I AM NOT A TEENAGER!
You’re twenty, no longer a teenager! Wow! What an awesome feeling! You’re now a mature adult, you’re free to go out, drink and have fun! You also meet lots of people. Social media bombards you with lots of friends as well as information, though many are unwanted, but you don’t know that yet!
You’re drawn to the young dynamic handsome men and talented women. Sometimes you know this is ‘the’ one, you’re going to have as life partner, sometimes you don’t!
But your focus at this age is ‘you’! Your ambition should be capable of handling any situation with full confidence, anywhere in the world at any time. You should be completely self confident, with high self esteem and self reliant, everything else is a bonus!
1. Dream big! If you simply dwell on dreams, you don’t live. You’re the potential power. You can accomplish anything you want. The whole universe is open to you. There maybe people who discourage you but if you’re passionate and committed to your dreams with a definite plan of action, express a benign neglect towards such individuals. Follow your passion. There’s no right or wrong, you can study from the galaxy, planets to the tiny fish underneath the sea or the petals of flowers to the child’s phenomenal brain activity. Everything that you see was in someone else’s mind before they manifested into a tangible object. The knowledge will always be with you and it will always sprout when needed. Nothing that you learn in life will go waste.
2. Focus on education and financial independence – Make sure you equip yourself by focusing on learning as much as can. Follow your dreams, do what you like. If you don’t know what you want in life, follow a role model, talk to friends, get qualified at least with a bachelors if not a master’s degree. If you really choose to learn, plenty of opportunities with come your way. Dream, discuss, & research on your interests. Academic qualification is very important in today’s competitive environment. You can argue that Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg don’t have degrees. Yes, true. If you have a similar idea, plan and passion to create something in this planet, go for it! If not, get qualified. You definitely don’t want yourself with a begging bowl! Visualize yourself in a very successful position that you would like to be.
3. Act to make and not break – In the twenties, both genders are fascinated by life, excited by movies and TV serials where the hero & heroine dance around in the park. Don’t get carried away by those. The producers are making money with their imaginations and your time. Movies are maybe stress busters but often not real. The actors in those don’t need to study hard like you, or go to work in those movies. They’re fun to watch but get back to your goal. Tell yourself that if I complete this, I’ll watch that movie. Let it be a gift to you for your completion of a task. In today’s environment, try not to believe everything that you read, follow through, confirm that they’re facts. There are plenty of fake information. Look for legitimate source. If things don’t work out the way you expected, be prepared to change, adapt to given situation. Take charge!
Set goals for a year, break it down to quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily. Setting goals alone is not enough, act on them. Only then you won’t feel the stress and you’ll move forward.
4. Network and socialize – At this age, you’ll have plenty of friends, enjoy! Share with friends, who are logical, analytical and willing to help you emotionally. Why I say this? Your age friends also go through the similar emotions, like the fear of future, uncertainty, insecurity. They may be very close to you but they might not know how to help you. You can listen to your age group friends and others, but the decision is always yours. Develop a friendly relationship with your family members, could even be your aunts, mother or even friend’s parents. They’re ‘oldies’, no doubt but just hear them out. That will open you up to others’ experiences, the lessons that they learned in life. Learn from other people’s mistakes than repeating them. You get more exposed to the reality than the dream world.
In any profession, very often, it’s not what you know but whom you know. Networking is different from socializing. In the first you learn from everyone that you meet, in the second you build a relationship with everyone that you meet. We all need both.
5. Personal growth – Learn the soft skills along with your professional skills. Listen actively, speak elegantly. General knowledge will help to start a small conversation and project you as a knowledgeable confident person. Know what’s going on around you, in your country and around the world.
Qualify, qualify, qualify! Only that can take you around the globe to expand your horizon, thereby opens the entire universe to you.
There’s no dead end in life. Say you chose a path and you don’t like it after few years, you can always detour. I have seen an engineer becoming a doctor and then changed that too to become an entrepreneur. It’s your life, you can do whatever you want! Start what you want to do in life! Don’t be afraid of anything. Unless the ball starts rolling, it can’t reach anywhere. Always ask, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen?’ Be prepared for it and expect the best. Your efforts alone can help you. You design your future. If you don’t take charge of your life, someone else will!
Go after your dreams! The entire universe becomes conducive to help you, if only you play your part. ‘Now’ is the time, that doesn’t wait for anyone!