The Guide to a Perfect Glow Up in Your 20S

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Your 20s are years of endless opportunities! You are allowed – and even encouraged – to DREAM BIG! (The bigger, the better). Yet, your 20s are also a period of life in which there’s a lot of external pressure, as you’re learning how to balance different aspects of your life while also trying to figure out who you really are.

Thanks to this article, you’re gonna find out what it means to glow up in the midst of your 20s – when everything seems so confusing and a little bit scary.

Well, this is the perfect guide that will help you glow up inside out so that you can start embracing and showing to the world who you truly are.

Are you ready to take on this glow-up journey? Then, let’s get started!

📌 SHORT ON TIME? PIN IT FOR LATER! 📌

1. SET BOUNDARIES

The first step to glow up in your 20s is…setting boundaries! (Yes, I’m sure you didn’t see it coming)

Well, you can trust me on this: your 20s are a period in which your boundaries are constantly tested.

It can be that you’re starting a job with a demanding boss who has you stay overtime for 3 days a week.

Or maybe you’ve been hanging out with your childhood friends realizing that your vibes no longer match.

Perhaps you want to dedicate more time to a hobby or passion of yours, but your partner doesn’t quite get it…

Or you could be dealing with an overapprehensive and intrusive mom, who doesn’t let you freely decide what you want out of your life.

And if it’s all of the above…well, my friend, you desperately need to set those boundaries ASAP!

HOW TO SET BOUNDARIES?

It’s not easy to set boundaries, but it’s necessary.

You have to set boundaries because, if you don’t do so, you’ll end up in your 50s realizing that you chased someone else’s dream.

Or maybe, you’ll have only to blame yourself for not being where you wanted to be in life…just because you didn’t put in enough effort.

If you’re reading this blog post, chances are that you don’t want to end up like that.

I’m confident that you are here because you want to create a life that fulfills you. A life in which you are happy and satisfied.

You totally can!

You need first to set boundaries. (Again, it’s one of those things that’s quite simple, but not easy)

Before setting boundaries, you need to answer these questions:

• What matters to me the most? (List 3 aspects of your life at least)
• What areas of my life feel chaotic and all over the place?
• What does trigger me the most? (In terms of people, things, places, or situations)
• How do I aspire to be?
• In my own words, what would it mean to live a balanced life?

After brainstorming on these questions, you’re ready to set the right boundaries with yourself and others.

EXAMPLES OF SELF-BOUNDARIES TO GLOW UP IN YOUR 20S

EXAMPLES OF BOUNDARIES WITH OTHERS TO GLOW UP IN YOUR 20S

• Splitting the bill with your partner every now and then, or taking turns when to pay
• Hanging out with your friends a certain amount of times per week
• Learning to decline invitations that you’re not interested in
• Cutting off negative and toxic people from your life, or limiting the amount of time spent together
• Drawing a clear work-life separation line
• Communicating rather than bottling up your feelings
• Avoiding pleasing others
• Stop putting your happiness in someone else’s hands
• Standing up for yourself when someone is disrespecting you
• Speaking up more, especially if your rights are not respected
• Validating your own emotions, rather than letting others validate them
• Stop saying “sorry” when you have nothing to apologize for

2. CONSIDER YOUR BODY AS A TEMPLE

The second way to glow up in your 20s is to take good care of your body.

It’s not too early (nor too late) to start adopting healthy habits that make you feel and look your best!

Your body is a temple.

You can hate it, love it, or something in between – but you’re going to be living the rest of your life together, so isn’t it better to have a healthy, loving relationship with it?

Sure, there will be always things you won’t necessarily like about your body. But, those flaws (if that’s what you want to call them) are what make you unique.

So make peace with your body, and start seeing it for what it is: a beautiful temple of life.

Your body allows you to hug your loved ones, smile, swim in the ocean, and step barefoot on the grass. It allows you to pet your dog, snuggle with your partner, and savor your morning coffee.

If your body can do all these amazing things for you, the least you can do is treat it well. Right?

Your 20s are the perfect time to start taking care of your body if you haven’t been doing it.

Not only it will be an instant glow-up, but the benefits will be carried on throughout the rest of your life.

PHYSICAL GLOW-UP CHECKLIST FOR YOUR 20S

• Take daily vitamins
• Drink 1,5L to 2L (or more if you’re more active) of water every day
• Eat the rainbow
• Follow the 80/20 lifestyle
• Move your body every day a little bit
• Take good care of your hair
• Put on sunscreen daily
• Brush your teeth 2 or 3 times per day
• Do regular health check-ups
• Limit processed food
• Improve your posture
• Stick to a consistent sleep schedule
• Limit your sugar intake
• Follow a skincare routine
• Reduce your coffee intake

3. STOP NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

The third step of this glow-up is all about mindset.

Even if 90% of the time you’re not aware of it, your brain is always playing a narrative.

The same narrative, repeated over and over again, becomes your story.

It dictates who you are.

That’s great news if you constantly think of how lucky you’re in life, how successful you’ll be, and how amazing your future is set to be. (Watch out though, here I’m referring to people who are self-confident, not arrogant)

But, what does happen if – instead – the narrative of your head follows the lines of:

“I am a failure”

“Nobody loves me”

“I am not _____ enough”

“Why do bad things always have to happen to me?”

“I keep making mistakes and messing things up”

“It’s too complicated or challenging for me”

“I am never consistent at anything, so why even bother trying?”

“It won’t work out, I know it”

“I’m bad at _____”

“It’s just who I am”

“I can’t change”

If you’re the first one to put yourself down, how can you expect to succeed at whatever you put your mind to?

It starts within. It all starts with you and the story you’ve been telling yourself.

RELATED: “5-Step Process to Stop Your Negative Thinking”

It’s not easy to eliminate your self-limiting beliefs and negative thoughts, but you must do it if you want to glow up.

Your 20s are the perfect time to challenge and change what you’ve been telling yourself. Your brain is still malleable!

What you believe when you’re in your 20s is also what you’ll carry on for the rest of your life.

So, do yourself a favor: let go of your negative and self-limiting beliefs!

How can you do that as fast as possible? Check out this post to learn the 5-step hack to get rid of negative thoughts!

4. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn

It comes naturally to me to ask you this question:

“Are you happy with the way you’re conducting life right now?”

If the answer is yes, I’m so happy for you!

But if your answer is no, you might have to look at who’s in your life.

The environment you live in has a huge influence on your happiness. (And please, mind that I’m not suggesting that you should allocate your joy to others – ABSOLUTELY NOT!)

But also, you’ll realize that it’s quite draining to always carry a genuine smile in a room full of party-poopers.

If your closest circle is full of people who play small, find the negative even in the best news ever, or don’t believe in you…heck, what are you still doing with them?!

Stay with people who don’t dream big, and you’ll seize your dreams accordingly.

Do you want this for your life?

I’m sure not.

So, as hard as it seems (and it is), this is your sign to cut all those negative and toxic people out of your life.

One of the best ways to glow up in your 20s, in fact, is to be surrounded by the right people.

People who believe in you. Who motivate you, and inspire you to do more and be better.

In step #3, you learned that you need to be the first one to believe in yourself and in your dreams if you want to make it. Although, it’s also true that you can carve your way to success faster if you’re not the only cheerleader in your life.

HOW TO FIND YOUR PEOPLE

Here are some of the best ways you can meet new people that share your same goals, aspirations, and – hopefully – growth mindset:

• Attend networking events
• Join a local club
• Use a social media such as Geneva to connect with like-minded people
• Enroll in a class or workshop
• Reach out first, even to cold acquaintances
• Have an open mindset that makes you more approachable to others
• Try new things
• Travel alone
• Go out more often, even alone
• Reach out to people you look up to and are inspired by
• Get a mentor

5. MAKE TIME FOR SELF-REFLECTION

Finally, the last step to glow up in your 20s consists in making time for self-reflection on a regular basis.

Your 20s are a period of constant change.

You’re figuring out who you are and what you want out of life.

But, even if one day you might feel like it’s all clear, the next you might be back to ground zero.

Your desires and dreams change over time.

You change over time too!

There is nothing wrong with changing your mind, taking a different path, or switching trajectories multiple times.

If you’re feeling lost and confused about your life, your future, yourself – literally, just everything -, it’s time to sit down with yourself.

Take a blank sheet of paper, and start writing it all out.

Dedicate some time to tune in with yourself.

Reflect on who you are and where you want to go, and then figure out if you’re still on the right path.

A path that’s not dictated by others’ expectations, but that’s created by you and for you.

It’s so hard to figure life out, but the point is: you don’t have to have it all figured out!

Just think of what feels best now. The rest will follow.

PS ➪ Did you just realize that it’s been ages since you’ve last sat down to reflect on yourself and your life? Well, it’s your lucky day! Grab below my FREE “30-Day Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery”⭐️

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You’re still on time to figure out who you want to be. You can create the life of your dreams, you just have to make it happen!

Hopefully, this 5-step guide to glow up in your 20s will be the starting point of a beautiful life change. You got this!

Which of these 5 steps do you need to work on the most to fully glow-up? Share it with a comment!

Until next time,

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