24 Things I Learnt When I Was 24

1. Chasing fulfilment, doing things for yourself. If the world is pointing to the right but your gut says left, by all means take a left. You should get comfortable with people being mad at you or unhappy with your decisions, it is okay because they have not walked in your shoes to know all that goes in your head
2. Cliché, but believe in yourself. There was something I always I wanted to try in the year 2018, it looked difficult when I started out and I was very good naturedly advised to quit as well. I went at it and I am glad I listened to my inner cheerleader and drowned out rest of the voices. I learnt of my own resilience in the process. You often underestimate yourself and you have to remember that the 8 year old you would be pretty stoked of how you are swerving through life.
3. Friends are always around the corner. People will always stop at your door just make sure the door is ajar and the coffee is brewing.
4. Always put a tag with your contact details on all your bags. My bag got exchanged last year at the airport and the only reason it magically came back to me was because of the tag my mother had nagged me to put on it. It is now a funny story but at the moment, it was the scariest thing ever — anything nice I had ever accumulated in the course of two and a half years of corporate life was in that bag. J
5. When you nurture something it grows, as simple as it can get — fitness, talent and career. Ten minutes a day can go a long way.
6. It is okay to say no.
7. You are responsible for your own stuff. Dependence is a shoulder to be sparingly leaned on. If you realistically cannot take care of it, eliminate it.
8. You can be a very anxious person, sometimes you need to chill out and smell the proverbial flowers. One way or another, things work themselves out, trust in the process. There are two ends of the see-saw, and you can control just one.
9. Ask for things you want personally or professionally. It is okay if the answer is a no, asking is important.
10. Mango sticky rice maybe the best combination contrived so far.
11. Take risks and keep an open mind. Instead of thinking of what can go wrong, think of what surprises can it bring.
12. Planning in advance. You may already be aware of the procrastinator in you, yet it is hard to get rid of the habit that has solidified over the years, but it is important to remind yourself that planning prevents panic. You do not love stress so why would you want to set up a trap for yourself?
13. Letting go of the annoyances that will not matter in the next five years.
14. It is important to be vulnerable and recognize the most authentic version of yourself. I realized that I never fully open up to people because I always feel like if I they do, they will not like the person they are viewing.
15. Family is important and a constant, I felt this acutely when I visited my maternal family after three long years and realized that my life had undergone a paradigm change — from university to professional life, completely different friends circle and new hobbies, yet my conversations with them were just as heartwarming. Nothing changed from my childhood days; they’d still pop in an extra dollop of desi makhan on my thepla with a wink and yell at me when I get a cold after not wearing enough layers in the punishing dessert winds.
16. Sheet masks are an awesome cheap spa alternative.
17. Be the first to apologize if you recognize a miss, life is too short to hold on to grudges.
18. Compartmentalize your life into boxes that matter — for me it is work, dance, fitness and toastmasters, to an extent even writing. Anything that does not serve you personally or professionally does not deserve your priority. Lesson hard learned because, I ALWAYS take up more on my plate than I can handle and then swelter in the stress. Also, I reinforce this nugget by either watching the TED Talk titled — Magic of not giving a fuck or reading the Mark Manson phenomena titled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.
19. Say something if you see something, stand up for yourself and others around you. Being fierce with things and people you love is paramount; you have a voice, use it. I still remember confronting my sister’s bully, how uncomfortable it felt the first time to point out a folly.
20. Breakfast bowls that have oatmeal topped with fruits, nuts and cinnamon make you abnormally happy.
21. You hate the routine but you also love the improvement it brings about.
22. Admit it, that you now read non-fiction more than fiction.
23. Oh the best of all. You would always feel super adulted and mature when you were in high school but now at 24 you know you were just a kid and there is so much more to experience in the journey.
24. Sleep is an antidote to almost everything; just one episode is a myth. Be your own mom and put yourself to bed! Right now!

Swerving through life, one day a time

Originally published at http://doodledore.wordpress.com on March 09, 2018.