I turn 22 today!

Inspired by one of my favorite writers, David Perell, here are 22 lessons I've learned in 3 aspects of life: physical health, mental health, and career.

Physical Health

1. Protect your sleep schedule

In the final year of middle school, I forced myself to sleep only 6 hours (9pm - 3am) to finish my homework and prepare for the high-stakes national exams.

I thought I'd have time after the national exams to go back to a healthy sleep schedule, but my body eventually refused to sleep more than 6 hours. This poor sleep quality shows more prominently every day as my age catches up to me.

2. Your diet affects how you feel

As I get older, my stomach began to react poorly to cold or deep-fried food, causing discomfort and lethargy throughout the day. To remedy this, I created my own list of "foods to avoid or eat less of" and stuck to it for at least 27 days every month.

3. Doing a sport you enjoy can make exercise easier

I stopped exercising due to an ankle injury at 16. By the time I was medically cleared to start exercising, my fitness was gone, and I found it difficult to push through my body's complaints.

This semester, I started Hapkido (martial art) lessons. Doing most of the "basic stuff", like kicking with perfect form, requires both flexibility and muscle strength. I now have a purpose to stretch and exercise more outside of Hapkido class. My Hapkido classes also felt less intense over time as I attend classes consistently.

4. Listen to your body

Your body doesn't react for no reason, so if you're feeling unwell, pay attention and work on resolving it. I've ignored warning signs that I was stressed and only listened when I started having migraines—it was not a fun experience.

Mental Health

5. Schedule time for your mental health, just like you would for physical exercise

It doesn't have to be an expensive spa day or an hour-long meditation session. Just do something for fun—something that isn't your responsibility—for as much time as you can spare. Five minutes can still make a difference.

6. Journalling daily can help you process the world around and within you

I use "brain dump" journalling to clear my mind and capture memories, while "rant journalling" helps me work through my programming bugs and non-work issues. The key to consistency is to accept one sentence per day as journalling.

7. Boundaries are difficult to define and even harder to enforce

But once you do, it will make your life happier. The tea for this one is a post for another day.

8. Self-awareness is your biggest asset in detecting issues as they arise

And the earlier you can detect and resolve a problem, the less costly the problem becomes. Journalling was the easiest method for me to develop self-awareness, as I could look back on older pages and recognize thought patterns.

9. Don't compare

The human tendency is to compare oneself to others and feel bad about "falling behind". Learn how to stay focused on your path and celebrate others' achievements without feeling bad about your progress, or curate your information sources—social media, friends, and even family if necessary—so that you don't fall into the comparison trap in the first place.

Career

10. Everyone goes through the lottery of birth

...whether they are born with good genetic, family, racial, socioeconomic, and nationality circumstances. This fact reinforces Lesson 9: there will always be people your age who are more successful simply because they did better in the birth lottery than you. So don't compare!

What you could focus on instead is: Which part of the lottery did you win? How can you use it to get closer to where you want to be? How can you use it to help others?

11. If you don't know what you want, or feel uncertain about things, explore

Try things out of curiosity, and if it doesn't work out, that's okay! There are valuable takeaways from exploration: at minimum, you'll discover what you like or don't like and what you're good or poor at.

12. Don't be afraid to ask others for guidance

As you explore new things, there will be things you don't understand. But those who have already done what you're trying to achieve have the knowledge and experience to help you! Even if you aren't entirely following their footsteps, you can mix and match nuggets of wisdom from different people to chart your own path.

13. Start defining your values and principles as you explore your interests and passions.

They'll become your North Star—a foundation for the important decisions you make in your life.

14. Values and principles will change over time

Especially as you meet new people and encounter new perspectives. And that's alright! Always let go of things that no longer serve you.

15. Pursue experiences, not material things

Material things can (and will) spoil and perish. Your experiences—healthy relationships, intentional traveling, meaningful activities—stay with you for a lifetime that you can look back on. One way to pursue experiences consistently is to...

16. Set visions and goals based on values and principles

Often, it gives your goals purpose and meaning, nudging you to focus on the experiential aspects of life. Having a non-material Why also provides the intrinsic motivation to get through difficult days. The resulting intentionality in pursuing these goals also minimizes regret.

17. Doubt will always be there

It's helped us survive as a species, but it will not help you live the kind of life you want if it paralyzes you. One way to minimize crippling doubt is to...

18. Focus on the process, not the outcome

Yes, you've set goals. But can you really align the cosmos to guarantee its manifestation? No. What you can do is align your actions to fulfill the goal and trust that the Universe has your back. By avoiding the question, "What if this doesn't work out?", you can also avoid doubt and go all-in on your actions.

19. Reflect on your progress constantly

Celebrate how far you've come! You deserve the celebration, and you need its intrinsic motivation to keep going.

20. Failure is an event, not an identity

...unless you assume that identity. And because it's an event, it's also the result of many factors, most of which are beyond your control.

21. Therefore, remove your feelings when reviewing your progress relative to a desired outcome.

Approach the review as an objective reporter, and see failure as something you can learn from. It's the easiest way to get accurate feedback without feeling defeated/dejected.

22. Play the long game

Align your actions towards your longer-term visions and goals while living in the moment. By Newton's Third Law of Motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Your efforts might not pay off until next year or a few years later, but if you don't have those efforts in the first place, it will never happen.

If you've made it this far, thank you! I'd love to hear your thoughts on these lessons—which ones resonated with you? Have you experienced some of these lessons yourself? What advice do you have for me as I approach my mid-twenties? Send me a DM on Linkedin!