Photo: WeHeartIt
Lol, not my problem.
By Emily Blackwood — Written on Aug 02, 2016
There are a lot of things that I used to think were signs we'd matured into real, fully functioning adults.
Taking out our own trash, paying our bills, replacing our tires without having to ask our parents for permission were what I once considered indications of “making it.”
Being a grown-up to me basically meant you did all your own chores without your mom’s aggressive guidance.
But even though I’ve met my own adult standards for a few years now, it wasn’t until recently that I finally felt qualified to call myself one.
A sign of being a true grown-up with a decently consistent level of good self-esteem (I think as emotional humans that’s the most we could hope for) is simply not reacting to other people’s bullshit.
A sweeter, more family-friendly way to put it, is that you stop letting what other people are doing affect your life in a negative way.
You don’t get all worked up and go on a crash diet because your co-worker lost a bunch of weight. You stop wasting hours gazing at your ex-boyfriends new wedding photos. You move on instead of obsessing over that comment your mom made about your hair at brunch two Sundays ago.
You let all that shit comes and go. Simple as that.
Because self-esteem isn’t about how many meditation retreats you go on or how much humble bragging you do to at networking events.
It’s not loud, and it’s not in your face.
When you have a good sense of yourself, people won’t notice it — and that’s kind of the whole point.
You know you’ve made it when you’re fine regardless of who’s watching you.
You don’t need an audience or a bunch of online followers to live the life you want to live. You love to share things, but you don’t need a huge reaction to feel good about it.
So if you find yourself constantly feeling stressed about what other people think, ask yourself this: Who am I doing all this for? Who is benefiting from my actions and behaviors? Who will this matter to a year from now?
Your answers will be a reflection of who currently has the biggest hold on you, and the moment you realize that they don't have that power, your life can change. You can take by the reins and refocus to something that's better suited for you.
Taking out your own trash is important and you should definitely do it because if not your apartment will smell like rotten eggs. But don't forget about the most important part of being an adult:
Living a life that's best for you.
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