21 Lessons I’ve Learned at 21

Between youth and adulthood; these could be the best years of life!

It’s always fun to reflect when you hit a milestone age. For me, that’s 21.

So here’s a compilation of life lessons I’ve learned so far and others that I try to live by. I hope this makes a good read.

1. You can’t escape routine:

Going to bed and waking up on at the same time everyday, getting your stuff in order, planning your day, doing things at their assigned times is actually amazing and eases your life. Start your day on a routine. Set times to work on things of importance to you. Routine slows down life. There’s no point in rushing.

2. Don’t become a boring bastard:

You can be anyone you want to be. This could be a big privilege or a trap. Don’t look at yourself through the eyes of people. Neither be so invested in what you think they want you to be. Save yourself the hypocrisy. Choose to build yourself. If you’re not weird/ different, you’re probably boring. Don’t try to fit into the picture. It is easier to spot a fake product than an original. Enjoy the journey; you might not even get to your destination anyway.

3. Be spontaneous:

Do more spontaneous sh!t. Create a story. Write a book. Eat what you love. Build a body you’ll be proud of. Party. Read old novels. Learn philosophy, human behavior, economics, computers — learn as much as you can. Go on a random hike. Find brothers. Fall in love. Meet everyone. Say yes, more than you’d want to; narrow down later. Become a full stack human. Do it all, because life will slow you down and you’ll die eventually.

4. Dive in before you know how to swim:

Seek discomfort, it’s the only way to grow. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Join random conversations; you may learn a thing or two, but you never lose anything. Take the leap. Do scary stuff. These ones will have the most positive ripple effects down the rest of your life.

5. Take responsibility for everything:

Don’t complain. The pain of consistently working hard won’t go away, whether you like it or not, so you might as well do your part instead of complaining about every minor inconvenience. Only when you take responsibility are you able to make changes.

6. Chase internal fulfillment:

Have the courage to chase what matters to you, even if it defies convention. Walk your walk and be brave. You’re more likely to regret the things you don’t do than the things you do.

7. Get freakishly good at something that pays:

If you find something that you enjoy, strive to be really good at it, and find a way to generate income out of it. Keep doing it for the next ten years. Become an expert. Invest your energies in another pursuit.

8. Be present:

Learn to connect. Put your phone aside. Look people in the eyes and engage with them with genuine interest and curiosity. Remember names, and learn the value of simply showing up. People tend to underrate how important this is for every human relationship. The magic behind joy in childhood wasn’t because you were a child, it was because you were present.

9. Consistency always wins:

All the returns in life whether in wealth, relationships, career, body-building or knowledge come from compounding. The only thing at to compound is to consistent. Be consistent with everything, especially with the little things. Keep going until they become a part of your daily routine. Talented/ hardworking but not consistent? You’ll fail. Consistency always wins.

10. Sleep matters, A LOT:

Prioritize high quality sleep. Defend it with your life. Study the circadian rhythm. Sleep will do more for you than you’ll ever realize. Guard your sleep time with all you’ve got. Not being well rested affects your productivity, your mood, and your appearance, even if you don’t realize it. Take care of this and watch every aspect of your life glow.

11. Strive to become financially literate:

Learn how to grow wealth. Learn about assets and liabilities. Know the value of compounding and take advantage of it. Learn self control, and make wise financial decisions. Save and invest as much you can, while you still can. Life takes so much away as you get older. Put your money where it matters now that you’ve got the freedom. There is zero reason to not start investing right now. Look around you; find a way to put your money to work. Become financially literate, and pass it on to your kids.

12. Celebrate your quirks:

Embrace your weirdness. They make you, you. Be kind to yourself. If you achieve something big today, pat yourself on the back. If all you did today was get out of bed, pat yourself on the back. Learn to accept yourself exactly as you are at this moment. Embrace your imperfections and your beautifully messed up humanity. People are too concerned about their own lives to spend time obsessing over yours. No one is actually looking at you!

13. Faith is not fallacy:

Faith is not logical, it’s not illogical either. It doesn’t ignore reality, it just adds God into the picture. Put God first in all your plans and watch the blessings pour in. Find community with like-minded people. Don’t compromise with faith. Live a guided life. The future may be uncertain, but the end is always near.

14. Be delusional:

Choose delusion over self-doubt. It’s the only way to reach your wildest dreams. Don’t sit around waiting for the right moment, dive in and take action. This could as well be the perfect moment. To accomplish anything significant in life, you have to be a little delusional. Move fast, and risk it. You’ll get more out of it than overthinking everything. Be unrealistic and delusional, even in your prayers.

15. Share your journey:

You are not alone. You are not hopeless. You are not stuck. There are a community of dreamers out there who have been in similar situations and have emerged stronger. Reach out. Find your people. Connect. Share your journey. You’ll get support and encouragement even from the most unexpected places. Ask for help when you need it, and even when you feel you don’t. Feedback always helps.

16. Be insanely curious:

“I am neither clever or especially gifted. I am only very, very curious.” Albert Einstein.

Cultivate a habit of learning new stuff. Your curiosity is an investment in yourself. Read as much as you can. Read, apply, repeat. While you read, take action. Too much reading without any action offers you nothing more than new vocabulary. Join courses. Buy books. Get acquainted with as many topics in as many subjects as you can. Dedicate time everyday for learning.

17. Capture memories:

Buy a good camera, buy an expensive one, buy a souvenir etc. Document your everyday life. Take pictures, capture moments. You’ll never regret investing your time and money into reserving memories. Our memories are the only things going to be valuable after hassle of life is done. Don’t let them slip away.

18. Keep good company:

It is better to be alone than to sit in bad company while it is better to keep and be in good company than be alone. Only keep those who have a similar mission and ambition as yourself. Keep good company; they’ll teach you if you don’t know, guide you if you’re being misled, and remind you if you forget. Guard your space. Make it as clean and pure as the food you take in.

19. Money can buy happiness:

Money is stored time. To get money, you need to invest time. And you get back time by spending money. Money buys you time freedom, location freedom, leverage, and more money. It’ll give you the opportunity to do more of what you actually love. Think of your time and money as interchangeable.

20. Your reputation matters; guard it with all you’ve got:

Your reputation is like your shadow, it follows you wherever you go. It’s a reflection of who you are, and who you are is defined by your character. Being more concerned about your character helps your reputation. Conduct yourself as if your reputation matters, because it does. It does matter what people think of you; the world is very cold to those deemed of poor character by others.

21. Family is most important:

Family is most important. No one actually cares more than they do…

Final thoughts

Go through your 20s aiming to get as many diverse kinds of experiences as possible under your belt, but always remember…

…the best lessons you learn won’t come from something you read online…

…they’ll come from your own mistakes. So go out and live!