CAUTION: You May Be In Danger Of Catching Adultitis… Read Here To Save Yourself and Others!

“The only case where more is always better is when it comes to time you spend with the people you love.” ~Jason Kotecki

My guest today is Jason from the highly popular blog, Escape Adulthood with Kim and Jason. Jason is a cartoonist and motivational speaker. Kim is his wife and partner in crime. And their motto is: “Your life. Now with less stress and more fun.” They are also known for pinpointing the diesease “Adultitis” and coming up with a cure.

I first read about Jason and Kim at Lance’s Jungle to Life blog (which I also recommend). Each month Lance has contributing writers post on his blog. One morning, I found myself reading a post by Jason and Kim. I went to their website and was immediately entranced by posts on:

• Parenthood
• Their bucket lists and getting to know them. Click here for Jason’s and here for Kim’s!
• Their interviews with like minded, life enjoying people.
• Things to do to make you a closer family.
• A “create and do” section
• Life is good but would you like it to be better?

I realized that I’m suffering from time to time from “Adultitis” and knew I needed more information to protect myself from this disease. I wrote to Jason and he agreed to speak with me!

BETSY: Describe the illness of “Adultistis”:

JASON: Adultitis is a very serious illness that occurs when you lose touch with your childlike spirit. Officially speaking, Adultitis is a common condition occurring in people between the age of 21-121 marked by chronic dullness, mild depression, super high stress levels, a general fear of change, and, in some extreme cases, the inability to smile. Patients can appear aimless, discontent, and anxious about many things. Onset can be accelerated by an excess burden of bills, overwhelming responsibilities, or a boring work life. Generally, individuals in this condition are not fun to be around.

BETSY: What three main ways have helped you not experience adultitis?

1. Hanging out with Adultitis-free people (especially my wife )
2. Becoming more aware of the rules that don’t exist and then doing my best to break them.
Link: http://kimandjason.com/blog/category/rules-that-dont-exist
3. Regularly initiating and participating in Small Rebellions.
Link: http://kimandjason.com/blog/category/small-rebellions

BETSY: What’s is the antidote to adultitis?

JASON: Since our mission in life is annihilate Adultitis, we try to provide as many antidotes as we can on our web site, including the ideas and reminders we share on our blog and in our newsletter. The big key is to spend more time with Adultitis-free people and read more Adultitis-free stuff.

BETSY: How do you catch it? Is it contagious?

JASON: There are many ways to catch Adultitis, because unfortunately, it is very contagious. Here are a few of the most common ways:

• By being in close proximity to others with Adultitis for extended periods of time.
• By sticking with a job that makes you want to poke your eyes out with chopsticks, regardless of how much money you make.
• By ignoring your dreams to pursue the things that your mom/neighbor/society thinks you should do.
• By habitually chasing the “next big thing” and consciously or subconsciously or trying to “keep up with the Joneses.”
• By regularly taking oneself too seriously, while neglecting things that make you smile.
• By engaging in a perpetual deluge of activities that keep you busier than a one-armed busboy working at Applebee’s on a Saturday night.

BETSY: The cure?

JASON: My answers above (reminder: hanging out with Adultitis-free people, breaking certain non-existant rules, and starting a small rebellion) cover some of the best treatment options, but it’s important to keep in mind that it’s pretty hard to ever be completely cured from Adultitis. It’s coming after us — hard — every single day. The real goal is to be aware of its sneaky advances and to diligently work to keep it in a controllable state of remission.

BETSY: What significant experience happened to you to come up with the notion of adultitis?

JASON: We were coming home from somewhere, talking about how children never complain about being stressed and seem to enjoy life way more than grown-ups. We wondered what happened to cause that discrepancy. We figured it must be some sort of condition, and having never heard of one, we decided to call it Adultitis.

BETSY: How did you and Kim meet?

JASON: Kim and I met through a mutual friend Christmas caroling, of all places. I was a freshman in college and she was a junior in high school. Kim was there to sing and I was there to meet girls. Actually, there was one specific girl I was trying to woo, but she gave me a cold shoulder most of the night. Kim and I struck up a conversation at one point and I was immediately smitten. She was wearing a Santa hat, reindeer boxer shorts over red tights, and combat boots. Needless to say, she stood out. As the night unfolded, I learned that she already had a boyfriend. But a few weeks later, I summoned the courage to ask her to meet up with me and our mutual friend for some ice cream. She said yes, and as fate would have it, the friend never showed so we sat at Hardee’s for hours talking. About a week later, she dropped her boyfriend and she’s been stuck with me ever since.

BETSY: I love reading your blog, but that’s not all you do! Tell me about your other enterprises?

JASON: Well, I am a professional speaker, author, and artist. I get hired by all kinds of organizations to do keynote speeches and workshops for conferences and staff events. I speak about Adultitis, life balance, and how to make work and life less stressful and more fun. Kim and I have also written several books on the subject, and our online store is filled with all kinds of fun tools to help people “escape adulthood.” This year I am making more of a commitment to my art, and have been posting more of that online and in our newsletter.

BETSY: Tell me about your other books?

JASON: Escape Adulthood is my first book, the one that sets the table for everything. It talks about the 8 secrets from childhood that can help us stress less. The Escape Plan is a 40-day guide to annihilating the Adultitis in your life. It’s a hands-on workbook of fun. Then we wrote There’s An Adult In My Soup, which is a collection of essays from Kim and I about, well, keeping the adult out of your proverbial soup. It’s kind of like the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series in that you can open the book anywhere and read a little story. (It’s great for bathrooms ) Our latest book, Just You Wait, is the unvarnished account of our first year of parenting. It’s our attempt to answer the question: “Are kids the cause of Adultitis?”

BETSY: Anything left to add?

JASON: One more thing, especially in regards to families: Eat dinner together as often as you can. In a world of recitals and evening meetings and soccer practices, the family dinner is becoming extinct. But studies have shown that regular dinners help children get better grades, stay away from drugs, and become more successful. I am convinced it is the single greatest thing you can do for the health and happiness of your family. Thanks for the opportunity for the interview!

Jason is giving away a copy of Escape Adulthood! Please leave a comment below to enter the drawing!

You can find Jason and Kim’s blog here and their books, here. I hope you’ll come to love their blog as much as I do!

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