things you wish someone had told you about being an adult?

Question

I know this is kind of an odd question, but I'm curious to know. Is there anything that you feel every adult (person over 18) should know? Like things you wish someone had told you, or just general advice about life?

Answer 1

Sex is both more and less than it's cracked up to be.

Answer 2

1. Credit: credit is like your reputation. you have to know how to build it and know how to take care of it. simply not using it doesn't make it better. you have to nuture it to make it grow.

2. Relationships: it's total BS that women are right about everything. They are wrong as often as men. If you buy into that idea, you can never have an equal relationship and will always doubt yourself.

3. Jobs: nobody is happy at their job. if you luck out and find a job that makes you happy, you're the exception, not the rule.

4. Happiness: if you sit around and wait for happiness to find you, you're never going to have it. the key is to find happiness within the context of your present situation. also, there is no magic moment in your life where you can circle the calendar day and say "this is the day where i am truly happy and satisfied with my life." What you'll find is that the more you get, the more you'll want.

5. Nothing is more important in being successful in life than showing up on time and doing the things you say you are going to do. If you cannot do these two things, you should start immediately.

6. In life, you have to kick @$$ and kiss @$$. if you refuse to do either one, you will be unable to keep, make, or build relationships necessary to get the things you need.

7. Set goals and stick to them. One of the big hurdles in life is learning how to set them and then attaining them. If you set bad goals, you will never achieve them. If you get bored and abandon them, you need to develop the character necessary to achieve them.

8. never underestimate yourself. If you are "bad at math" or "have a bad memory" then you will always be right.

Answer 3

I'm "grown up" and think your question is wise....
Don't waste your time on materialism and shallow pursuits - there is nothing wrong with having nice things, etc., but at the end of your life, that won't be what you look back on as important. For me, discovering my world view in my 20's changed my life completely, and for the better. I now believe that I was created by God for a reason as opposed to just being an accident of nature. Having a personal relationship with Christ has made my life rich, meaningful and INTERESTING! God bless you

Answer 4

Advice: It's good to be kind to others. But, misery loves company. Don't adhere to negativity. Stay positive and work hard on building a future. Alot of young adults are so "near-sighted" when it comes to planning their future. Remember, what you do or don't do now, affects you down the road.

Answer 5

i was a very naive person when i turned 18, i wish someone had told me that hte world was cruel and people are backstabbing...at first i might have thought that the eprosn who told me was just a pessimistic but his.her words would still be in my head and i would proced in life with caution. so that's my advice to you hun.

Answer 6

im 23 and its still the same as being 18 nothings changed, school full time, work part time and party on the weekends.im not sure what age things really change maybe 25+

Answer 7

Stay in school...after my 8 hour day of working and driving home seeing kids playing...I wish I could go back there...

Stay away from the crazy women...they will turn your life upside down.

There was a song back in the day by Baz Luhrman called "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" It was orginally a speech he'd made to a class on their graduation day and he or someone turned it into a song. (or something like that !) Anyway, It fits perfectly for this question.They lyrics are:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ?99...

Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience?I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you?ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can?t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked?.You?re not as fat as you imagine.

Don?t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don?t be reckless with other people?s hearts, don?t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don?t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you?re ahead, sometimes you?re behind?the race is long, and in the end, it?s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don?t feel guilty if you don?t know what you want to do with your life?the most interesting people I know didn?t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds know still don?t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you?ll miss them when they?re gone.

Maybe you?ll marry, maybe you won?t, maybe you?ll have children, maybe you won?t, maybe you?ll divorce at 40, maybe you?ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary?what ever you do, don?t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either ? your choices are half chance, so are everybody else?s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can?don?t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it?s the greatest instrument you?ll ever own..

Dance?even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don?t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they?ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you?ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don?t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don?t mess too much with your hair, or by the time it?s 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

Answer 8

Never marry a man / woman unless you really love him / her. Marrying the wrong person can lead to a lifetime of heartache.

Answer 9

Money and higher education isn't as important as being the best person that you can be.

Answer 10

you no longer get do-overs when you are a kid and you do something stupid people say we that's what kids do but when you are an adult there are no free-bies if you mess up you mess up