How to Be a More Effective Adult without Hating It

I DIYed myself into hating responsibility less

For most of my adult life, I’ve felt like an adult baby. Not the inner child that spiritually-inclined people want you to sing “Kumbaya” with, but a tantrumming menace who really shouldn’t be indulged. In the past few years, this is some of the buffoonery I’ve subjected myself to: 

• Crying about being sleep-deprived and having to go to work, when I would’ve been in a way better mood if I hadn’t stayed up late reading 15 different comics 

• Avoiding brushing my teeth and flossing, and then feeling sheepish in front of dentists 

• Complaining to Alex that adult life is back-breakingly hard, after all it’s impossible to brush my teeth, and then getting rightfully roasted by him 

But I’ve also had some pretty big wins in the past few years as well: 

• I’ve worked out intensely three days a week for about 1.5 years now

• I went from crying about my social life to having lots of IRL and internet friends  

• I completely rehauled my diet a few weeks ago because of health issues, and am able to stick to it

If I’m both a shockingly dysfunctional adult and a proactive, disciplined beast, how can I be more of a latter? I don’t want to relate to adulting as being paralyzingly difficult. If I could tap into my inner Sheryl Sandberg and lean in and do it all, or at least not throw a fit every time I think about my dental health, I’d pay an arm and a leg. Luckily, I’ve made a lot of headway on this in the past month, and all body parts are intact, and you get to reap all the benefits of my self-exploration below. Onwards, fellow adults who want to be more functional without hating themselves!