Whether you hate or love the term adulting, you have to admit that it’s catching on. And that’s not a bad thing. The more people focus on adulting the better. Because, when you are an adult, adulting is necessary if you want to reach your goals and be more productive.
What Is Adulting?
You are going to get a different definition for adulting depending on who you ask.
Kelly Williams Brown wrote the book Adulting: How To Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps and she is often credited for coining the term adulting.
In her book, she says the word adulting is taking a noun and making it a verb. It’s something you do, not something you are.
While a lot of people think the term adulting is stupid, I like it. It does get a little annoying when people use the hashtag adulting on Twitter to talk about how they did something that was the exact opposite of being an adult. For instance, this tweet:
Today was definitely not the first time I threw out dirty dishes instead of cleaning them. #adulting.
— Frank Ippolito (@FrankIppolito) November 15, 2018
Or when they tweet something like this:
ha ha and it’s the wrong type of bulb, welp i guess i’m going to be having a functioning lamp by the end of next semester ¯_(ツ)_/¯
— Rebecca C. Johnson (@RebeccaCJo) November 29, 2018
But for the most part, I think the term adulting is a fun way to remember that life is not about being childish, lazy, and taking only your wants into consideration.
My definition of adulting: It’s thinking before acting, taking other people into consideration and not just thinking about yourself, and doing things you don’t want to do so you can get the life you want.
Not Every Adult Is An Adult
The definition of an adult is to be fully grown and mature. You can be fully grown but not mature – where you have reached a point of emotional and mental development.
I know one fully grown person who is 45-years-old. He goes bankrupt every few years because he would rather go on cruises than pay his bills, including the child support he owes. Then he calls everyone he knows to help him with his financial issues. He may be older than 18, but he’s not an adult.
That’s how immature people are supposed to act. They don’t take charge of their own life. They don’t figure out how to make things work on their own. They don’t live up to their responsibilities. They need help and they depend on other people just to make it through the day.
Adulting Means Doing What You Need To Do
Sometimes when you are being an adult, you would rather be doing anything else than what you are doing… but you still do it because it needs to be done.
For example, if you need to meet someone who is annoying, but can absolutely help you take the next step in life, you don’t cancel because he’s too annoying. You go and you act in a mature manner. You don’t tell them they are stupid. You don’t talk about them to other people. You interact with them in a mature way, pointing out issues you may be having, reconciling problems, and working towards a mutual agreement that will help you move forward.
And sometimes when you are being an adult, you have to make a choice that you would rather not make. For instance, if you have extra money, you use it to pay down a bill instead of buying that gadget you don’t really need but want on Amazon.
Why Adulting And Productivity Go Hand In Hand
When you act like an adult, you do things you don’t want to do. That’s essential to your productivity because you are never going to feel like doing everything you need to do. It doesn’t matter how much you love your job, how badly something needs to be done, or what age you are, there are some moments where you would rather do anything but what you are supposed to do.
You take a second to remember that you are an adult who needs to do certain things in order to reach your goals. And, you remind yourself that no one else is going to help you do what you need to do. You are responsible for your own personal wants and needs. Then, you get out there and do it. #adulting
You put in the effort to set goals that matter to you, and you work on developing your skills and becoming more of who you want to be. #adulting
And, lastly, you treat other people with respect and kindness as you move through the world because you know that others are important to your growth and goals. #adulting
