If I could give you only one piece of advice, having a good skincare routine would be it. It does not have to be a “20 Steps Skin Care Regimen”, or using an anti aging serum from an expensive high end brand. Simply find one that works on your skin.
While Good skincare routine have been proven by lots of expert as a necessity, the rest of this has no credibility other than my own humble experience.
Take it with a grain of salt.
1. Be mindful of your thoughts. Or not. But most troubles you will face are usually way better than those terrible scenario in your head. Stop bullying yourself and find out why you could think of those bad scenarios instead and be better at managing your thoughts.
2. Go to therapy. Find a stress relieving activity. Unlearn those traumas.
3. Be kind on yourself. Be kind with other people’s hearts. Stay away from those who are bad with yours.
4. No job is 100% perfect. Pick your battle wisely. Do not stay if you are mistreated but do not jump ship too easily.
5. Do not envy other people’s life. Your race is super long and you are your biggest ally and enemy.
6. Be inconvenient. You are not put in this earth just to make everyone else’s life easier when they makes yours difficult on daily basis.
7. You can be the villain too. Hold yourself accountable.
7. Drink that glass of water now.
8. You might fall in love or you might not. Maybe you will have that sweet life with a husband or a wife and two kids, living in that big house near MRT or maybe you will be that traveling aunts/uncles who bring back cool stories and fun trinkets for your loved ones at home instead.
Maybe you will live until you are 91, maybe you will die tomorrow.
Wherever your journey takes you, I pray that you will choose and follow something that is wholeheartedly yours.
9. Your life is never your own. It is connected to these thousands of connections you made every day. So you will never be as alone as you think you are.
10. Understand that people come and go, but find your people and hold on to them. Wealth is not only money. It can be in a form of good family and friends, good health, and tranquility.
11. Live outside of your community at least once and travel if you can.
12. Accept these sad, but unfortunately true points (which is as old as time):
There will always be a crisis in the world.
Public Figures will come and go with their new ideas.
Wars will keep on happening (Do you know that 60% of the world’s wars have lasted for at least a decade?).
Hold on to your truth because the only permanent thing in this life is changes itself.
13. Learn to filter those information on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn or WhatsApp group. We have the whole world in the palm of our hands, use that wisely.
14. The world is moving so rapidly so be patient if your elders believe some misinformation or another. In a blink of an eye, you will be as old as the people you called your elders.
15. Manage your finance well. Learn about how the tax in your country works, research about investments yourself so you will not easily swayed by greedy people. If something looks to be too good to be true, it probably is.
16. Have a side hustle. Cultivate your interests and hobby, make it as an additional source of income. Life is unpredictable, the only person you can depend is you (and your select few if you are lucky).
17. Your health is P0. That assignment can wait, that tasks can be delegate to someone else. Remember, you will always be replaceable by your beloved company.
18. Go on and subscribe or follow more than one news publications, even the ones that you do not agree on. You will be surprised on how many different perspective you can get about one issue.
19. You came here on this earth alone, and you will leave alone too.
20. Don’t mess too much with your hair. Your curl is beautiful as it is, do not trust that tip from that guy on that video.
21. Trust your gut instinct.
22. Give as much love as you can to the world and allow yourself to receive as much as possible. Do not make life makes you hard.
Being “too cynical” or “cold hearted” is not cool anymore. The world has enough of bad news already. Being kind is not the same as being weak.
23. Shoot that shot with that cute guy or girl. You will not regret it ( This is not yet proven as a success so do not trust me on this one).
But yes, you can believe me on finding that skincare routine.
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This writing is inspired by “ The Greatest Commencement Speech Ever” article by Valerie Strauss for the Washington Post. The original column that the article is based on is written by Mary Schmich for the Chicago Tribune.
