The 9 Biggest Mistakes That You’ll Commit In Your 20s

“Not moving on from people. People’s lives diverge after the early 20’s. Some friendships were only for a season. You need to adjust your circle as you move into adult life and see what kind of adults your friends have become.” — [deleted]

“Just because you are making more money doesn’t mean you have to spend more money!” — rachman77

“In your 20’s, you’re just into adulthood (or just beginning a professional career, family, etc). It’s easy to think, ‘I’ve done it. I’m done learning and growing. Time to be me.’ Thing is, you’re nowhere remotely close to being done learning and growing. As the teens were practice for adulthood, the 20s are practice for successful adulthood. Accept that you are not the person you are going to be in your 30s, and that the person in your 30s is not the person you will be in your 40s. Too many people allow themselves to get complacent in careers, in personal growth, and in life. Keep pushing yourself to know more, learn more, accomplish more. There is no such thing as ‘being a grown up’ as that implies you are finished growing. There is just ‘adulthood,’ and adulthood is a process.” —  onlypositivity

“Stop trying so hard to be in a long-term relationship. For fuck’s sake, enjoy being single. Meet new people. Live outside your comfort zone. You have the rest of your life to be in a committed relationship. Until then, enjoy your freedom. That’s what allowed me to move across the country for an internship and later a job, because I didn’t have anything or anyone tying me down. Career-wise, I don’t think I would have made it as far as I have if I were attached at the hip with someone.” — [deleted]

“Being non-athletic. Even in my 30s, it’s much harder to get and stay in shape and I’m getting lots of injuries in my joints because I wasn’t maintaining strength and flexibility in my 20s. I was in decent shape in my 20s, but I ate like shit and rarely worked out. I ran from time to time, maybe a few times here and there then I wouldn’t run for a few weeks. I meditated like ‘meh’ every once in a while. I wish I had pushed my body and brain to its limits daily in my 20s, when my body was full of human growth hormone and responded much faster.” — intensely_human

“Not starting your 401k. If you start it now, you’ll have a lot more money saved, rather than doing it later. It doesn’t even feel like money is getting taken out, and a lot of companies will have something where they match what you put in. My company matches 5%, and I don’t have to be working an x number of years to get that match. It also transfers over to your next job.” — WhiteHairedWidow

“Not doing anything to develop their careers. Try to study/do courses, people. It may be hard but it pays off.” — The_Ass-Crack_Bandit

“Not considering where they want to be in their 30s. Your 20s are when you take important first steps that can define your future, so it’s important to think critically and move proactively to set yourself up for the life you want. The book The Defining Decade is a great one for help taking on this perspective. Have fun, but have a plan too.” — Zeebuss

“A lot of people in their 20s tend to push off things until their 30s: Saving for my retirement? I’m not retiring anytime soon! Let’s hit up the bars every night! Develop or expand a friend group? I’ve got my homies from college… I don’t need to meet new people! Continue my education? I just got out of school! I just want to make money and travel! The harsh reality of these things is that, if you don’t do them in your 20s, you will feel behind in your 30s, further behind in your 40s, and past due in your 50s.” — SmoothTalk