Youre Too Old To Act Out
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When our kids mess up we say: Aren\\u2019t you a little old for that? And we have all sorts of rules of thumb for what things are age appropriate or not\\u2014what age they should stop having accidents, what age they should stop throwing a tantrum just because they\\u2019re tired, what age it stops being okay for other people to have to pick up after them.\\xa0
You\\u2019re too old to act this way. It\\u2019s time to grow up.
But, unfortunately, we apply this standard to ourselves less often. Whether it\\u2019s as serious as an affair or as silly as getting hangry because you neglected to eat, we seem to forget that we should be policing ourselves first. Our kids are at least still kids, even when they\\u2019re acting a bit beneath their age. You\\u2019re an adult. What excuse do you have?
\\u201cWe ought not willingly add to old age, which has many of its own problems, the shame of misbehaviors.\\u201d That\\u2019s Cato the Elder, who seems to have really lived up to that second part of his name. Remind yourself today and every day that you are getting older, that it\\u2019s time to grow out of these silly habits you\\u2019ve allowed yourself to fall into. Remind yourself that you\\u2019re too old to act out, to stoop this low, to not be responsible for yourself.\\xa0
It doesn\\u2019t matter if other people are willing to let you get away with it\\u2014because you\\u2019re a success in your field, because you have a patient spouse, because you\\u2019re in private\\u2014what matters is that you shouldn\\u2019t let yourself get away with it. You\\u2019re too old to act out. And even if you weren\\u2019t, remember your kids are always watching\\u2014a little fellow follows you\\u2014so act like the adult that they believe you are.
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