25 Things I Learned For My 25th Birthday

As I recently turned 25 this past weekend, I was both excited and hesitant about my life. I consider myself beyond blessed because I celebrated my quarter-century mark in Miami surrounded by some of my closest friends (some pictures below). I’ve learned so much over the years and I’m still learning but I wanted to share some tips that helped carve me into who I am today. So let’s start:

1. When you only focus on being right you prevent learning from mistakes. It’s more helpful to assume you don’t know a whole lot which promotes learning and growth.
2. Give compliments – A small compliment or moment of appreciation only takes a few seconds yet it could make someone’s entire day.
3. Your Character Will Take You Far – If people genuinely like you as a person that will take you farther than your intelligence and/or appearance.
4. Find something you genuinely like doing – I love reading so my overall demeanor improved when I started reading a little each day.
5. Monitor Your Health – You only have one body so cherish it.
6. Pick your battles wisely – A friend once told me that if it won’t matter in two years it doesn’t matter now. This small question has really helped me determine what I spend my energy on.
7. Positive Affirmations and Manifestations are Real – If you can think it, you can achieve it. Corny as it sounds, you can really do anything you can put your mind to.
8. Grudges are a waste of energy – There’s no purpose to hold onto negative emotions towards people and situations that are in the past. Let it go and focus on the present.
9. You can’t control everything that happens to you. But you can control how you interpret what happens and your response.
10. Give without expecting anything in return.
11. Stop comparing, just do better.
12. Focus on yourself before other people. You can’t help people without helping yourself first.
13. Check in with family and friends. You never know what people may be going through.
14. Treat every relationship as life-long. The person you just met may be someone in your life ten years from now. Again, you never know.
15. Think bigger. Thinking bigger will raise your standards and open yourself up to more opportunities.
16. Routinely set goals – If you routinely set goals you will constantly be improving.Everyday is a fresh start.
17. “Stop mourning versions of yourself that no longer exist.”
18. Switch your mentality to “I’m growing.”
19. Save money. Invest Money.
20. You can either change or accept what you’re not happy about. The power is yours.
21. Read books. It expands your horizons and mind patterns.
22. Don’t be afraid to cut toxic people or energy out. You are doing yourself a favor.
23. Only apologize if you mean it. And if you do mean it, make it thoughtful.
24. Take the time to be grateful for everything you have. You could have more, but you could also have less.
25. And finally…Your time on this earth isn’t guaranteed. So make sure you are living your best life.