12 Shifts Adults Make as They Mature With Growing Pains and Gains

Adulting is an experience full of trials, risks, rewards, and turbulence. Yet, not all is lost. Members of an online community share twelve shifts in life they encountered as adults.

1. The Little Things

One member shared that they enjoyed the little things, such as the changing foliage or Halloween candy. While they have gained financial stability, they have lost their ability to enjoy hearing holiday music. A daily 40-minute commute has destroyed any joy they used to gain from driving around to run errands.

2. Long-Lost Friends

Similarly, another person comments how they have gained income with two promotions in seven years. However, it comes at the cost of losing friends due to moving away or simply losing touch because life happened.

3. Puberty in Reverse

As with any developmental stage, adulthood brings about several bodily changes. A user complains how they have lost hair with age, and in terms of gains, there isn’t much going on for them besides the number on the scale going up.

4. The Gift of Parenting

On a wholesome note, a member shares how having a kid did cause them to lose their free time, but it also helped them get in touch with long-lost joys. Once the daughter became interactive, they started seeing the world through her eyes and experiences. “Seeing it snow for the first time, getting presents on a birthday, going to bed the night before Christmas, seeing fireworks for the first time, etc. All of it.”

5. Shared Struggles

Adulting is no piece of cake, as indicated by one person who lost their peace of mind. However, these very struggles allowed them to gain empathy as it became clear that they were in the same boat as many others.

6. No More Spelling Bee

 

Humorously, one member shared that they lost their ability to spell words correctly. However, they got a better bargain after gaining wisdom: “I woke up one morning after turning 26 and could tell my brain had finally finished cooking. Everything seemed so clear.”

7. Low on Energy, High on Wisdom

Similarly, a member shares how they gain wisdom and remarkable thinking ability with age. Unfortunately, knowledge doesn’t come cheap, as they find themselves losing the stamina they had during their younger years.

8. At a Loss for Words

A member in his thirties shares how he has to think a couple of seconds longer than he used to in his twenties and teens before he can “find” the specific word to use. What he gained, unfortunately, seems to be potential health concerns.

9. A Newfound Hope

This one is a shocker. A member reveals that they are losing their cynicism about people and the world by acknowledging that everyone around them has their struggle going on and will never really know all of it. Consequently, they have gained flexibility: “The older I get, the more I realize so much in life is just small stuff that comes out in the wash.”

10. Losing Interest

“I’m losing the spirit of my hobbies,” comments one. Now, despite all the money and choices of games available, they can’t seem to make time for gaming. “Part of my slow-burning disinterest in games is that I have too much choice, which isolates me.”

11. Long Hair, Don’t Care

The childlike curiosity and creativity are long lost for one commenter. However, compared to their younger years, they have learned not to worry about what others are thinking of them. Children and adolescents can be strongly influenced by the opposing views of those close to them, but adulting can teach you to put yourself first.

12. Exchanging Potential for Stability

A commenter in their late thirties shares how they miss the amount of potential they felt during their younger years. They desired to move to Antarctica once, but with age, they settled down with their partner in their hometown. However, despite its ordinariness, they love their life now, allowing them to be “kinder, more confident, and more content.”

Source: Reddit.

HERE