How to Grow Up

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	Education Issues Topic Index A-Z Index	How to grow up

Our commercial culture is actually a kind of psychological oppression on kids, making it difficult for them to grow up. Do you doubt this? A recent news story said that most people now say 26 years of age is minimum for someone to be called ‘adult.’ What a terrible burden on young people who have adult bodies but struggle with economically enforced adolescence. This is a compilation of what I have learned, a message I wish I could have absorbed when I was 16:

How to grow up

Doesn't growing up happen automatically as you get older? Apparently NOT, if you read the newspapers. Lots of adults aren't grown up. Even many adults in authority are not necessarily grown up. How grown-up are the adults in your life?

You don't grow up all at once - you learn to be a grown-up. Gradually you face hard realities and stop blaming others, or circumstances. You put serious energy into building knowledge and ability. Eventually, your circumstances will begin to reflect you, instead of you reflecting your circumstances. Start by memorizing these ideas. Read them out loud to yourself, and look for examples of how they apply.

TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Everything has its own cost, nothing is really free.
Master yourself. This is a challenge worthy of your status as a human being.
If you can't fix the big problem yet, fix small problems. Start NOW.
Made a mistake? Pick youself up and start fixing. Never give up.
Nothing is more self-defeating than making excuses.
Nothing is more empowering than taking responsibility for yourself.
Figure out what identity you want and start making it true.
School isn't free, but at least someone else is paying for it. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn. It will never be this easy again.
Avoid debt. Pay as you go, even if it means your stuff is old.
Religion is designed to keep you dependent on someone else for answers.
Drugs just mess with your head to give you a few moments of artificial happiness. Come to think of it, drugs and religion have a lot in common.
What's stopping you? Don't wait for someone to fire the starter pistol on your life - that race already started. Your are running against yourself.

Start with small challenges to sharpen yourself: think of something you personally want to accomplish in the next month and make it happen. It could be a book to read or a skateboard trick to master - work relentlessly at it until it is done. Then pick another one, a little bigger. Say you want to lose 10 pounds - define yourself as weighing less and start behaviors that are consistent with your new weight, like walking to school and not eating the bun on your sandwich. Try strengthening your mind - skip a TV show and read the newspaper every day (look for examples of adults who are not grown up!)

The person most likely to trip you up is yourself. Be awake!