How To Be An Adult
For anyone in their 20’s struggling with the idea of adulthood and how to be an adult, we’ve compiled the top 10 differences between adults and non adults. As much as you may think you are mature enough, there is always room for improvement.
Let us know what you think in the comments below:
1. Prove It
How To Be An Adult – Prove It
There is a deep feeling in most 20 somethings (and teenagers) that they are in some way entitled to special privileges and rights of passage, without ever having earned it.
As a maturing adult, you are more than welcome to have this mentality, if you have worked, studied, bettered yourself and made a contribution to the society around yourself. You can’t expect applause for showing up to work every day. At some point on the way to adulthood, this will need to be proven.
2. Solid Values
To be an adult, you have to be able to control how people affect you. You are able to see why a person who is in a bad mood reacts to you, and you don’t let that affect you. You have an opinion on how things should be, and you allow others to share their opinions with you. You build up a solid set of values that are based on logical facts that are derived from science and logic, but not personal biases which are based on skewed knowledge and pride.
3. Your Word
Never say you’ll be somewhere and not show up. People need to know that when you say something or make a promise, you’ll be doing everything you can to make sure you stick to that. Make your word as reliable and dependable as possible. Not only will people start to ask you for help, but you’ll end up reaping the rewards of being a dependable and hard working person to know and we all want to know people like that.
4. Be Thankful
Whether its someones time or knowledge that you’ve gained something from, you should always be thankful and let them know that. Just because someone went through the process of giving something out of the kindness of their heart, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t appreciate a thank you. Go out of your way to let people know you appreciate what they did to be an adult.
5. Admit Your Mistakes
How To Be An Adult – Take The Blame
As much as you strive to do the right thing as an adult, you are going to make mistakes. You make them when you’re young and if you pay attention to them, you should be making less and less as you grow as a person. But there are going to be times when you will still make mistakes, and in those times, it is far better to admit you have made a mistake, than to try to deny it or hide the fact that it ever happened. To be an adult, you need to admit that you made a mistake, learn from it and repair any damage that may have been done.
6. Control Your Environments
To be an adult, you need to be in control of the situations you find yourself in. This line from the book explains this brilliantly:
“Think of shopping like drinking. They’re both oh-so-fun in the moment. But when inhibitions are abandoned, they become giant mistakes by morning that only become more painful with age.”
Don’t put yourself in situation that you could later regret, and always have an exit strategy if you should need it.
7. End Relationships Well
How To Be An Adult – End Relationships Well
Weather its a love relationship or a friend, end them with grace. Creating unnecessary pain will not make you feel any better in the long run. It is a way of showing them how you would have expected to be treated if you were in their place. If there is hope of continuing the relationship in the future, make that clear and if there isn’t, make that clear as well.
8. Speak To People Who Are Older
If may be hard to take, but older people have more life experience than you. You don’t have to listen to everything they say, but having older friends will give you insights about life that you won’t have to experience to learn meaning fewer mistakes. To be an adult, you have to be able to listen to advice and respect life experience. Sooner or later, you will have younger people coming to you for the same advice.
9. Work
How To Be An Adult – Work Hard
Become dedicated to the work that you do. If you have chosen to participate in a workplace, keep your head down and do what you’ve been paid to do. Do it without complaining and without making excuses for mistakes. To be an adult you have to take part in your work and do your best. If you find something better, move on but always work hard because that is when you grow your skills.
10. Fake It Until You Become It
Now that you know what the requirements for adulthood are, take them on board and apply them to your life. By starting as early as possible, you will eventually become who you are acting like and it will come to you sooner. All of your actions will eventually become aligned with what you say but for now, fake it at least.
