2. Stop being lazy by being constantly “busy.” It’s easy to
be busy. It justifies never having enough time to clean, cook for yourself, go
out with friends, meet new people. Realize that every time you give in to your
‘busyness,’ it’s you who’s making the decision, not the demands of your job.
3. Stop seeking out distractions. You will always be able to
find them.
4. Stop trying to get away with work that’s “good enough.”
People notice when “good enough” is how you approach your job. Usually these
people will be the same who have the power to promote you, offer you a health
insurance plan, and give you more money. They will take your approach into
consideration when thinking about you for a raise.
5. Stop allowing yourself to be so comfortable all the time.
Coming up with a list of reasons to procrastinate risky, innovative decisions
offers more short-term gratification than not procrastinating. But when you
stop procrastinating to make a drastic change, your list of reasons to procrastinate
becomes a list of ideas about how to better navigate the risk you’re taking.
6. Stop identifying yourself as a cliche and start treating
yourself as an individual. Constantly checking your life against a prewritten
narrative or story of how things “should” be is a bought-into way of life. It’s
sort of like renting your identity. It isn’t you. You are more nuanced than the
narrative you try to fit yourself into, more complex than the story that
“should” be happening.
7. Stop expecting people to be better than they were in high
school — learn how to deal with it instead. Just because you’re out of high
school doesn’t mean you’re out of high school. There will always be people in
your life who want what you have, are threatened by who you are, and will
ridicule you for doing something that threatens how they see their position in
the world.
8. Stop being stingy. If you really care about something,
spend your money on it. There is often a notion that you are saving for
something. Either clarify what that thing is or start spending your money on
things that are important to you. Spend money on road trips. Spend money on
healthy food. Spend money on opportunities. Spend money on things you’ll keep.
9. Stop treating errands as burdens. Instead, use them as
time to focus on doing one thing, and doing it right. Errands and chores are
essentially rote tasks that allow you time to think. They function to get you
away from your phone, the internet, and other distractions. Focus and attention
span are difficult things to maintain when you’re focused and attentive on X
amount of things at any given moment.
10. Stop blaming yourself for being human. You’re fine.
Having a little anxiety is fine. Being scared is fine. Your secrets are fine.
You’re well-meaning. You’re intelligent. You’re blowing it out of proportion.
You’re fine.
11. Stop ignoring the fact that other people have unique
perspectives and positions. Start approaching people more thoughtfully. People
will appreciate you for deliberately trying to conceive their own perspective
and position in the world. It not only creates a basis for empathy and respect,
it also primes people to be more open and generous with you.
12. Stop seeking approval so hard. Approach people with the
belief that you’re a good person. It’s normal to want the people around you to
like you. But it becomes a self-imposed burden when almost all your behavior
toward certain people is designed to constantly reassure you of their approval.
13. Stop considering the same things you’ve always done as
the only options there are. It’s unlikely that one of the things you’ll regret
when you’re older is not having consumed enough beer in your 20s, or not having
bought enough $5 lattes, or not having gone out to brunch enough times, or not
having spent enough time on the internet. Fear of missing out is a real, toxic
thing. You’ve figured out drinking and going out. You’ve experimented enough.
You’ve gotten your fill of internet memes. Figure something else out.
14. Stop rejecting the potential to feel pain. Suffering is
a universal constant for sentient beings. It is not unnatural to suffer. Being
in a constant state of suffering is bad. But it is often hard to appreciate
happiness when there’s nothing to compare it to. Rejecting the potential to suffer
is unsustainable and unrealistic.
15. Stop approaching adverse situations with anger and
frustration. You will always deal with people who want things that seem counter
to your interests. There will always be people who threaten to prevent you from
getting what you want by trying to get what they want. This is naturally
frustrating. Realize that the person you’re dealing with is in the same
position as you — by seeking out your own interests, you threaten to thwart
theirs. It isn’t personal — you’re both just focused on getting different
things that happen to seem mutually exclusive. Approach situations like these
with reason. Be calm. Don’t start off mad, it’ll only make things more tense.
16. Stop meeting anger with anger. People will make you mad.
Your reaction to this might be to try and make them mad. This is something of a
first-order reaction. That is, it isn’t very thoughtful — it may be the first
thing you’re inclined to do. Try to suppress this reaction. Be thoughtful.
Imagine your response said aloud before you say it. If you don’t have to
respond immediately, don’t.
17. Stop agreeing to do things that you know you’ll never
actually do. It doesn’t help anyone. To a certain extent, it’s a social norm to
be granted a ‘free pass’ when you don’t do something for someone that you said
you were going to do. People notice when you don’t follow through, though,
especially if it’s above 50% of the time.
18. Stop ‘buying’ things you know you’ll throw away. Invest
in friendships that aren’t parasitic. Spend your time on things that aren’t
distractions. Put your stock in fleeting opportunity. Focus on the important.
19. Stop being afraid.
OCT. 23, 2012 By HOLDEN DESALLES
OCT. 23, 2012 By HOLDEN DESALLES
Read more at
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/19-things-you-should-stop-doing-in-your-20s/#yIkv6dzAyxrZR8V0.99
