13 signs you're better at adulthood than you think
Diana Yukari/Business Insider
The Great Secret of Adulthood is that no one ever really feels like an adult.
All around you, 30-somethings in business suits eating fancy salads and sending important client emails are desperately hoping you won't discover that they're really an eight-year-old who'd so much rather be watching cartoons and eating ice cream.
But adulthood is less about the salads and the suits and more about things like handling challenging situations at work, knowing yourself well, and showing compassion for other people. In other words, the more subtle stuff.
Below, we've rounded up 13 of those subtle signs that you are, in fact, a real, live adult. It's okay if you don't feel like all 13 signs describe you — even if only a few of them fit, you're well on your way.
Diana Yukari/Business Insider
You work hard, but you know your limits
So long to those college all-nighters.
Decades ago, Henry Ford discovered that employees' productivity started to decline after about 40 hours a week.
More recently, researchers have learned that after a few 60-hour workweeks, the quality of your output starts to go down.
It might be tempting to regularly log 12-hour days when you've got a ton of work to tackle. But adulthood is about recognizing that this strategy will ultimately backfire and you'll end up burning out.
Interestingly, some research suggests that much of the time we spend working isn't very productive — meaning that if you cut back your hours, you might not see your productivity decrease.
Diana Yukari/Business Insider
You're happy to help, but you don't say 'yes' to every request
Declining a coworker's request to work on a project together, or a fellow parent's request to drive their kid to school might seem rude. But it's important to realize that you can't possibly agree every single time someone asks for help.
You'll wind up disappointing everyone.
"Every time you say yes to something, you're really saying no to something else," psychotherapist Amy Morin previously told Business Insider.
Interestingly, she added that "when you say yes to everything, it's about me. I want to feel good about myself; I want people to like me more."
A more adult response whenever someone asks you for something? "I'll think about it," so you can consider whether you really have the bandwidth to help them.
Diana Yukari/Business Insider
You stick to a budget ... or at least you try to. Sometimes.
There are few worse feelings than logging into your bank account and realizing that you have way fewer funds than you thought. And that next month's planned vacation is definitely out of the question.
If you've managed to avoid that feeling (for the most part), because you stick to a weekly or monthly budget, you're definitely on your way to full-fledged adulthood.
If this is a problem area for you, start with some of the best budgeting tips from readers who have shared their budgets with Business Insider.
For example, you'll want to anticipate any major costs in the near future — like if you're planning to have a kid or go back to school. It's also wise to set aside an emergency fund with several months' worth of expenses in case the unexpected occurs.
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