How to Adult - INTRODUCTION

A Beginner’s Guide to Life Skills No One Taught You

Welcome to Adulting. Introduction Why Adulting Feels So Hard

Congratulations on stepping into the world of adulting! It’s a journey filled with responsibilities, choices, and growth opportunities. You might feel overwhelmed, but do not worry. This guide will equip you with practical tools and insights to help you navigate life’s challenges with confidence and clarity. From managing your money to mastering essential skills, we’ll tackle it all, step by step.

Whether you’re moving out for the first time, starting your first job, or simply looking to get a better grip on adult responsibilities, this microbook is designed to be your go-to resource. Let’s make adulting less daunting and more empowering. Lets go from “life is crap” to “I got this.”

The myth of "figuring it all out."

you dont know what you dont know. its that simple. until you learn whatever “it” is, you would not possibly know it.

This reminds me of the story my wife told me a long long time ago.

She told of a young lady who was preparing to cook her family a sunday dinner which that week included a baked ham.

Her young daughter was watching her, pretending she was helping her.

Her mom took the uncooked ham and cut off the small end of it, and placed it in the oven to bake. Her young daughter asked her why she cut the tip off the ham.

Mom thought about it a minute or two and eventually she replied that she didnt know, except that was way her own mother always did it.when she was alive and cooked

The dinner turned out beautifully as did they all, of course, since she knew what she was doing. But then as she continued to think about the ham she realized that she really had no idea why her own mother cut off the tip of the ham.

She wondered about it off and on for weeks

Then one weekend she was talking to her older sister,

she, for some reason, remembered the ham story and was able to ask her sister why their mom cut the tip end off the hams.

Expecting some reasoned health or cooking explanation, she was a bit surprised at the answer which was that their mom didnt have a pan long enough for the whole ham.

She had learned how to cook a ham, but never had figured it all out.

Being an instructor is not being an educator

I have been fortunate to have had a father and a mother in my childhood. Not all are that fortunate. My mom nurtured me and my dad imprinted me. I obeyed when it was time to obey amd i rebelled when it was time for that, too.

But i never had to sit down and read uhe instructions.

I am afraid there is a huge amount of young people today who either did not read the instructions or have a mentor.

MAYBE they havent cooked or played ball or learned to shift gears and drive. Maybe they havent learned to say thank you or open a door for a lady or eat meals together or air up,a ntire or bplant a garden or write a thank-you note

The civilized world has mores and folkways that are passed down more than written down.the ways its laws are written and codified. Without proper circumstance a slice of the new civilization does not experience the written or the verbal exposure, in ways like another “Lord of the Flies.”

Therefore Adulting is hard when we dont know what it is in the first place.