Manifestation doesn’t work.

You set goals and work towards them. Discipline, work and the ability to learn from your mistakes will take you further than wishing on a star.

Stop with the trading. Get sensible investments like index funds in a 401k or something. You can’t simply manifest something. If it helps you to have mantras to repeat that’s awesome and can be helpful to some people, but you have to actually live those words. Manifest it through your actions.

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Yo! I’m 25 years old, so not quite a wisened ancient, but I think I still have some good advice to dish out to a youngster such as you.

MANIFESTATION DOES NOT WORK!

Actions work. You want money? Find ways to make money. You want to travel more? Find the time and the funds to travel. Wagering your success on wishful thinking is nonsense, and I say this lovingly.

If you want a better headspace, I suggest journaling; it doesn’t need to be serious or regular, just write down your thoughts and think through your options on paper, process your emotions in ink.

Also, taking some time once in a while to clear your head can do wonders. No music, no books, no videos… Just you and your thoughts. Sit on a park bench or just in your room and be quiet. Relax. I like to do this on my daily walks; I call it “raw-dogging the world”, and it’s a little weird at first, but it’s good.

TRADING IS TOO RISKY

Look, I know some people can do it and succeed, even long term, but you have no reason to believe you’re one of those people. You know how I know you have no reason to believe it? You have no industry backing. I suggest you get off trading and do some long-term, boring, diversified investment and stick to it.

Trading can be part of a good investment portfolio and strategy, especially if you’re willing to put time into learning how to do it well, but it should never (and I mean never) be the way you make money, unless you have institutional capital backing you. Which you don’t.

If you’re American, maybe you can stick to an S&P500 index fund and be satisfied; I prefer an all-world fund.

Seriously, trading should be maybe 5 in every 100 bucks you invest, if you’re crazy. If you’re sane, it’s 0.

Physical Fitness

Please, please pay attention to your physical fitness. I was very fat (obese) at your age, and it was terrible. At the time I didn’t realise just how terrible it was, but when I shed the weight I felt like such a moron for having been so unhealthy for so long. Also, I was so weak! I’m not strong, per se, but even the little working out I have done in the years since has changed my life.

Seriously. Eat right, stay at a healthy weight, and do some basic exercises regularly. Go for walks or something, some push-ups and squats, nothing fancy. Just stay reasonably physically fit. It will pay dividends later on, but it will also feel WAY better RIGHT NOW! I swear.

Career

I’m still figuring this one out, but so far my strategy of aggressive upward mobility has worked out fine. Don’t be afraid to change jobs, send out applications to random stuff that seemingly doesn’t fit your experience level or CV… Just, try to get a job you don’t hate and that pays good enough, and then try to get a better job (or a raise). Again, definitely don’t take this as gospel or anything (you should take the physical fitness advice as gospel, by the way; I’m serious, it’s insane the difference it makes), but it’s what’s worked so far.

Friends and Hobbies

I regret letting go of my social life entirely. I’m very asocial and bad with people, but it can be fun if you know how to balance it with everything else, and it gets really much harder to get back into being social after you’ve gone years without engaging with anyone. So, get friends and stay in touch! Just a little, if that’s all you care to do, but at least do something so you don’t lose them.

For hobbies, I definitely think that spending hours doomscrolling on TikTok was a terrible mistake I was making at your age. Or YouTube. Seriously, read more. Read literary fiction, old books new books, any author, whatever. Just read more. Non-fiction too, from actual experts (not wannabe gurus that pump out self-help drivel). Read more, learn more about a variety of subjects, educate yourself.

Again, these are things that I noticed I failed at at your age, and now as I have changed or am still changing my habits and priorities, I’m seeing the difference it makes.

Parents

I don’t know what your parents are like, but my parents (and my family in general) is very helpful and supportive. If you can rely on them, do rely on them. It’s OK. But also, make sure to spend quality time with them and pay back their efforts with love and appreciation, and probably most of all, pay them back by being happy. If you’re feeling unhappy, if you feel stuck or lost or anything like that, speak with the people you can trust and rely on, and let them help you. They want to see you happy, and they will do right by you if you let them.

This is my experience, and I do hope you can do that too, though I realise it might unfortunately not be the case.

Don’t do trading. Unless you’ve got millions you’re spending hours making dollars, if you win more than you lose at all. It’s fine if it’s a hobby but treat it as such.

Manifesting: does not work outside of your head. If it gets you in a good mental state then by all means do it. Being in a good mental state is just about all that matters.

What worked for me: buy and hold. Find people you like being around. Figure out why you like being around them and try to be more like them.

As an almost 60 year old :

• look after your teeth. Brush after every meal
• eat properly. A bit of junk food occasionally is fine, but don’t overdo it
• exercise regularly. You don’t have to be an athlete if you don’t want to, but keep your body strong and active
• don’t smoke. Anything, ever.
• put some money aside regularly for your retirement, and never touch it until then

“If I could start again 
A million miles away 
I would keep myself 
I would find a way”

Learn to be comfortable being bored. This will take you a LONG way

Quitting gambling would be a good start.

Aside from that, just finish your studies and take it from there.

I was fortunate enough to be in a place where university was free, and you even got enough support to live on bare essentials. If that’s your case, study. Don’t put yourself in a deep hole to go to school - but do learn on your own.

There’s no way easy to get rich. Day trading is hard. Saving funds are usually a safe bet. It’s hard to put down 10% of your income there without a goal. What are your saving for?

Some stuff I didn’t see in reading responses.

• Learn some “handy” skills. Create, build, repair. Stuff breaks all the time (and is probably only going to get worse), and as an adult you may be the one responsible to resolve that. It’s satisfying to do, saves money, makes you more independent, and might even open additional employment avenues.
• Do travel. Pick places with cultures you aren’t familiar with. While some high costs may be unavoidable (plane tickets, for example) travel can generally be done fairly cheaply. It’s an amazing experience and I think can give you some valuable perspectives on life.
• Be reliable. Having a reputation of someone who does what they say they will may open doors.

Something I did see but wanted to say as well anyway:

Don’t try so hard figuring your life out that you forget to live your life. Find balance.

Manifestation is bullshit.

Don’t trade your money away. Open a Traditional and Roth IRA, put some money in those accounts for retirement, and don’t touch it. You’ll literally be penalized if you do.

If you have parents, loved ones, or even for yourself: Prepare a trust. Don’t wait until you or anyone is on your deathbed to make those arrangements. It may seem insignificant now, but even the smallest item you possess will need to be disputed if you die, so don’t make that a hassle for any future children or your relatives. And don’t worry, trust are flexible, you have the final say, so make as many changes to it as you need to. As fractured as the relationship with my father was, him prepping a will, trust, advanced medical directive and a memorandum made inheriting his possessions much less of a hassle than it would’ve been otherwise.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to a career. Be flexible with your skillset and be willing to work the smaller jobs just to get experience and some money, even if they don’t align with your big career plans, because they’ll still offer experience that you can carry with you. I’m a year and a half out of work because I put all my eggs into IT and Data Analysis.

Make sure you’re in a good headspace before jumping into a relationship. Take it at your own pace. Most importantly, be upfront with your partner about what you want out of the relationship, whether it’s a one-night stand, or a long-term relationship. And make sure you both communicate what you want. I only had five months of dating experience back in high school, and my most recent relationship ended after a week because I was so desperately acting on signs that weren’t there, which led me to ignoring my own boundaries and hurting my ex because I was two-faced.

Make sure to set boundaries and protect yourself above all else. You’re no good to anyone if you’re no good to yourself. Take time to recharge. If you’re not feeling up to something physically, emotionally or mentally, it’s okay to cancel or step back. Just don’t make a habit of it. As a people pleaser, I would overload my plate with saying yes to nearly everyone and everything, trying to be the “nice guy” or “helpful steward” when I was really allowing myself to be strung along because I couldn’t say no. Learning to say “no” is so important for yourself and for those you love.

Mentioned in the last post of yours. If you aren’t managing your mental health, it will hurt you in the long run. Seek therapy.

also anyone here into manifestation/law of attraction, does it actually work

No.

Make sure your entertainment is not a grind too.

I mean, regularly gauge how addictive your video-game choices are. Many modern video-games have been constructed as psychological quagmires with seductive dopamine reinforcement-loops.

Keep your mind fresh by investigating FOSS gaming.

Desktop - https://libregamewiki.org/Main_Page

Mobile - https://search.f-droid.org/?q=game&lang=en

Some titles:

SGTpuzzles – Shattered Pixel Dungeon – TacticMaster/lichess – Box Stacker – Luanti – 0ad – Battle for Wesnoth – filletsNG – Cube2:Sauerbraten – Gurgle(wordle) – GCompris(for kids)

I agree with others here: manifestation is nonsense. Or at least it’s a sloppy way of describing the idea of careful planning and hard work, but without that careful planning and hard work. Wishing for something to come true without doing the hard graft is a losing proposition.

On the “things I wish someone had told me back then”:

• Start investing in index funds. Steady saving as early as you can on low-fee investments with more stable returns is the way to go. It’s not as glamour or exciting as day trading, but it’s the safer and smarter approach. Keep more volatile trading limited to a limited budget of ‘fun money’. Treat it like gambling on horses or playing poker - assume you will be flushing that money down the drain, and once you’ve hit your fun spending budget don’t go behind it, even by a penny.
• Don’t take your health for granted. Find a sport or exercise you really enjoy and lean into it. Soccer, basketball, martial arts, gymnastics, going to the gym, Street running, cycling, baseball, or whatever. You don’t have to be good at it, you just have to enjoy it. Your proficiency will increase with practice.
• Watch your diet for too much sugar, salt, ultra-processed foods, etc. When you’re in your early 20s you’ll probably feel like you’re indestructible. But the decline without watching your diet (and without regular exercise) is slow but insidious.
• Take time out to just connect with your environment, friends/family, and yourself. Connect with nature. Practice mindfulness and meditation. Do yoga (that shit is deceptively amazing!).