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My mother’s favorite quote is: “Your age only tells how long you’ve been on the earth. Nothing else.” I never thought too much of it until I got older and saw that some of the things that I thought wouldn’t be a factor, during old age, still are.
Age can indicate a lot of things, but apparently maturity isn’t one of them. Read along and let me know in the comment section if you agree, and what you think I should have included.
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You make excuses for poor behavior
It’s never the fact that you did something irresponsible, but there’s a rehearsed manifesto you have to explain why it’s not your fault you behaved that way, it was your parents’/brothers’/sisters’/cat’s.
I’m not going to say that a person’s past doesn’t affect the way they view the world, but it shouldn’t stop someone from making sensible decisions. At the end of the day, even if your family or feline counterpart did affect you negatively, they didn’t force you to behave the way you did, so stop using them as an excuse.
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You avoid culpability
Geez-louise, people. Once you reach a certain age, the ability to take responsibility for your behavior is supposed to come. Yes, it’s very unpleasant to realize that you’re not perfect and to make a mistake that you feel like is beneath you. However, it’s going to happen, and the adult way to handle it is to acknowledge it.
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You diffract from your responsibilities
Wouldn’t it be great to not have to work, clean or take care of your kids? Too bad life doesn’t operate in that manner.
Once you open your world up to a new opportunity that requires maintenance, then you’re required to work on it. Nothing gets better by ignoring it, usually it gets worse.
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You wait for others to solve your problems
Bills aren’t going to pay themselves. Children aren’t going to raise themselves. Hiring managers aren’t going to hire themselves. Parole Officers aren’t going to meet with themselves. These are things that you have to do.
You can’t wait for someone else to swoop in and take care of your responsibilities when you’re able to do so.
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You refuse to learn from your mistakes
Yes, mistakes are very unpleasant, but dealing with the same mistake repeatedly is insane (literally, ask Einstein).
When you try to gloss over a mistake, or ignore it, you’re missing out on a very important opportunity to grow.
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You’re self-centered
I once wrote about how having a baby for the sole purpose of loving you is asinine, at best. The reason why is because babies are driven by their needs (eating, drinking, and being cared for), and loving you isn’t one of them.
However, as you get older, you begin to see how the world operates outside of you, and you see that the world doesn’t revolve around you.
But there are still people who believe that it does. The one that thinks that that pesky no-drinking-and-driving law is for everyone else but them. Or that even though your waiter has changed your plate five times, they should thank you for the opportunity. Chile…
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You disregard other people’s feeling
You do realize that the same feelings that you have, other people have as well, right?
I will never understand people who are okay with being rude, but are overly sensitive to how people treat them. That’s not the way the world works, and respect is a two-way street.
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You refuse to do things that are good for you
I’m talking about things like going to work, not excessively drinking, or not crossing in the crosswalk. (It’s there for a reason, people!).
You know the right path to go. The yellow brick road is right in front of you, but yet you want to stay in Munchkin Land?
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Someone has to remind you to do important things
I understand the idea that sometimes you have too many things on your plate, and something can slip from your mind. I’m talking about your parents having to remind you to pay your bills. Your spouse reminding you to feed your kids. Your children reminding you to take them to school.
Get it together!
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You take pride in bringing other people down
The ability to be able to be happy for other people can be a little hard to acquire. Everyone has moments of insecurity. It’s natural.
But what isn’t natural is having joy in being so malicious and having the intent of encouraging a person’s downfall.
You know the last time I saw behavior like that? High school and the middle school I used to work at. *Waka Flocka’s “Ok” face*
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You try to make people “choose sides”
So here’s the thing, grown people in a group of friends, if someone doesn’t agree with you, they should have the ability to be able to express that without the fear of being called a traitor.
Why? Because being an adult is the realization that not everyone is going to okay your decisions, but being civil enough to accept a differing opinion.
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You hash out your personal drama on social media
Yep, I’ll say it. I don’t think that grown people should be hashing out their personal drama online.
Why? Because you have jobs! You have a reputation! You, dear reader, are a brand in and of yourself, and engaging in the behavior of tweens and teens is making your stock go down.
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You do things to specifically get a negative reaction
I remember hearing in elementary school that not all attention is good attention, and I know I wasn’t the only person who heard this.
After a certain amount of time, trying to do things to specifically get a reaction from people is so immature.
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You act first and think later
Sometimes impulsiveness isn’t a bad thing, like applying for your dream job the moment the opportunity opens up for it. I’m talking about that face tattoo that you’re icing right now that you got under the guise of “YOLO!”
Do people still say yolo? Yep, a couple of kids I just saw at the mall.
Ball’s in your court, adults.
