At the age of 18, most of us are young, energetic, and ready to experiment. But
we are pretty naive too. We end up taking some bad decisions only to regret
them later. There’s a saying that is very popular across social media these days –
“At 18, you are an idiot.
At 28, you are an experienced idiot.” Sometimes we wish
that if there was someone who would have told us about their life experiences,
we could have refrained ourselves from committing such apparent mistakes.
Here are some things that I wish I knew when I was 18, that would have changed
my life for good.
- Make a lot of mistakes
You must be thinking,” Committing mistakes to refrain me from committing
mistakes? That is self-contradictory.” I know it sounds a little confusing but to
make it simple, I would rephrase it as,” Not making mistakes is probably the
biggest mistake that we often make.” Mistakes are the best teachers in the world.
They give you life lessons that nothing else would. If you are not doing something
just because of the fear of making a mistake, you doubt yourself. So don’t
hesitate and don’t doubt yourself. Life is not about getting a chance. It’s about
taking a chance. Think it this way – if you try, you will either succeed or learn
something that will help you achieve. It’s still a Win-Win situation. Remember, if
you don’t try, you’ll never know for sure, and you will stay right where you are.
2. Find what you love to do and build a career in that
profession
The best advice that I could’ve ever given to my past self would be to choose a
career of your own choice. Don’t get influenced by other people’s ideas,
recommendations, and goals. Don’t just pick a career for the money or its
popularity. Find what you would love to do, even if you had to do it for 12 hours a
day for the rest of your life. As long as you are following your interests and
values, you can achieve success through passion. And once you devote yourself
to your passion, doors start opening, opportunities start happening, and you will find yourself in a place which is much better than most of those people’s who
work in 9 to 5 corporate jobs just for the sake of money. You would have peace
of mind that all those people crave for.
3. Invest time, money and energy in yourself
By this, I don’t mean to get yourself some fancy clothes, expensive cars or other
materialistic things. What I mean is, spend your time, money and energy in
acquiring life experiences that open up your soul and gives you peace of mind.
Investing in yourself can change the course of your life in a better direction, and
you will be amazed by the outcomes that will reflect in you as a person.
4. Time is the most precious thing you have
When someone is giving you their time, they are giving you something that they
are never going to get back. Respect their time and respect yours too. If you
spend your time on unproductive things like scrolling facebook feeds or watching
silly youtube videos, you are committing a huge mistake. Make better use of your
time and learn some skills that will help you in acquiring your life goals.
5. Parents are the only ones who genuinely care about you
This is the age when you want freedom, independence, and privacy. But when
parents offer you their love and care, you misinterpret as their interference in
your life. Parents are the ones who love you without expecting anything in return.
Your parents will be there for you, even when the world is against you. You
should respect them and reciprocate with the same love and care that they give
you.
6. Don’t worry about what other people think of you
What other people think and say about you, doesn’t matter at all. Don’t let their
opinion influence your life goals. When I was 18, I let the views of my friends and
people around me affect my decision, and as a result, I deviated from my path
and ended up in failure. But now I have realised that all of those people whose
opinions I cared about so much are no longer a part of my life. So, what others
think and say about you isn’t important at all. What you feel and think about
yourself is much more critical.
7. Ask lots of questions
The greatest ‘adventure’ is the ability to inquire, to ask questions. Sometimes in
the process of inquiry, the search is more significant than the answers. Answers
come from other people, from the universe of knowledge and history, and from
the intuition and profound wisdom inside yourself. These solutions will never
surface if you never ask the right questions. Thus, the simple act of asking the
right questions is the answer.
So, these are some of the things that I wish I knew I was 18 that
could have lead to a better life. But there’s no point in reminiscing
about the past. The focus should be on our present to make a better
future. However, if you consider these things, your journey of life
could be much more comfortable and peaceful than it would have
been otherwise. Life is fantastic and full of surprises. So, hop on the
train and enjoy the ride. #KhabarLive
