10 Difficult Things You Must Learn In Your 20’s

The path to success is never linear. As you embark on your journey to self-discovery and self-fulfillment, you’ll go through tough moments inevitably. As you are in your 20’s, there are a lot more tough lessons you need to face. In this post, I shared with you 10 difficult things you must learn in your 20’s.

Your 20s are a time of rapid transitions. As you get used to the responsibilities that come with developing the foundation for a career and sustainable lifestyle, you’ll inevitably make mistakes some of which could have major consequences. No advice can replace these experiences, but some insight from those who’ve already been through it can help you become more aware and lessen the sting of growing pains.

Being in your twenties isn’t all fun and games, you’re still have enough time to have fun and mess around but you also need to start laying foundations for the rest of your life. At this point, you’re well aware that time flies so Here are 10 difficult things you must learn in your 20’s:

1. Dreams Require Sacrifice  

Nothing in life is handed to you and if you have big dreams, those big dreams will demand big sacrifices. You’ll have to put in the time and the work other people are simply unwilling to do. You will have to work through the night, weekends, long weekends, holidays, birthdays, vacations and holidays. You will have to turn down doing things you desperately want to do because you need to work to reach your goal.

You will have to work when the last thing in the world you want to do is work. You will consistently have to make short-term sacrifices to achieve your long-term goal. It will be lonely, but only the people willing to go the extra mile achieve their goals and realize their dreams.

2. Your Success Is Entirely Up To You

In your twenties, you will quickly learn that no one owes you anything. Your family, friends, and colleagues will look out for you and support you, but ultimately it is up to you now to pave your own way. The level of reward you experience directly correlates to the level of effort and work you invest. Low effort will get you low reward and vice versa.

3. Your Worldview May Be Seriously Flawed

It’s natural to feel as if you have a solid life philosophy figured out by the time you graduate college, but you will most likely redefine how you see relationships, politics, your career and anything else you can think of. You discover everything that you thought you had all figured out was tragically wrong, laughably confused or utterly delusional.

4. You Can’t Please Everyone

Friends, family and strangers all will have opinions on what you should be doing. People will be puzzled by your choices, they might tell you that you’re going in the wrong direction or try and force you to do something you don’t want to. You need to realize that along the way you’re going to ruffle some feathers. You can’t please everybody and it’s your life so the decisions you make have to be ones you believe in.

5. Listen Before You Speak

It is often in our nature to talk out of turn or readily project our opinions onto others. However, it is an extremely valuable and necessary skill to develop a habit of pro-active listening. Make it a point of being an active listener, to consider and digest information before you respond. Treat conversations as a way to constantly learn and evolve because that is exactly what they are.

6. You Must Keep Learning If You Want To Be Successful

Your education is far from over after you leave a classroom for the last time. Dedicate yourself to learning things that will help you in your career, including the abilities to assimilate, communicate and persuade. Not only that, but take on new challenges and do things that make you uncomfortable as that will also help you in becoming more of a well rounded person.

7. The Dynamics Of Your Friendships Will Change

As we get older, friendships become a little less convenient. Most of us work or study full-time, move around, develop important daily demands and shift into different stages of our lives. During this time, the company we keep is the company we make a conscious effort to keep. Don’t view this as a negative change, but instead learn to invest in the people who invest in you. Understand the difference between a friend who is fun to grab a drink with occasionally and someone who you would call if you were in trouble.

8. Things Don’t Work Out For A Reason 

Rejection hurts at the moment, but it also means that the right opportunity or person is still out there. Someday you will be so happy that job or this person did not work out, because then something or someone better can come along. Try to be optimistic and always hope for the best!

9. Money Is Hard To Earn

When your family is supporting you, it can be difficult to grasp how much a dollar is worth even if you aren’t spoiled. As you start living on your own, however, you’ll soon realize those frivolous things you would normally purchase aren’t worth it. When you have to earn a dollar yourself, you’re a lot more skeptical on what you spend it on.

10. There Is Always Someone “Better” Than You

There are always going to be people who are smarter, better looking, more sociable and just all around ‘better’ than you. To be happy, you have to learn to accept yourself and your shortcomings. Pursue success on your own terms, not by living someone else’s life or forever living in the shadow of someone else. The best advice to keep in mind for your twenties is to love yourself!

Conclusion

The path to success is never linear. As you embark on your journey to self-discovery and self-fulfillment, you’ll go through tough moments inevitably. As you are in your 20’s, there are a lot more tough lessons you need to face. In this post, I shared with you 10 difficult things you must learn in your 20’s.