Many people think that when you hit your twenties, you suddenly become this all-knowing adult full of wisdom. However, that usually isn’t the case.

Throughout your twenties, you’re still growing and figuring yourself out. At that stage of your existence, you’re nowhere near being an expert on life.

But over the decade, you will have picked up some valuable life lessons, even though you may not be this wise, old sage.

And there are probably a few things that stand out in your mind that you would like to go back and tell your younger self to do differently.

TikToker and certified wellness coach Audrey Brothers (@audreyannab) is 29-years-old, and she’s sharing the five things she wishes she had known earlier in her twenties.

Starting off strong, the very first thing Audrey wished she had learned sooner is to drink less alcohol. She feels she lost so much of her youth by getting wasted so often.

And by no means is she saying not to drink alcohol. But if you’re a heavy drinker, it might be important to reflect on your relationship with it.

“If you’re drinking every night of the week, if you’re binge drinking, if you’re blacking out all the time, or if you’re just abusing substances in general, then there’s probably something going on internally that you need to address,” said Audrey.

The sooner that you look inwards and work on healing whatever is causing you to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism, the better off your life will be.

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Another thing Audrey wished she had done was to be more mindful of sun exposure. In the past, she used to lay in the sun with the intention of getting fried so that she could get a tan. But now, she has sun spots dotting her entire body. So protect your skin from the sun–your future self will thank you!

The third thing she wished she had done was to love herself sooner. She spent too many years thinking she wasn’t pretty or good enough. She constantly criticized and picked on herself, leading to a lot of anger.

And she wound up projecting that anger onto every relationship she had. On top of the anger, she also experienced depression, anxiety, guilt, and shame. But now, she has learned that the only relationship that truly matters is your relationship with yourself, so it’s essential to nurture it.

The fourth thing she wished she had done earlier in life was to trust her gut. Before, she would always follow other people instead of her own intuition, which led her down some wrong paths. This led to quite a bit of unhappiness.

“I told myself time after time I wasn’t intuitive when in reality, I’m actually very intuitive. I just wasn’t listening to my intuition or trusting my gut because of this fear of change,” said Audrey.

She elaborated that she was too busy clinging to familiarity rather than taking the leap into the unknown. And finally, Audrey wishes she had stopped using perfectionism to mask her insecurities. Audrey believes that perfectionism is really just your ego trying to protect you from being judged by others.

Listen to the voice inside your head that empowers you, not the one telling you that you’re not good enough. You are worthy just the way you are.

@audreyannab

5 things I wish I knew earlier in my 20s #thingsiwishiknew #healingjourney #thingsiwishiknewbefore30 #thingsiwishiknewsooner

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