There's a lot of people asking the question and not a lot of videos yet on
this particular topic. How to be good at adulting? This is a top 10 list so
I've saved the best for last. You want to be good at adulting, it's not an easy
thing to do. But it's not as complicated as you might think. So, on our top 10 list
today, number 10 on how to be good at adulting is don't be a jerk.
Drop the attitude, practice respect. This is what adults do. I have a colleague
named Mark Gungor. You may have encountered him here on YouTube with a
video called a Tale Of Two Brains. Mark has a lot of humor to help people
with relationships. And he wrote a book called Laugh Your Way To A Better
Marriage. In that book, his main premise was that you can improve any
relationship through 2 words. "Be Nice." That's why it made the list. Number 9
on our top 10 list is to get enough sleep. Most people don't. And especially
young people who are transitioning into adulthood. The research shows that you
need a solid 8 to 10 hours of good restorative sleep. I've got other videos
here on the channel about how to do that. Notice that it's important for you for
your brain development, for your moral development, for your relationships to
get enough sleep. Another little point about that is to wake up early. That
means you're going to need a consistent bedtime
in order to wake up early. There's a lot of research that shows why that's a good
idea. Just make note that number 9 on our
list is to get enough sleep. Number 8 on
countdown is to get past trying to please your parents. This is something
that comes from an adolescence and childhood where we always want to please
our parents. Your parents are awesome people. And it's okay if you please them.
But this is your life. Take hold of it and start living it like it is. The funny
thing about this particular tip is that when you take charge of your life and
really start living your life as if it is your own life, it probably will please
your parents. And I had someone in my office not too long ago where as he
acknowledged this. He said, "Oh, yeah. That would probably please my parents. But you
know what? I'm going to do it anyway." I love that response. This is your life. Take it
by the handles. Coming in at number 7 on our countdown is to exercise and eat
right. I'm not a nutritionist, I'm not a physiologist. But I do know that for you
to be really good at adulting, you've got one body. And you got to take care of it
because it needs to last you for a lifetime. The sooner you learn to take
good care of the equipment, the better off you're going to be long-term and
immediately. Exercise and eat right. Number 6 on our countdown for how to
be good at adulting is to work full time. Ooh, how did you feel when I said
that one? Honestly, I get some pushback on this one. Because I think in today's
culture, there's a feeling that, "Oh, I want to work less and get paid more."
Well there's some problems with that thinking. But here's what I'm talking
about with working full-time. I've interviewed probably a dozen people just
in the last week about what it means to work full-time. Almost universely
they answer, "Oh, that means 40 hours a week." What does work mean? Work is some
productive activity that creates value for other people. We're not going to call
it work if it creates value only for you. I'll come back to that and one of the
other points that we make. Work full-time then means that you are engaged in
productive activity for at least 40 hours a week. Now there's a lot more time
in a week than 40 hours. In fact, you can hit 40 hours in the first 2 days of a
week. What does the work part mean? I got to tell you about a young man who came
to see me. He was in his early 20s. And he had just come out of one year in
lockdown. He was incarcerated. He was in jail for an entire year. One of the
conditions of his probation was that he had to work full-time. As he explained to
me the difficulties with working full-time, he took into account that he just
got out of jail. Nobody wants to hire him. Everybody else is getting the jobs
because he's an ex-convict. I listen to this for a while and then I said, "Well,
are you working full-time?" He looks at me like, "Doc, are you even listening to me?
Nobody will hire me." I said, "That's not what I asked. Are you working full-time?"
He had been looking for a job but he wasn't working full-time. He'd spent
maybe 3 to 5 hours a week looking for a job and the rest of the time he's in his
mom's basement playing video games. Now, this isn't a video about the pros or
cons of video games. This is about working full time. And we had the same
conversation. What does that mean? He agreed it means 40 hours a week. Let's
get you to work full-time and see what happens. "Well, what am I
going to do?" Well, you know that Widow that lives next door to you in your
neighborhood and how our lawns getting overgrown? You see where we're going with
this. Yeah he did too. "I could go mow that lawn." Awesome. "But I don't think she could
pay." That's not what we're talking about. You need to work full-time. What about
that garage door it's your house that needs some repair? That's an opportunity
for work. There's opportunities for work everywhere. If you can't figure out a way
to work full time, take a little walk and notice how many cigarette butts are
laying around on the street where you live. I counted over 400 taking a
one-mile walk around my neighborhood. And I picked them all up. That's legitimate
work. 40 hours a week. You got it? Work full-time. Number 5 on our countdown
list. You've probably already heard from your parents, your religious leaders,
other people. Watch out for the traps, for the land mines, for the lures that can
snag you and catch you. I'm talking about things like pornography. I'm talking
about things like substances, alcohol, drugs, vaping, smoking. Watch out for them.
I'm not your moral leader. I'm telling you how to be better at adulting. And
adults have to wrap their head around staying away from the landmines, from all
the traps that are out there. Some of them are more subtle and you got to
watch out for things like social media and screen time. How much time are you
spending on this little screen? Now, I'm glad you're watching the video, don't get
me wrong. Check in to your app and see what kind
of screen time you're consuming on a daily basis. It might surprise you.
There's a lot of landmines that you get to watch out for. And now, we're to number
4 on our top 10 countdown. Clean up. This applies to a lot of areas of your
life. Wash your face, brush your teeth, get a good shave. Clean up. Wash your hair.
Also your room, your surroundings, your environment. Take a look around you and
see what needs some cleaning. To be good at adulting, you need to clean up.
Moving to number 3 on our list. This is one of my favorites produce more than
you consume. This is simple math my friend. When you produce more than you
consume, you create a residual amount of value. This is important to economics.
Take a look at wherever you're living right now. Are you producing more value
than you're consuming? And you have to consume all of us do? We're humans, it's
how we roll. Make sure that your production exceeds your consumption. This
also means that you always spend less than you make. And now we're up to the
top 2. Number 2 on our countdown is to practice gratitude. Look around you
and see the abundance that's in your life and acknowledge the source. This
didn't all come from you, did it? When you acknowledge and express appreciation for
the abundance that's in your life, there's a little trick that happens as
increased abundance becomes available to you. Practice gratitude. And finally,
number 1, be positive. That is the best thing that I can tell you about being
better at adulting. Be positive. The world is kind of tough. And you're going to
encounter some difficulties. It's not if, it's when. When that happens, make sure
that you have a good understanding of how to operate the equipment of your own
mind so that you can stay positive. Adulting
is hard. Not as hard as it has to be if you'll follow these tips and guidelines.
I mentioned positivity. This little guide is going to help you a lot with that. You
can connect to Portable Positivity right down there below in the comments. Click
on the link and I'll assist you with staying positive as you take on these
challenges. So glad that you're here.