Paige Vidrine

So you’re in your 20’s and you’re thinking you should probably have your shit together. You also realize that for whatever reason you don’t.

Time is flying by and nothing seems to be falling into place! What are you going to do?

 

I know I know…. It’s scary as hell!

Nothing is as easy as it used to be. You can’t call mom. No one is coming to rescue you from the real world. You’re in it now, so it’s time to suck it up and deal with it.

This is how:

 

1. Don’t Blame Your Parents.

It’s easy to blame your parents for all the shitty things you have experienced.

They could have protected you more. He didn’t have to leave you. He could have been there.

She could have understood a little more, been calmer, more like the suburban moms your friends had. There could have been more stability. Things could have been different.

They could have been different, but they weren’t. So, if you’re still using your parent’s behavior as an excuse to act recklessly …. Just STOP! 

This is your life. Take responsibility for it and stop blaming someone else for your problems! GROW THE HELL UP!

2.  Choose Wisely.

Back in the good old days, you could make bad choices, catch a whipping and then act like nothing ever happened.

 These days your bad choices could land you in debt, without education and with an expensive sidekick, aka a baby, or much worse.

 The consequences to your reckless behavior are endless. Every day you see horrible things on your news feed about the people that were just like you now in rehab, prison, dead or simply complaining about their shitty lives, going back and forth in the drama on FB.

Make it stop!

Don’t do that to yourself.

Every single day you make a choice. You choose to be on time or be late. You choose to eat well or to not care.

You choose to save your money or spend it. You choose to love or to hate.

Each day’s choices leave you with lasting consequences regardless of if you experience them that day or years later. You have to look deeper into your future and realize that you will have to pay for every choice you make.

Don’t be dumb, hoping that you are the exception.

You are not. You’re not special, no matter how your momma and your grandmother made you feel. I don’t care how much attention you get on social media.

You are a human being just like everyone else. These are laws of the universe and there is no king/queen who can rewrite them. 

So, do yourself a favor and be the one that makes the smart choices. Be a rebel. Be different. Do the right thing, and don’t worry about what it looks like. Everyone else around you will see the good in your life and follow your example. 

3. Don’t Stop Learning.

If you want to be valuable in the workforce or in life in general, you’ll have to keep learning.

All the best rappers study the dictionary. All of the CEO millionaires have a library bigger than the public one.

All of the best fighters, study their opponents and their competition. They train and prepare.

So, if you actually want a future that has some meaning, be a student always. 

Stop scrolling through your news feed expecting to find something different.

Be intentional about learning something new every day.

Get on YouTube and research your interests. Search hashtags on Instagram to find people that are interested in the same things as you. Pick up a book and get your knowledge up.

You may end up regretting all the stupid shit you’re doing now, but you will never regret investing in your knowledge.

4. Change Your Perception of Yourself.

People become more of who they believe they are.

Loud, obnoxious people become more and more obnoxious and loud, because “Thats me!”, as they would say. Drug addicts never change as long as they see themselves as drug addicts.

People don’t change unless they see themselves in a different light.

Just because you have bad circumstances doesn’t mean you have to be a product of them. You can change the way you see yourself so that you can become much better.

Dont wish for it. Work for it.

This is your life. Do what you have to do to really become the person you wish you were.

It’s crazy because some people die with so much potential. They never really understood the power they had within them, because they were so focused on becoming who other’s told them they were. 

You don’t have to live up to the labels that other’s put on you. You don’t have to be “stupid”. You don’t have to be “dumb”. You don’t have to be anything that people try to tell you. You are who God says you are.

So, do yourself a favor and don’t allow anyone, yourself included, to say anything negative about you.

That will become your inner voice. Work on building your confidence every day by speaking good things to yourself.

“I can do anything I set my mind to.” “I am not my circumstances.” “God is within me.” Whatever you have to tell yourself so that you can find happiness, do that.

Just remember that the way you see yourself wont change until you force it to.