Being young generally means making a lot of mistakes. Like a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It's when you look back at your Facebook posts from 2008 and think to yourself, “What the heck was wrong with me?” Or even when you shed a tear every time you see your credit card bill because you were "just having fun.”
Life is about making mistakes and it is through these errors that we learn to be successful and smart when faced with the same situations again.
However, there are a few mistakes that must be avoided at all costs. These are mistakes that don’t go away overnight, but rather stick with us until we learn how to overcome them:
Taking “No” For An Answer
The most frustrating word in the entire English dictionary is “no.” Why? Because a lot of us use “no” as an excuse not to pursue something we truly want to do.
Too often, Millennials make the mistake of taking “no” for an answer, and by doing so, we never truly live up to our true potential.
Time and time again, I have made the error of succumbing to the two-letter word, and because of this, I have missed out on amazing opportunities. Don’t make the same mistake. The only time saying “no” is acceptable is when you’re saying it to something that isn’t in your best interest. Always trust your gut.
Never Taking Any Time To Yourself
It's easy to get caught up in the moment. This is because many of us are trying to balance school, work a social life and the latest episode of "Modern Family," all while trying to maintain some form of sanity.
Because of this, many of us rarely have time for our own thoughts, plans and overall well-being. Do something for yourself every single day: Write down your thoughts, do yoga or even make a list of goals you have for yourself for the future.
This is so imperative to our internal happiness. Think about it: If you aren’t ever thinking about yourself, who are you living for?
We Have Become Dependent On Technology
Technology is a great tool for young people and, because most of us are so skilled with different forms of it, we can use it to our advantage. However, technology is what I like to refer to as a double-edged sword.
As useful as it can be for advancing us in our workplace, classes and social life in general, we have become incredibly dependent on it. This has caused us to become asocial, self-conscious and straight up thirsty for attention.
As I said, there are a lot of advantages that come along with social media and technology, but it’s important that we continue to integrate real life conversations and relationships into our lives as well, unless we plan on literally tweeting every conversation we encounter for the rest of your lives.
Buying Too Much Starbucks... and other glorious things.
I will be the first one to admit that I absolutely love Starbucks. I not only love its vanilla lattes, but I also love the image and how it has really brought back coffee house culture.
With all this said, Starbucks is expensive, and as much as it pains me to say, it’s not really necessary to my survival as a human being.
It is important that we recognize that life is not cheap by any means and it is important to treat Starbucks, shopping trips and even wine as treats and not essentials; this is coming from the biggest Starbucks lover ever to exist, by the way.
Fear Of Failure
When I was a university student, my biggest fear was failure. I am not referring to some petty midterm; I’m talking about life in general. I feel as if one of the biggest mistakes our generation makes is adopting a paralyzing fear of failure. Because of this, we put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves.
Reaching success is not an easy thing, especially if you have to work extremely hard to get there. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone fails at something.
The truth is, I have learned more about myself through my failures than I ever have through my accomplishments. Failure is something that is unavoidable. At some point, we will fall down and need to get back up, and it’s these falls that shape us into who we are.
Photo via We Heart It
