7 crucial life changes you should make

While we can’t fight every battle and stay young forever, we can take some simple steps to age gracefully and remain healthy and happy. These 7 essential life changes can help you create good habits in your 20s which will last well into your 60s.

Everyone should learn how to cook. Not only are homemade dishes usually much healthier than takeaway or restaurant options, but they are often cheaper too. 

Whether you make simple dishes or replicate your favorite take-away recipes, building a cooking repertoire is very important. You can save money and know what ingredients are going into your body. A large part of overall health is diet, so learning how to cook early on is key.

Perhaps equally as important as what you eat is how much you eat (and drink). For example, make sure to balance food groups and mind your portion sizes. If you wake up in the morning and your stomach is full, you probably ate too much at dinner. 

Also, drink enough water. Staying hydrated and eating the correct portions of food throughout your 20s will only help your body remain healthy as you get older.

For many of us, the type of exercise we think we should enjoy and actually enjoy are two different things. By the end of your 20s, try to figure out what form of exercise works best for you, and then do it. Keeping your body healthy in your 20s will only help you in your 30s and beyond.

While many spend newfound income in higher rates in their 20s due to upgraded post-university pay or more expenses –it is also important to remember to save as well. For example, something as small as skipping expensive nights out or using discount codes can quickly help you to save money now which will add up over time and can be used later on in your life. 

In your 20s, you are starting to look at what the rest of your life after studying may hold. In order to make sure you move in the right direction, set goals and make plans to steer your course. For example, you may have a goal of buying a house and then create a savings plan which can help you achieve your dream. While it can be daunting, setting goals for the future actually helps you make plans and execute them in the present. That way, when the future comes, you’re all set.

Whether novels, short stories, blog posts or other written content, reading widely and often is truly a life-changing habit you should pick up in your 20s.For example, according to a Business Insider article, most successful people – including Elon Musk and Bill Gates – “credit reading, in some capacity, as a factor in their success.”

To keep moving forward and growing intellectually, read. 

The growth mindset and the fixed mindset are two modes of thought which people develop, as theorised by Carol Dweck, a Harvard professor, and researcher. A fixed mindset believes that abilities are innate and therefore unchangeable. Meanwhile, a growth mindset believes skills can be learned, and failures are learning opportunities.

The ability to cultivate a growth mindset can keep people moving forward and motivated, despite age, health and any other obstacles which may come. Developing a growth mindset in your 20s can help you continue to see failures in your 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s not as roadblocks, but rather, detours to success.

Keep up with the top stories from Reader's Digest by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.