12 Things To Give Yourself More Credit For

In your 20s, you'll have a lot of ups and downs. It's a decade of intense, formative times. Some days you'll feel like an adult and the future will be clear and in front of you. Other days, you'll feel like a child playing dress up in an adult's world and you won't know up from down. You'll feel incapable of everything.

The things we go through in our 20s create the foundation of the adult we're going to be for the rest of our lives. So everything we do is important. And while mistakes can hold a lot of weight, victories can hold even more — especially the things you don't even realize are accomplishments.

So much of your 20s you'll be told that you're doing things wrong and you'll question yourself. Rarely do you get that pat on the back for doing something that's expected of you, like paying a bill or cleaning up after yourself. But those things are not nothing. They're small little pieces of evidence that you're committed to being an adult, see value in yourself, and respect your surroundings. These are a few other things that you should be proud of yourself for:

Getting Student Loans

OK, I realize getting a bill in the mail doesn't sound like an accomplishment, but it actually is. It means you finished school and you're getting to work on paying back your loans. You can use this responsibility to develop good credit and establish strong financial habits.

Making Doctor's Appointments

Knowing when it's time to get checked out by a professional is definitely a part of adulting. When you're a kid, the doctor's office seems like a sentencing. But when you're in your 20s, you start to realize that the doctor's office is a savior and can keep you healthy. Making appointments means you take your health seriously.

Breaking Up With Someone

Getting out of a relationship that wasn't serving you is a huge accomplishment. It might not feel like one at the time, but it shows self respect and standards. It's no small feat.

Making New Friends

Making friends outside of a school is freaking hard! If you've figured out how to do it, it's a huge accomplishment and will continue to enrich your life into adulthood. Social skills are invaluable.

Quitting A Job

Knowing when a job isn't right for you is knowing yourself. Though quitting a job might feel a bit like giving up or being financially irresponsible, it's actually a step towards getting what you want out of life. It shows you value yourself as an employee.

Choosing To Stay In

When you're tired, run-down, or have work to do on the weekend and opt to stay in rather than go out with friends, you know you're growing up. It's called being responsible. It's an accomplishment.

Cooking For Yourself

Taking care of yourself and knowing how to properly nurture your body is hugely important. If you've taught yourself how to cook well-balanced meals for yourself, you should be really proud of yourself. Those skills are for life!

Quitting Smoking

If you were a smoker, be it a pack-a-day or a "Can I bum one?" type smoker, and you've quit — you're amazing. Your health and future self will thank you!

Making Goals

Taking time to think about the future is part of accepting that you're growing up. Even if you don't accomplish any of these goals in your twenties, it's good to be in the habit of making them.

Watching The News

If you've developed a taste for what's going on in the world, you should be pleased the the adult you're growing into. You should be in the habit of logging out of your social media and into the world. Watch the news, see how other people are living, educate yourself and develop opinions. Having an opinion about something you watch on the news is a huge accomplishment.

Learning To Network

Networking is hard, and awkward. If you've figured out how to navigate a room of strangers and manage to even introduce yourself to one of them, you're excelling in life. Good job.

Reading Books

If you're in the habit of reading books after you've graduated from college, you should give yourself a pat on the back. Believe it or not, many people lose interested in reading once they don't have a teacher breathing down their neck, forcing them to. If you have a taste for good books, you're doing something right.

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