What does being an ADULT mean? What are the criteria? What does being an ADULT mean to YOU?

[randomparent]

I think the term adulthood is really just shorthand for maturity, and people mature at different rates. I see it in my own kids when I notice that they prioritize things they don't enjoy and don't necessarily want to do over things that are fun, aka deferring short-term enjoyment to make long-term gains. That's a sure sign of becoming an adult, and it's a process. We don't all get there at the same rate, and some people, sadly, never get there at all.

[KaraZetterberg153]

Lots of good parameters mentioned, but underlying it all is the will to accept the unpleasant truths in life without whining, avoidance, blaming or rationalizing. The universe may not have been designed with human welfare in mind; nobody owes you anything; there are bad people, some of whom you will very likely encounter; you will eventually grow old and die, and life beyond that point is not only unproven but unlikely; there are bad and good things in life and it is a certainty that some of the bad will happen to you. However much we would like to shape the universe to serve our deepest wishes, it is only wishful thinking.

And yet, none of that should prevent anyone from living with courage, and the desire not to harm others. Adults see "the indifference of nature and the cruelty of man," yet "think and feel nobly." (Bertrand Russell, Understanding History) Philosophy is a good antidote to narcissism.

[KaraZetterberg153]

Originally Posted by KaraZetterberg153

Lots of good parameters mentioned, but underlying it all is the will to accept the unpleasant truths in life without whining, avoidance, blaming or rationalizing. The universe may not have been designed with human welfare in mind; nobody owes you anything; there are bad people, some of whom you will very likely encounter; you will eventually grow old and die, and life beyond that point is not only unproven but unlikely; there are bad and good things in life and it is a certainty that some of the bad will happen to you. However much we would like to shape the universe to serve our deepest wishes, it is only wishful thinking.

And yet, none of that should prevent anyone from living with courage, and the desire not to harm others. Adults see "the indifference of nature and the cruelty of man," yet "think and feel nobly." (Bertrand Russell, Understanding History) Philosophy is a good antidote to narcissism.

FWIW, here's the textual source:

No, the greatest men have not been "serene." They have had, it is true, an ultimate courage, a power of creating beauty where nature has put only horror, which may, to a petty mind, appear like serenity. But their courage has had to surpass that of common men, because they have seen deeper into the indifference of nature and the cruelty of man. To cover up these things with comfortable lies is the business of cowards; the business of great men is to see them with inflexible clarity, and yet to think and feel nobly. And in the degree in which we can all be great, this is the business of each one of us.
- Bertrand Russell, Understanding History, p. 42

An example of the beauty of the author's prose which contributed to his winning the Nobel prize for literature in 1950 (the year I was born). I find his writings to be just as pertinent to contemporary life as they were in the early '60's when I started reading him.

[jaminhealth]

I believe I was born an adult, since I came into this earth at the end of the Great Depression...1938.

What comes to mind to me is Respect and Responsibility.


But I don't Respect everything and everyone. But generally it's important.