Secrets of Adulthood

Our local book club meets in a few weeks. All women, mostly mothers, from various walks of life. I offered to host our next discussion, which means that with some input from the group, I got to make the call for our reading selection. Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project has been sitting on my nightstand for a few weeks now, keeping Understanding Exposure and Literature and the Web company. I wish I had kept better track of how I learned about this book. I know I first stumbled across it through a tweet or a blog post, which quickly lead me to The Happiness Project site where I found myself glued to my computer screen reading post after post. But I don't remember who lead me there. I wish I did so that I might thank that person.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the book, and not just because of its easy, conversational style, but mainly because Rubin has me reflecting on my own life and what I might do to be more engaged in the present, more fully aware of my own happiness. So for fun, I used one of her early project starting ideas, creating a list of the Secrets of Adulthood, as a springboard for creating my own. So here it is, with some input from my husband, the list of lessons I have learned over time, my secrets to adulthood:

1. What you do daily is what you are doing. Aristotle wrote, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
2. Consistency matters most.
3. Don't buy cheap shoes. Your knees will thank you.
4. Because that's the way we've always done it is not a valid reason.
5. Cooking from scratch not only tastes better but teaches patience and understanding.
6. Tip well.
7. Buy local.
8. No matter how much space and seating you have in your living room, everyone always ends up hanging out in the kitchen.
9. Learn to sew. You'll learn so much more than just how to fix a hem when you pick up a needle and thread.
10. There's no such thing as strong coffee, just weak people.
11. Just because you haven't ever done it, doesn't mean you can't.
12. It's almost always worth the extra money. For example, fresh squeezed is better than orange juice from concentrate.
13. Write it down. You will forget.
14. There is an art to gift giving. It is an art that must be practiced.
15. You will fill whatever space you have, so consider what you really need, not just what you want.
16. Mean it when you say you are sorry.
17. Practice brevity. Repeatedly.
18. Home improvement and craft projects will take three times longer than you anticipate. This is due in part to the five extra trips you will need to make for forgotten supplies.
19. Always proof read. Always.
20. Many problems can be solved by going for a walk.

What secrets have you learned?