25 Life Lessons I Learned by 25

At the age of 25, there are plenty of experiences one has had by then and plenty of lessons learned from those experiences. Many of the best years behind them such as first words, first steps, first relationship, first job(yeah right), and first drinks with their buddies; thus officially becoming an Adult, (whatever that means)

A quarter of a century-old means I am 3 quarters away from in the ground, optimistically speaking. But as for now, I am not. When we are born we are completely in the dark, ignorant about the facts of the world, however, over time we gradually learn new things. There's a lot one could learn in such a short amount of time. To celebrate these 25 years, here are the 25 lessons I learned by the time I reached this magic number.

____________________________________________________

1. Stop caring about what others think. You'll never get where you need to be in life if you're too busy trying to meet someone else's standards. It's a waste of time and energy, time that could be spent on more positive chances.
2. Live without regrets. Mistakes are sometimes unavoidable, but don't let those regrets hold you back. Just accept that it happened and move on, that's the best thing anyone can do.
3. Spend Time With Elderly, before it's too late. My grandparents are very old and a lot more tired than they used to be. I still cherish every moment with them because I know it won't last forever.
4. Everything changes. Nothing is permanent. Change is always changing. We will all turn to ash one day. Which reminds us of how valuable life is.
5. Meet New Friends. Friends are a blessing, especially when you find new ones. Get out of your comfort zone and start interacting with them. As someone more introverted about this at first, it was definitely worth it in the end.
6. Challenge yourself more. Better to have tried something scary and fail, than live 50 years from now saying "only if I tried." More regret would come from the things you didn't do than what you did.
7. There are some dumb grown-ups. While growing up you believe that adults have all the answers, when in fact they don't but are good at pretending as if they do. Having age doesn't mean you are smart or right all the time. In fact, in philosophy; being older equals being wiser, is merely an ad hominin argument, illogical, and a way to delude yourself.
8. Get Rid Of Toxic People. They are like energy vampires sucking the life out of you. From my experiences, these people like to talk about how hard life is for them and constantly victimize themselves, so you feel sorry. I'm sure we've all ran into people like that. Well, it's toxic and a manipulative relationship to have, leave it.
9. Some People Can't Be Helped. I always had a predisposition to help others who are helpless, fix those who are broken, but the truth is some people are so broken that the only help you can give them is by leaving them alone.
10. You deserve respect, but don't demand it. If you want others to respect you then you have to respect them.
11. Learn to Love Yourself. Then you can love others. If you don't then you'll only want to die.
12. Quality over quantity; applies to relationships, friendships, food, work, adventure trips, and conversations. I don't know if it's just me but sure when I was young it was different, but now that I'm older low-quality conversations are just very dull, boring, and less meaningful.
13. Dare to Be Different. I have a confession to make, I like to be different. They all laughed at me because I was different, well I laughed at them because they were all the same. When you're like everyone else then you are like no one. Don't fall into this trap of conformity. Personally, I like to find ways by expressing myself through writing, music, and drawing.
14. Dare To Be Random. Sometimes you just have to break out of routine. Break out in random laughter, literally rolling on the floor or jumping up and down on furniture like a mad man until your mother says "call a doctor, he's completely lost it." Run through the streets naked if you have to, the sky is the limit. During quarantine my friend started playing with the furniture like Lego blocks, it was random as hell but worth it.
15. Forgiveness isn't a weakness, it's a strength. It's easy to hate, harder to forgive those who wronged you, hardest to forgive yourself.
16. Saying "No" isn't selfish. It can be reasonable with good cause. Stop trying to please everyone. If you do say yes, make sure you are also saying yes to yourself.
17. Don't compare yourself to others. You are you, you'll never reach someone else's standards, so follow your own. The only person you should compare yourself to is the person you were yesterday.
18. Let it go. The things that don't help you, the things that weigh you down, just let go. Never let a good day be ruined by thinking about a bad one.
19. Eat Healthily. You are what you eat. Just by eating the right foods, you will feel a lot better about yourself and about your life. There is neuroscience to it, people with low-quality junk food diets will be more depressed than people who aren't.
20. Exercise More. These are your prime years. When you're a teenager and you can handle the years of untold damage done by partying, you don't exercise as much. However, when you get older, you don't want to experience pains and strains on your body that could easily be prevented if you just motivated yourself now when you are still young. You never get another chance like the present.
21. Life Is Short, Smile :) Life is short but there's a lot you can smile about. Use that time wisely and unexpectedly now and then. Be nice to a person you normally can't stand.
22. The Bigger Picture. Everything that is happening in our lives seems so big, so important, so life or death, but in The Bigger Picture, this single hiccup often means next to nothing. You are not The Bigger Picture in life, you are just an extra playing a part. Look at things not just from your viewpoint, but from others as well, to get a wider perspective. Agree to disagree. Everyone has their own views and ideas on things you should respect them even if you disagree.
23. Don't Explain Yourself To Everyone, Always. Pretty simple, I shouldn't have to explain this to you.
24. Money is not the measure of success. Success is measured in how well you live, how much you loved, and how much you let go. The real value is in the dignity, humility, and respect, one possesses.
25. The Meaning Of Life. It's not what is the meaning of life, but what it means to you. Every life is different therefore different meanings. That's the best thing I can come up with so far…

____________________________________________________

Takeaway

Being Old and Historic isn't as scary as it seems, it brings Wisdom and Experience. We all have to grow up wheatear we want to or not. Some people grow up faster than others, some aren't as fast. Become is always becoming. Everything will change whether you accept it or not.

A quarter of a century, 25 years is actually not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. But there is a lot one can learn in such a short amount of time, you should use it wisely and not let it go to waste.