Here is some unsolicited advice that took time for me to understand.
Embrace the feeling of uncertainty and doubt. Learn to make the best decisions you know how to, and accept that you will probably be wrong about something in some way, a lot of the time. Your life is shifting from having the path laid out before you to follow, to a constant cross roads of you needing to define the way forward for yourself.
Spend some time thinking about what does, and what will make you happy. It’s all about small consistent effort. Take the long view. Don’t settle into a pattern of work -> escape from work -> sleep, repeat.
Make sure your free time, has a place for personal growth. I’m not joking when I say, 5 to 15 minutes a day is a good enough commitment to make a difference, if you are to tired to do more. Work to build habits that serve you. For instance if you want to exercise regularly, do 5 pushups a day, at the same spot in your routine. Just make it part of what you do automatically without thinking. Then work on doing more. Don’t stay exactly where you are. If you can’t choose how to move forward on something, making any choice is often better than making no choice. At least you know you made a decision, and can learn from failure if doesn’t work. Eventually making no choice becomes the default option you decided not to participate in.
Focus on self improvement, and forgive yourself for making mistakes. We are all doing the best we can with what we have at the moment.
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.