Imagine placing an order at a drive-thru restaurant. (And yes, you definitely want fries with that.) You pull up to the window and begin digging out some cash only to learn from the store employee that the person ahead of you already paid for your meal. Wouldn’t that make you feel amazing? If you were having a bad day up until that point, what are the odds that your mood changes?

This concept is known as “paying it backward.” It’s similar to “paying it forward,” which is the expression for describing when the beneficiary of a good deed repays it to someone else instead of the original benefactor. Paying it forward is a reaction to something that’s already happened. Paying it backward is starting the action in the first place.

And it’s definitely a small rebellion.

Your mission: pay it backward sometime this week by picking up the tab of the person directly behind you in line. It could be at a drive-thru window, a tollbooth, a vending machine, a movie theater, or at the donut shop. If you are in a situation in which you don’t know what the person behind you is going to order (say, for instance, at Starbucks), just leave an extra $5 behind.

The real magic happens when you’re already gone before the person realizes what happens and has a chance to thank you. Although it’s nice to be thanked, this feels better. It’s like getting an extra fry in your bag.

As a bonus, this is an amazingly effective way of dealing with someone who has a bad case of Adultitis. Check out this story from a woman named Kayla:

“I once pulled through into a very packed McDonald’s — the kind that has two lanes. It was very slow going and the man behind me, for some reason, was getting so frustrated with me. He was yelling and visibly irritated with the situation. I was so tempted to get mad and yell back at him that he needed to just calm down, but instead, I decided to ‘kill him with kindness’ and pay for his meal.

“When he pulled up to the window and found out I paid for him, he was caught completely off guard and I saw a change in his demeanor as he yelled ‘thank you’ to me while I was pulling away,” Kayla said. “We have two options of how to handle negative people. We can either stoop to their level, or we can bring them up to ours.”

Watch out, Adultitis. A little spare change can change everything.

P.S. If you try this Small Rebellion, leave a comment here to share what happened or post your adventure online with the hashtag #smallrebellion9

This year, Old Man Winter was especially diabolical. We got tired of waiting for him to leave, so we took matters into our own hands and invited others to join us in a Small Rebellion we called Scram Winter.

The MISSION: Sometime between now and the last official day of winter, ignore the snowflakes and subzero temps and host a tropical party indoors! Do it with your family, some friends, or invite a whole cruise ship full of people; the only requirement is to be creative in your avoidance of the evidence of winter! Jack up the thermostat. Serve tropical drinks. Blow up some inflatable palm trees. Wear Hawaiian shirts (and don’t forget the shorts!)

We invited about a dozen people and jacked up our thermostat to 82º about two hours before they arrived. We made up some frozen strawberry margaritas, complete with tiny umbrellas…

…ordered pineapple and Canadian bacon pizza…

…and nibbled on these colorful and tasty fruit kabobs!

We decorated the space with some bright flowers and other fun decorations.

Although there was still snow on the ground outside, inside was tropically toasty. We even had Hawaiian-themed music playing to tie it all together.

Of course, we invited people to wear appropriate attire…

…and I set up a poor man’s green screen (a lime green table cloth) and took photos that I could (kind of) easily swap out for tropical backgrounds:

Almost like being there!

It was a blast. And the furnace was up so high, it almost made walking back outside a welcome relief! You can check out the way other people’s Scram Winter parties turned out over here.

If you ever feel like winter is gaining the upper hand in your fight against Adultitis, hosting a Scram Winter party of your own is the perfect cure! Click here for more inspiration.

Halloween is exciting for kids and adults, too;
Dressing in costume: a thing we all love to do.

But why settle for parties or just Trick or Treat?
What if you wore one when you went out to eat?

Perhaps shopping for groceries or driving car pool;
Or serving on jury duty would even be cool.

Or maybe while getting your vision corrected;
Just wear your costume somewhere unexpected.

Adultitis won’t like it and people might stare;
The rebellion is knowing that you just don’t care.

Halloween is the best. I love that it’s free of the obligatory gift-buying and mountains of stress that usually accompany the other major holidays. Halloween is pretty much just about fun. And zombies.

I also love that although Trick or Treating is still a domain of childhood and rambunctious teenagers, it’s not uncommon for grown-ups to get in on the costume-wearing fun. However, most of us over the age of twenty usually require a bit of “costume cover.” You know, that socially acceptable event or occasion where it’s “appropriate” to dress up.

But what if you dressed up in costume for a dinner out with your sweetheart? Or for your weekly trip to the supermarket? Or for jury duty?

This premise is what has inspired our latest “officially-sanctioned” Small Rebellion. It’s called “Halloween Unleashed,” and the challenge is this:

The MISSION: Wear a Halloween costume somewhere that’s unexpected. Bonus points if you get a picture and share it online with the hashtag #smallrebellion7

You can include friends or family — in fact, that makes it more fun and will help increase your bravery! — but wearing a costume to the office-sanctioned Halloween party or to take your kids trick-or-treating (although awesome!) is not what we’re going for.

This is your chance to expand some boundaries and send chills down the spine of Adultitis!

(Click here for inspiration.)

According to the Interwebs, the first week of April is Laugh at Work Week. If there’s one thing work could use more of, it’s laughter.

Inspired by our most recent Champion of Childhood award winners who made an epic ugly cake for a co-worker, we are introducing a new Small Rebellion and we’d love to have you join us! It’s called The Ugly Treat Initiative, and the instructions are very simple:

The MISSION:
Step 1) Make a delicious dessert that also happens to be really, really UGLY.
Step 2) Bring it to work to share.
Step 3) Enjoy laughter and improved morale with your colleagues. (And possibly be awarded a primo parking spot for a month.)
Step 4) Share your stories and pictures online with the hashtag #smallrebellion6

You can tackle the mission when it’s most convenient, any time during the week. You can make cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, strudels…anything, really. Just make sure it’s sweet and tasty. And butt ugly.

The only other requirement is the sharing part, even if it’s not an official place of employment. Eating an ugly cake alone does not generate much laughter. And please, share this Small Rebellion with friends, families, and mortal enemies. The more the merrier!

Need some inspiration? Try here, here and here.

It’s time for another official Small Rebellion (a small but mighty act of defiance against Adultitis and the rules that don’t exist)!

Pajama Runs are great, because they fit into busy schedules, allow you to break a few “rules,” and for the price of a few simple ice cream cones, you get to create a memory you will never forget.

The Mission: Put simply, a Pajama Run is when you surprise someone by taking them out for a late-night ice cream treat in their pajamas. In fact, EVERYONE involved needs to be wearing pajamas. Anyone can play — you can “kidnap” your kids, grandkids, parents, or friends — and you can include as many people as you want. Bonus points if the people you surprise are already in bed (feel free to wake them up with pots and pans and wooden spoons or some appropriate music). For best results, maintain the mystery by keeping the destination a secret for as long as possible. If you have kids and you’re feeling extremely rebellious, do it on a school night.

Are you in?

Share your adventures online with the hashtag #smallrebellion5

Here’s a video that goes into a bit more detail:

And here’s a cool story about a mom who organized one of the most epic Pajama Runs ever.

A few months back, we highlighted a Denver neighborhood that had banned children’s sidewalk drawings, calling them “a distracting and offensive blight.” Hopefully you don’t live in a neighborhood like that. (If you do, hopefully you’ve dutifully covered the sidewalks with chalk drawings.)

Well, it’s been a while since we hosted an “official” Small Rebellion, but we figured it was time for a new mission, and sidewalk chalk is going to be the star.

Although the fuel might be the anger for Adultitis-ridden doo doo heads who have the gall to ban chalk drawings from neighborhood sidewalks, the inspiration for action comes from Mindy and Matt of Nerdkicks.com, who were originally inspired by us. Kind of a weird full-circle thing. Here’s what they had to say about it:

“Kim and Jason recently joined us on the NerdKicks Podcast for a fun chat about escaping adulthood. Like you, we have been big fans of their methods and mantras, including: ‘adventurously live a story worth telling;’ ‘play hard, often and just because;’ and ‘boldly refuse to act your age.’

Our chat together was delightful, and it was especially fun to hear the Kim and Jason origin story. Throughout our chat, the theme of positively influencing the lifestyles of others kept popping up. We were inspired by Kim and Jason to do something fun and silly for our neighbors in the spirit of battling the sad symptoms Adultitis…

We came up with a fun concept and wanted to share it with you: sidewalk chalk inspirations!

The treatment is simple.

The Mission:

1. Procure sidewalk chalk, available for less than $3 at Target (for Extra Strength treatment, make your own chalk).

2. Collect inspirational quotes. We recommend consulting your favorite nerdy movies, Muppets, and childhood heroes.

3. Go to a public place and draw away!

Side effects may include amused smiles from strangers, dusty fingers, and an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.”

So that’s it. Sidewalk chalk + inspirational quotes = neighborhood-wide banishment of Adultitis. We can imagine whole blocks filled with awesome inspiration quotes! Won’t you join us? Let’s see how many photos we can collect! Share yours online with the hashtag #smallrebellion4

Click here for more inspiration!

Time for a new officially-sanctioned Small Rebellion!

Ever notice how we usually only celebrate something if the calendar gives us permission? You know, if the fine print on a particular day says “St. Patrick’s Day,” we dress up in green and eat corned beef. If it reads “independence Day,” we grill up some food and ignite some fireworks.

Kids, on the other hand, celebrate everything. Kindergartners celebrate Groundhog Day, Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and even the 100th Day of School! But kids have it right. You see, every day is a holiday. It’s just that on most days, what to celebrate is up to you.

The Mission: Make up your own holiday. (Adultitis-infested calendars of the world be damned!) Declare one of the days this week a holiday, give it a name, and do something to celebrate it.

And then share your holiday online with the hashtag #smallrebellion3.

This officially-sanctioned Small Rebellion (a small but mighty act of defiance against Adultitis and the rules that don’t exist) is inspired by National Ask A Question Day. The most popular three-letter word for three-year-olds is “Why?” Kids are endlessly curious and are always asking questions. As we get older, the curiosity fades and the questions slow to a trickle.

Why?

Because we’re afraid to admit we don’t know something and we don’t want to appear foolish. And if we happen to be in a conversation that turns to a subject we know know nothing about, we fake like we do while scanning for the nearest fire escape.

The Mission: Ask somebody a question about something you have always been kind of curious about. And it has to be a REAL person, not Google. And then, at some point during the week, come back here and share your question along with the answer you got. Simple. Odds are a lot of people have wondered the same thing, and we’ll all have a chance to learn something new!

Feel free to share your adventures online with the hashtag #smallrebellion2

P.S. People actually enjoy answering questions about something they’re experts in, so instead of them thinking you’re some ignorant fool, you’ll actually probably make their day.

We’re doing something new and a little nuts.

We’ve been writing a lot lately about this idea of small rebellions, those small but mighty acts of defiance against the rules that don’t exist and the most effective way of defeating Adultitis. Over the past months, we’ve been sharing examples from people who’ve inspired us. And we’ve decided it’s time to take things to a new level. To get even more people involved and mount a campaign that really puts Adultitis on the defensive.

And so we’re thrilled to announce our first-ever officially-sanctioned Small Rebellion.

Here’s the plan: we’re going to throw out missions for anyone to participate in. Something fun, simple, and guaranteed to get Adultitis’ panties in a bunch. You can tackle the mission when it’s most convenient.

We hope that you’ll not only share your experiences and photos, but that you’ll also invite friends, family and coworkers to participate as well. We are giddy thinking about the inspiration that will come from seeing people from all over the world engaging in their own small rebellions.

It could be awesome. And really, really bad for Adultitis.

So how are we kicking things off? With pancakes, naturally. Ahem. You see, pancakes are a much-loved breakfast institution, but as such, are often subjected to standardization. They’re usually round, topped with butter and maple syrup, and served for breakfast.

The MISSION: In honor of National Pancake Week, we challenge you to do something FUN or UNCONVENTIONAL with pancakes. Mold them into interesting shapes. Smother them with an unusual topping. Have them for dinner. Use them to make a sandwich. Be creative. If you post them online, use the hashtag #smallrebellion1

Warning: Should you accept this challenge, other people may think you’re weird, and Adultitis will definitely not be too keen about you messing with routine. But don’t worry, that’s the point.

If you want to make sure you’re the first to know about each weekly small rebellion, be sure to sign up to become an Escape Adulthood Insider to receive our brief weekly dispatches.

And please, tell the world. Email, Facebook, Twitter — whatever your tool of choice.

Adultitis needs to know that there’s some new sheriffs in town.