special
to your resume, and you allow you to meet new connections with similar
interests as you.
Build in cushion time to get where you're going
Wang cites
the "Good Samaritan" study from Princeton University in 1973, which
found that whether a person was in a hurry had a huge effect on if
they'd stop to help an injured person. Only 10% of those in a hurry
stopped to help an injured person, 45% of those in somewhat of a hurry
stopped, and 63% of those not rushed at all stopped. "This means that being in a rush may be preventing you from being the
kind of person you want to be — the kind to stop and help someone in
need," Wang says. "Building in lots of cushion time in your schedule and
preventing 'constant hurriedness syndrome' is a great investment in
yourself and in the quality of life of those around you."
Start saving for the future
The beauty of saving for your retirement in your 20s lies in compound interest, Allison says.
Even if you open a retirement account today and put in $5 a month, "the
effects of compound interest on that extra decade or two can literally
mean the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars more that you
will have for your retirement." Similarly, Tanmoy Roy suggests
having fun but living frugally and allocating some money to pay off your
debt on a monthly basis. You may not be saving for a home just yet, but
down the road your student loans could prevent home ownership.
Be better informed
To find a meaningful cause, McDonald suggests keeping up with the latest current events by following the news. "Chances are, you'll find your passion, whether that's a cause
you're interested in or a niche you believe you can fill," she says. Sanjay Kadel advises being
wary about where you get your information. "Don't believe in whatever is
there on the internet," he writes. "Do some research and then conclude
whether it should be registered or eradicated."
Read
"There is nothing that will help you more than reading," says Deepak Mehta.
He suggests a wide variety of books, from young-adult fiction and law
to Dickens and Tzu, to learn more about contrasting viewpoints. "Do not
be afraid of coming across a convincing viewpoint that is totally
antithetical to yours," he says. Reading is also a great way to exercise your mind, says Jereme Allison, because it activates almost all areas of it. "The mind is a muscle. If you don't use it, you lose it," he says.
Review your week
"One great habit is a weekly review to look back at the past week and lay out the one coming up," says Curt Beavers. He advises pondering: 1. What went well last week? (Celebrate and continue these.) 2. What didn't go well? (Stop, overcome, or remove these from your plate.) 3. Based on the answers above, what changes do I need to make to make this week better?
Travel
It doesn't matter how much you travel in your 20s, says Shrey Garg, but rather how you travel. "Don't be a tourist, but a traveler. This will
help increase your vision and make you realize how big and small the
world is at the same time," he says. The key, according to Allison, is experiencing new things: "Get
to know that there is a bigger world out there. Learn about other
cultures. Try new foods. You will be surprised at what you discover." Mario Hari suggests traveling with complete strangers. "Experience
the motley mindset of people. And if you study their emotions
carefully, you will get an intuition about what every soul is searching
for," he writes.
Do something social and outside your comfort zone
Whether you join a book club or head to the pub for karaoke or trivia night, Mehta says
it's important to meet more people outside your friend circle and try
to rid yourself of some of your social anxiety. It's important in your
20s to become more comfortable around others. "I know after college one's social group often changes, so joining organizations helps one expand their circle of friends," Hunter McCord writes. Growing your circle of loved ones and spending time with them is not
something you will regret, he says. "I never heard of anyone at the end
of their life wishing they spent less time with loved ones."
Keep learning
The fact that it has been a few years since you've set foot in a classroom doesn't mean you should stop learning. And don't limit yourself to subjects that would have an obvious
impact on your career. After dropping out of college, Steve Jobs still
audited the occasional class, and one course he took on calligraphy was a huge influence on him and inspired "the wonderful typography" personal computers have today.
Start a side hustle
You'll
likely never have more free time than when you're in your 20s, and
using it to start a side hustle could give you the greatest return on
investment. "A side hustle is a business you run in your free time that allows
you the flexibility to pursue what you're most interested in. It's a
chance to delve into food, travel, fashion, or whatever you're
passionate about whilst keeping your day job," writes Susie Moore, a writer and confidence coach. She says the great thing about having a side job, apart from the
extra income, is that it allows you to use talents that may remain
dormant in your 9-to-5 job and make a meaningful impact by doing work
that you love on your terms.
Whatever you do, mix it up.
"People aspire to live a memorable life, and there's this tragic reality that most of us don't," Dustin Garis said last year during his TEDx talk. For two years Garis traveled around the world, and on his
journey he says he learned that "life is not the number of days you
live; it's the number of days you remember."
The key to living a memorable life, he says, is pursuing one through
breaking out of routine, incorporating change every day, and the "epic
and everyday acts to save the day from being lost."
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