Are you an adult or a child? This topic has been discussed much in the media with regards to the current state of millennials. According to Goldman Sachs research, over 30% of millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) live with their parents. The average age of marriage for the generation is 30, compared with age 23 in 1970. Fewer millennials have licenses and cars compared to previous generations. These are all major economic changes that will affect the economy in a major way. And while the law states that a certain age makes someone an adult, in reality, I believe that most people, not just millennials, lack the maturity to be considered such. Here are 20 ways to know that you’ve graduated from childhood into adulthood.

1. You take responsibility for everything that happens in your life. It’s the highest level of maturity.
2. You focus on the present and future much more than the past.
3. You have stopped blaming your parents and upbringing for where you are in life now.
4. You no longer blame others for the emotions you allow yourself to feel.
5. You understand that you own your own body and must take responsibility for it and what it produces.
6. You realize that your primary responsibility is to take care of yourself. That responsibility does not belong to another individual.
7. You understand that people have different identities and that your values are not theirs.
8. You stop focusing on trying to change others before yourself.
9. You realize that everyone is working in their own self-interest, but even the honeybee, which does the same, brings life to the many plants while it serves its own needs. This is a positive thing.
10. You take care of your physical health and work to improve it daily.
11. You avoid making excuses about why you “should” do something but “can’t”.
12. You only associate with those who bring value to your life.
13. You are working on refining your philosophy daily.
14. You look for opportunities instead of problems.
15. You never beg for anything or ask anything of another without offering something in exchange.
16. You are constantly looking for ways to add value to others through the marketplace.
17. You have the desire to grow yourself so you can serve the ones you love.
18. You keep your word and pay your debts.
19. You do what you believe is right, not because someone is telling you it is.
20. You have decided to live a great life that you have designed because you are the architect of your life.