Act Your Age Mitchell: Pampers, Potty Training, and the Great Adult Cover-Up

Mitchell is two. Two years old, toddling through life with sticky hands, endless curiosity, and yes—a pair of Pampers wrapped snugly around him. And guess what? That’s perfectly fine. Nobody’s pulling him aside on the playground, tilting their head in mock concern, and saying, “Hey buddy, shouldn’t you have figured this whole potty thing out by now?” Why? Because Mitchell is two. That’s his job—to be right there in that moment of toddlerhood. He’s learning. He’s experimenting. He’s making mistakes (a lot of them). And he’s gradually getting ready for whatever comes next—pull-ups, potty chairs, big kid pants, the works. Life is a process, and Mitchell knows it, whether or not he can articulate it.

But adults? Oh, adults are professionals at pretending they’re not still emotionally waddling around in their own metaphorical Pampers. They might not announce it outright, but the signs are everywhere. Take a good look. You’ll see it in the way they cling to habits that no longer serve them. That toxic relationship they refuse to exit? “It’s complicated.” A job that bores them beyond belief? “I just have to ride it out a little longer.” That dream they keep burying beneath endless Netflix binges? “I’ll start tomorrow.” Tomorrow! The adult equivalent of Pampers is called “eventually.” Eventually, I’ll leave. Eventually, I’ll change. Eventually, I’ll do that thing I’ve been too afraid or lazy or overwhelmed to start. Eventually becomes next week, next year, and then...next lifetime.

Here’s the thing, though. Mitchell has an excuse. He’s two. What’s yours?

Reality Check Time

Nobody’s expecting Mitchell to just wake up one morning, ditch the diapers, and ace this whole independence thing in one seamless motion. No way. He’s going to have accidents. He’s going to need fifteen pep talks and a lot of encouragement. There will be tears (his and maybe his parents'). Growth is messy. Reaching the next stage? That’s a process. You stumble, fall face-first into it, clean up, and go at it again. But adults? Adults, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. They demand transformation on a silver platter, neatly wrapped and guaranteed to be painless.

They want change without discomfort. They want the success without the risk. They want the new, shiny, Instagram-worthy version of life, but they’re not willing to toss out the broken, outdated habits that keep them stuck. Sorry, that’s not how growth works. You can’t level up in life if you’re still firmly planted in a mindset of stagnation. Mitchell isn’t the only one who needs to take baby steps—adults need them just as much. But you’ve got to take them before the “eventually” becomes a permanent tenant in your life.

The Excuse Parade

Think about the excuses marching through your life right now. “I can’t because of this.” “I won’t because of that.” Listen, everyone’s Pampers are labeled differently, but the result is the same—you’re stuck because you’ve made peace with staying stuck. And just like Mitchell doesn’t get a free pass on potty training forever, you don’t get one either. The only difference is Mitchell is actively in the process of figuring it out. He’s fumbling and stumbling toward the goal. What about you? Be honest—are you even trying?

Transformation doesn’t come from magical external forces, as much as we’d all like to believe otherwise. You don’t stumble into a profoundly better life with no effort, no mistakes, and no growing pains. If you want to level up, you’ve got to get comfortable being uncomfortable. You’ve got to wade into the mess that is change. Ask Mitchell—he gets it.

Growth Isn’t Glamorous, But It’s Worth It

Mitchell’s going to have accidents. He’s going to tumble and cry. He’s going to need a hand pulling up those ridiculous character-themed pull-ups eight hundred times before he gets it right. It’s slow. It’s frustrating. But he’ll get there because that’s what growth is—it’s messy, imperfect, and anything but glamorous. Adults? They often forget that part. They want the end result without shaking up the status quo.

Here’s the thing you’ve got to ask yourself—and ask it honestly, no fluff, no glossing over the truth. What are you still dragging around that you’ve outgrown? What’s your version of Pampers? Because no matter how comfortable or familiar those emotional diapers might feel, eventually, they’re going to hold you back. And if Mitchell can begin the messy work of outgrowing his, so can you.

Journal Prompt for the Brave

Grab a pen, grab a notebook, and write this question down at the top of the page:

“What am I still carrying that I have already outgrown?”

Write the first thing that comes to mind. Then the second. Then the twentieth. No filter. No excuses. Just the truth. Because the first step toward growing up—toward real change—is admitting that maybe, just maybe, it’s time to step into something new.