I got an email the other day from a reader who wished she could stay motivated. "I'm extremely motivated at work," she wrote, "and then I completely lose it when I get home." I get it. Some nights I want to work on art after the kids go to bed. And frankly, there are times when Kim and I just end up sinking into the couch to watch the latest episode of Gotham. First of all, a disclaimer: It’s important to be kind to yourself. Some days are harder than others, and we end them feeling pretty beat up. On those days, it’s totally ok to cut yourself some slack. The problem is that it’s easy to rationalize a pretty long string of them. Before long, you’ve squandered big chunks of your precious life binge-watching television. I’m pretty sure that’s not why we’re on this planet. The truth remains that at the end of most days, you’re going to be tired. How do you push past it to accomplish things that are important to you? How do you stay motivated? The secret to staying …
Archives for October 2016
Amy Payne, October 2016 Adultitis Fighter of the Month
An Adultitis Fighter is someone who rallies against rules that don't exist and engages in ruthless, senseless acts of silliness that undermine Adultitis and its unadventurous version of adulthood. Once a month, we shine a light upon the most remarkable among us, holding them up as a dazzling example of what we should strive for in this epic battle against a formidable enemy. Amy Payne is a lover of life and childhood. She has made it a priority in her life to surround herself with Sherpas (aka children) and she looks to them to guide her on her journey of joy and adventure. Whether it’s her grandchildren, nephew, or the beloved students she teaches at Kindermusik, she intentionally surrounds herself with little ones and this refuels her joy everyday. She is constantly sharing the wisdom she gains from the tiny people in her life. Amy intentionally stays “young at heart.” She brings playfulness and creative energy to every task, like refusing to wear boring socks. Her inner child …
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100% Chance of Awesome
A few years ago, our basement sprung a leak. A small one, but enough to soak part of the carpet anytime a hard rain came. We bought a dehumidifier and tried to keep the gutters clear, but the battle raged on for several years. Meanwhile, little Adultitis-ridden fear gremlins took up residence in my head. What if mold was growing behind the paneling? What if it caused my kids to get sick? What if the repair to fix it was $25,000? What if it kept us from ever selling this house? Every time it rained, the pit in my stomach reappeared. And then this year, something remarkable happened. With the help of my dad, we tore up the carpeting (which we hated anyway) and removed the paneling to reveal the damage. Yep, there was a little mold. And a hairline crack in the concrete. After getting rid of the damaged wood, my dad sealed the crack. Haven’t had a drop of moisture since. And for a few thousand dollars, we remodeled the entire basement into a way cooler environment that includes a new …
Must Be Nice: A Fresh and Funny Take on Gratitude
I'll be at the Dream Bank in Madison on Thursday, November 10th. You should come. Here's what I'll be talking about: "Comparison may be the thief of joy, but it sure is hard to ignore people who have bigger paychecks, better health, more talent, less debt, longer vacations, larger homes, thinner waists, or nicer mother-in-laws than us. It’s not easy to be thankful when the lucky breaks always seem to land in someone else’s lap. Get into the spirit of the season with artist and author Jason Kotecki as he shares his fresh and funny take on gratitude. He’ll make you laugh, he’ll make you think, and he’ll help you perform jujitsu on jealousy and look at thankfulness in a whole new way." It's a free event, but you need to register. Do that here! …
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The Adultitis Election
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: “I don’t usually post anything political, but I just had to..." I don’t know about you, but this year’s campaign is really bumming me out. Recent issues of the Escape Adulthood Insider have featured comic strips exploring a presidential election from the viewpoint of kids. I originally created this one during the 2004 election season. And here I thought those days were divisive! Ironically, my frustration doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the candidates. I'm more disappointed in the rest of us, who complain about the negative tone but seem all too eager to get down in the gutter and sling mud pies at each other. It doesn’t always take the form of straight-up insults and name-calling (although it often does), but it also shows up more subtly in the righteous indignation and attempts to shame anyone with an opposite point of view. The body count of friends who I have lost respect for is piling up bigly. Maybe I am …
Make Your Own Rules: a Lesson from the Best Vacation Responder Ever
"We'd like Jason to give the same 90-minute presentation three times in a row with a 29-second break between each. Oh, and can he do it wearing a chicken costume?" A veteran speaker friend taught Kim and I a great line to use whenever a client begins demanding things we are not able to or interested in accommodating. In these situations, he'd politely redirect the conversation by saying, "This is how I work..." and then outline the personal policies he'd established. It was his business, after all, and he had the right to run it as he saw fit. Of course, the client had the right to look elsewhere, which was fine by him because he didn't want to spend his time doing things he didn't want to do. As adults, we spend so much time following someone else's rules — especially the ones that don’t exist — that we forget that we have the power to make our own. You may not be a business, but this is your life, and you have the right to run it as you see fit. A perfect example is this …
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