5Things I Thought I Knewat 22 That Turned Out to Be

@annhandley

TOTALLYTOTALLYWRONGWRONG

I like to think I was thoughtful and professional, eager but measured,

when I was 22.

The truth is that I was impatient and usually felt inadequate.

Uncomfortable.Skeptical. Clueless.

Here are five things I thought I knew thenthat turned out to be totally wrong.

1At some point,

you’ll be competent.

1At some point,

you’ll be competent.Nope.

"To stand still is tofall behind."

—Mark Twain

In truth...

In truth...

The more you master, the more you realize you don’t know.

The more you understand challenges, the more you challenge yourself to learn more.

The more you hone your skills, the sharper still you want to make them.

2At some point,

you’ll be rewarded for your hard work.

2At some point,

you’ll be rewarded for your hard work.

Nope.

Recognition is like viral marketing: a happy

accident, not a goal.

In truth...

Not only is it unlikely that anyone else will reward you, but the very notion of

anticipating some kind of recognition is both folly and a little childish.

In truth...

The only validation that ultimately means anything is the satisfaction of knowing that you did the best you could on something that matters.

3At some point, you won’t have to work

so hard.

3At some point, you won’t have to work

so hard.Nope.

"You learn the value of hard work by working hard."

—Margaret Mead

In truth...

If you aren’t working hard, you probably don’t care a whole lot about what you’re working on.

In truth...

You never stop giving it your all.

4At some point,

you’ll realize your fate.

4At some point,

you’ll realize your fate.

Nope.

"Destiny is for losers. It’s just a stupid excuse to wait for

things to happen instead of making them happen."

—Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)

"Destiny is for losers. It’s just a stupid excuse to wait for

things to happen instead of making them happen."

—Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)That's it. That's the truth.

5At some point,

you’ll always be right.

5At some point,

you’ll always be right.

Nope.

But guess what?

But guess what?

Being wrong—at least once in a while—is surprisingly awesome.

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