August 22, 2025
Some days, the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day pair up like two puzzle pieces that weren’t meant to fit, but somehow they do when you force them together. Today is one of those days. The thought reminds us of how timing matters in life. The question asks us to wrestle with the hardest parts of adulthood. Put them together, and you get a meditation on missed centuries, heavy responsibilities, and why adulthood feels like playing a symphony without sheet music.
Thought of the Day: If you are hoping to make a living as a pretty good violinist, you were born in the wrong century.
There’s something brutal but true about this line. Mediocrity, even “pretty good” mediocrity, doesn’t pay the bills, at least not in fields like music, art, or sports. If you were an average violinist in the 18th century, you might have found a small corner in a court orchestra or a traveling troupe. Today? Spotify and YouTube aren’t exactly looking for “pretty good.”
This thought isn’t only about violinists, though. It’s a reminder that the world rarely rewards “pretty good.” Especially now, when algorithms, competition, and constant comparison raise the bar higher every year. It’s not enough to be competent; you have to be exceptional or find a niche where “pretty good” feels extraordinary.
It makes me wonder where else we might be living in the wrong century. Maybe you’d have been a world-class explorer if you were born when there were still blank spots on the map. Maybe you’d have been a beloved town storyteller before podcasts and Netflix swallowed the market. Timing matters. Which means part of adulthood is figuring out how to take your skills and put them in the right century—this one.
(Related: I’ve written before how hard you work on any given day. Read that here.)
Question of the Day: What do you think is the hardest thing about being an adult?
This is one of those questions where everyone has a different answer, and all of them are right. For some, it’s bills. For others, it’s keeping kids alive and somehow fed three times a day (why do they always want dinner?). For me, the hardest thing about adulthood might just be that there’s no finish line.
For the love of soap, how is there baskets of laundry every 2 days?
As kids, we thought milestones were permanent victories. Graduate high school, and you’re “done.” Get a job, and you’re “set.” But adulthood keeps moving the goalposts. Pay off one bill, another arrives. Fix one problem, three more pop up. It’s like playing whack-a-mole, but the moles are your responsibilities, and the mallet is your dwindling patience.
The hardest thing, then, might be this: learning to live without an endgame. Accepting that adulthood isn’t about winning—it’s about showing up, doing your best, and sometimes laughing at how absurd it all is.
If you’ve ever felt that adulthood is basically a constant state of “pretty good violinist,” you’re not alone. And maybe that’s the real secret: we’re all just trying to find harmony in a century that doesn’t always applaud.
(Related: I explored a similar theme in I deserve my enemies, where the lesson is less about control and more about resilience. Also see The Worst Thing About Autumn for another reflection on how small annoyances pile up in adulthood.)
Your Turn
So, what’s your answer?
👉 What do you think is the hardest thing about being an adult?
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