7 New Year’s Resolutions For All You 20-something’s

Oh no! Not another article about taking advantage of your twenties ….

Listen, there’s a reason that taking advantage of your ‘younger years’ is all the buzz.

The truth is, I am a HUGE advocate of embracing your 20’s. Why? Well duh, I’m in my 20’s. In 10 years I’ll be a big advocate of embracing your 30’s, but we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.

For now, I’ll say that our 20’s are the best years of our lives. It’s our time to experiment and try new things. We’re young. We’re limber. We’re legal. We haven’t established roots and we’re not attached to much other than ourselves.

Still, many of us spend these “prime years” stuck in a rut. We resort to a robotic lifestyle, forgetting to chase our true inspirations and giving up on our passions. Well, It’s time for some changes. Let’s start off 2015 a little differently!

Here’s 7 New Year’s resolutions for all you 20-something’s out there!

Surprise, surprise- my first point is travel. I know there are a million articles listing a million reasons to quit your job and fly half way across the globe. (Hey, if you’re up for that, then good for you!) Instead, I’m going to reach out to all those 20-something’s who are happy where they’re at, don’t want to leave their jobs, and aren’t ready to pick up and move to a foreign country. (That’s fine too!) All I’m saying is that we could all put ourselves out there a little more.

Look to one of my favorite quotes, and one that I hope to live my life by:

“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before,”- The Dali Lama.

            Too many people dream about traveling, talk about traveling, even save money for traveling, and just never go through with it. I like to ask myself -if not now, then when? Before setting down a concrete foundation for your life- just go. Go anywhere. Go everywhere. Don’t be afraid to use your hard earned vacation days. Learn. See. Do. Find where it is that you fit. Experience tastes and smells you never even imagined. Open your eyes and allow yourself the pleasure in experiencing difference. Even if you’re not looking to continent hop, cross a border and try a new state, a new city. If nothing else it will give you a newfound appreciation for where you come from. There’s a big world out there begging to be discovered and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

For me, traveling and wandering are two completely different things. Wandering isn’t something you plan ahead for. I’m not talking about wandering to different countries, states or even cities. I’m talking about learning to wander just a little bit every day. Wander in your own city. Wander through your neighborhood. Hell, lie down and let your mind wander. Letting yourself wander, even in those places where you feel comfortable, can open your mind in ways you never thought imaginable. Take a new route to work tomorrow morning. Try that new restaurant down the block, that isn’t really that “new” anymore. Go for a run and turn down that street that you always avoid, but constantly wonder about. Our generation loves to talk about doing the new and exciting, but way too often, we let those things pass by us by- we let them go. Follow through. Stop talking. Start wandering.

 As hard as it is to admit, sometimes putting yourself first is the right thing to do. Thinking about yourself over others is not always easy; actually, it’s usually really, really hard to do. But, when you take a step back and think about it, your 20’s are the time to be selfish. For the rest of our lives, we will have other people to think of: co-workers, superiors, fiancés, kids, spouses, the list goes on and on. In your 20’s it’s important to really think about yourself. Start asking yourself these questions and if you don’t know the answers, go out and find them. What makes you happy? What do you want to do with your life? Where do you want to be? Who do you want to be with? What are your goals for this year? Who are you?

Try to think of it less as “being selfish” and more about the importance of self-discovery. Our generation falls too easy into the strict mundane routine.- Graduate. Find job. Get job. Work hard. Get promoted. Work harder. Make more money. Etc. etc.- Trust me, I’ve been there. More often than not we never get a good look at our lives from the outside. We forget to assess what it is we’re doing, where it is we’re going and what it is that we want to accomplish with our lives. Are you pursuing a career that truly makes you happy? Or are you just going through the motions? It’s the perfect time to find out!

Ooops! I’m telling you to do the complete opposite of what your parents might say. “Save, save, save. Start planning for your future. Retirement is sooner than you think.” Well, just think of me as the devil on your shoulder.

Still, I like to consider myself a strategic devil, rather than an impulsive one. Spending money doesn’t mean throwing away money. I’m not telling you to go gamble away your hard earned cash or even to splurge on that new big screen TV. God knows our generation is materialistic enough. I’m talking about spending money, but doing it wisely.

If I’ve learned anything while living abroad, it’s that being rich in experience trumps being rich in material items each and every day. Sure it’s important to save and put money aside for your future, but what good is all of your hard work and all that money sitting in the bank, if you’re just slaving away your years.

Learn how to budget and learn how to spend. Instead of buying a $5 Starbucks Iced Chai Latte everyday, put that money aside and finally splurge on experience. Put it towards that extreme sport you’ve always wanted to try, or save up for a weekend trip to the Poconos with friends. Rack up notches on your belt of experience and you’ll never regret letting that money go.

Phones and clothes go out of style. Experience is something you will hold close always.

            Okay, so I may have stolen this concept from “Yes Man,” but I think he was on to something. I’m not trying to tell you to say yes to everything, we all know that can lead to some sticky situations. What I am suggesting is that you say “yes” more. Sure saying yes sometimes means stepping out of your comfort-zone, but that’s when we learn the most about ourselves. I also like to think that consequences don’t count as much in your 20’s 🙂

Just think about it, “no” is such an ugly word. Have you ever heard a great story that started with someone taking a leap of faith and then not doing something? My guess is probably not. Sometimes we all need to stop over-analyzing and just go for it. This is the time to take risks. Stop worrying about the bad and start cherishing the fact that something amazing could come from simply saying yes. Say yes to that slightly awkward guy that you wouldn’t usually go on a date with. Say yes to that spontaneous last minute road trip with friends. Heck, even say yes to trying that nasty-looking pea green health shake your roommate’s newly obsessed with.

Why not? What do you have to lose? If you don’t enjoy yourself, well, no one’s saying you have to do it again.

            Coming from a blogger and social media fanatic, I find this to be really important advice, especially for myself. How often do you find yourself surrounded by friends all looking down? All completely absorbed by the typing away on the smart phones glued to their fingertips. I know just as well as anyone how easy it is to become obsessed with the online world. We spend so much time looking down that we often forget to appreciate what’s going on in the “real world” that currently surrounds us.

            Every so often, make a conscious effort to enjoy the company of the “real” people around you. Put your online life on hold and take a look around. We’ve become so involved in obsessing and comparing ourselves with other people’s lives on the Internet that sometimes we forget to live our own.

            When all out together, my friends and I like to make a “no phone rule,” which involves stacking all of our phones in the middle of the table. The first person to touch them has to pay the bill. Make it fun. Make it a game. Whatever you do, learn to disconnect.

            My friend Lizzie explained this concept to me over the summer and it has been in my mind ever since. It’s one of the wisest and most rational things I’ve ever heard.

I found this quote online that pretty much sums it up-

“We waste so many days waiting for the weekend. So many nights wanting morning. Our lust for future comfort is the biggest thief of life.” –Joshua Glenn Clark

As a generation, we have been taught to always look forward; it’s been ingrained in us since we were kids. Our parents and our teachers encouraged us to work toward the idealistic “American Dream” of their generation, but here’s the hard truth- we are different. We grew up learning to multi-task, to work hard and fast, to never be satisfied with what we have and to always strive for something better. These high hopes can be for the best, but are we really made happy by constantly seeking more?

            We feverishly make to-do lists for the week ahead. We worry about our upcoming presentations. We’re anxious about setting up our 401K. We are so caught up in worrying about and preparing for what the future holds, that we’re not enjoying right now. What’s the point of being a slave for the future, if we’re not enjoying today?

Sure the future can be exciting and bright, but it can also be unsure and scary. Don’t live your life in fast-forward. The future is coming whether we want it to or not. Slow down and take in each and every moment, the good and the bad. Every now and then try putting your thoughts of the future on hold. Enjoy the now. Embrace this moment. Be here.

Linkin’ up with Bonnie for Travel Tuesday today!

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to 2015!