Adulting is:
“the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.” (Oxford Languages Dictionary)
We are increasingly living in a society that celebrates immediate gratification. I’m also a “path-of-least-resistance” type person. If I had my way I would throw far too many things into the “too hard basket” pile and be done with it. Screw adulting. But as I’ve matured I’ve realized that this is not the path to the good life. It only makes life harder in the long run.
So what does take us closer to a good life? Here are some of my thoughts:
- The things we avoid are often the very things that need to be done.
- Chipping away at our adult-problems gives us momentum, and momentum always feels better than inaction.
- That the best cure for anxiety is working towards a solution that alleviates our stress.
We can’t control everything, but if we put in a little forethought, a good dose of effort, and decide we’re going to step-up and take responsibility for our lives…we can also take care of a lot more than we might otherwise give ourselves credit for.
Quotes to Inspire:
- “I don’t run from my problems. I sit on my couch, play on my phone and ignore them like all other adults.” – Unknown (note to self: don’t follow the lead of other adults in this regard).
- “Taking responsibility for oneself is by definition an act of kindness.” – Sharon Salzberg
- “During a very busy life I have often been asked, “How did you manage to do it all?” The answer is very simple. It is because I did everything promptly.” – Richard Tangye
- “Procrastination is the lazy cousin of fear. When we feel anxiety around an activity, we postpone it.” – Noelle Hancock
Something to Try:
- Grab a piece of paper or open a notebook.
- Put a line horizontally down the middle of a page.
- On the left-hand side, write a list of all the things that are stressing you out, or are taking up space in the back of your head.
- On the right-hand side next to each stressor, make a note of an action you could take to resolve it, or move closer to working out how to make it better (or make yourself feel better).
- Do the actions you have listed on the right-hand side.
This is called problem-focused coping and it’s very adulty. It highlights the things you can do to relieve the pressure in your life. It isn’t full proof, but more often than not there is something we can do to make most the things that stress us out a little less stressful.
Till next month, keep thriving.
– Kate
