what is maturity to you?
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Open mindedness, curiosity and compassion are critical for any level of genuine intelligence.
Being able to REALLY see the world from someone else's perspective, and not just claim you can, is key.
Being able to REALLY see the world from someone else's perspective, and not just claim you can, is key.
Doing what is best for you and the people you love, and not giving in to the stupid ideals of everyone else. Knowing that the world does not revolve around you. Taking responsibility for your own goddamn life and happiness instead of blaming the rest of the world for not being what you want it to be.
(Sorry, that turned out really solemn... Dum-di-dum.)
(Sorry, that turned out really solemn... Dum-di-dum.)
Isn't maturity something to do with cheese?
EDIT: Forgot to check the other posts. Guess I wasn't the first person to say that.
EDIT: Forgot to check the other posts. Guess I wasn't the first person to say that.
When I was 14 I was terrified at holding a baby because it might get hurt. Now I am much more relaxed around them and have no problem holding them.LarenzoAOG said:
OT: Maturity isn't a word I can define in one sentence, but let me try to line up my opinions in a few brief ones.
When you're able to take care of yourself and others, when you're ready to consider the consequences of your actions, when your life becomes a balance of want and need that's healthy, when you plan meals on both nutritional value and taste. My personal favourite is that you're mature when you're ready to admit that doing immature things (like climbing trees) can be fun, it's not very accurate since I know a lot of immature people who are ready to admit they are immature...
I like this.Palademon said:
Maturity is being self aware. Its forging your own opinions and tastes based on YOU and not what other people expect. Children try VERY hard to be mature. Ironically this is a sign of immaturity. To try to "ape" the other adults. When you stop "trying" to be mature and you start being your own person THATS maturity. Deciding it doesnt matter what jokes you find funny, or what tv shows you watch or what you enjoy is how you know youre an adult. Understanding your flaws and accepting yourself is mature. Trying to pretend youre a perfect sensible adult who only likes serious things is a sign of great immaturity. Mature people dont WANT to be older for the sake of being older or crave the approval of others in their personal tastes.
Its also about understanding how you should treat others. With respect and kindness. Being the bigger man/woman is a sign of maturity, stepping down and knowing when to concede or rise above the actions of others. Winning a personal fight means nothing. Being a good person means a lot.
The ability to introspect. To look at yourself and think deeply and not just about how cool you are. If you do this often then you are mature.
Responsibility. This means considering the consequences of your actions, then ignoring them and feeling horrible afterwards.
Maturity is when you say 'My parents were right;' when you face a problem that you may have been warned about, but never thought of it happening to you, and get over it with a strength of character you never though possible coming from your part. Maturity is when you have your priorities set straight, and when you stick to what you think is right, challenging opinions that differ from your own, but not dismissing them immediately. Maturity is when you show your back on hostility, and keep your head on when everyone else loses their own.
EDIT- having re-read this, (it is a bit TLDR,) it all seems seems to come back to respect for both yourself and other people.
I think maturity has several aspects.
1 Just because I can doesn't mean I have to. (I can go to a pub, drink till I get thrown out, pick a fight with the doorman and spend the night in the cells if I choose to. (or, if that's not your cup of tea) I could go onto a multiplayer game, call myself 'Lord Todgerface' and start screaming abuse at anyone and everyone when I get my bum kicked, or hit them with a lucky shot(whenever I play multiplayer fps, it's a case of lucky shots). Why would I do either? Honest answer- I wouldn't)
2 Acknowledging that everything has a context, and you might not understand it. (That rude guy might have just had the worst day of his life. The waiter who doesn't speak English very well- he could be a student trying to pay his way through uni before using his degree make changes to his local community at home. That hipster looking dude over there may well actually enjoy skinny jeans, fake glasses moustaches and having 2/3 of his hair shaved with the top permed. As a European, despite having lived and worked in the states for 2 years, I might well not be an expert on the constitution, the 2nd amendment and why keeping dirty great big guns around the house is either a good or bad idea, but some people can give me the information for both sides, and if I cared enough, I could easily find it, but I would never be able to understand it from an American perspective.)
3 Just because I disagree with you, doesn't necessarily make either of us wrong. (My favourite car might be a 1988 Ford xr3i* painted that sky blue that most late 80's and early 90's fords seem to come in, and yours could me some kind of classic E type jag**. both are valid answers.)
4 (This is a big one for me) Respect. I bleed red, so does everyone else on the planet***, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental health, age**** and anything else. As long as we all bleed red, we'e basically the same. Nobody deserves any more or less respect until they have earned it with you (either personally or through what you have learned about them- I never met Churchill, but having read a biography, I have a lot of respect for the guy.), or they're Usain Bolt.
5 Not gossiping. Now, this is one that's kinda variable. I believe that there is gossiping, and there is gossiping the former is when you're all sitting around having a round of diplomacy laughing about what's going on in everyone's life, and what's going on with different people. The latter is malicious and nasty.
6 and finally, accepting that your rules only apply to you. Nobody else on the planet has your experience. They're all going to judge maturity differently, some (like me) may have fairly long winded pretentious sounding lists of ideals, others may have more simple statements. I can (and do) judge people by my standard, but I can't expect them to keep it or think badly of them for not keeping it (still working on that one).
As I said, I know this looks mostly like a very pretentious set of 'I'm better than you because I do xyz' list of things, but hopefully nobody sees it as such*****, it's just my answer to the thread.
And I guess, it could be summarised much more simply. 1 Emotional self reliance, 2 the ability to interact with and accept different people, 3 the ability to be interdependent (with team members, partners, or colleagues) when necessary, and 4 knowing the difference between when you can do something, and when you should do something. Once again, sorry for the TLDR answer, and how pretentious it sounds.
*isn't, but might be.
**Not really a car person, but I hope the E-type is a classic, if not, sorry for looking like a noob.
***Although I once heard that the Queen was a lizardman shape shifter- not sure what colour that would make her blood.
****Not sure that my gran counts either (bless her cotton socks)
*****Though if you do, feel free to keep it to yourself.
I think maturity has several aspects.
1 Just because I can doesn't mean I have to. (I can go to a pub, drink till I get thrown out, pick a fight with the doorman and spend the night in the cells if I choose to. (or, if that's not your cup of tea) I could go onto a multiplayer game, call myself 'Lord Todgerface' and start screaming abuse at anyone and everyone when I get my bum kicked, or hit them with a lucky shot(whenever I play multiplayer fps, it's a case of lucky shots). Why would I do either? Honest answer- I wouldn't)
2 Acknowledging that everything has a context, and you might not understand it. (That rude guy might have just had the worst day of his life. The waiter who doesn't speak English very well- he could be a student trying to pay his way through uni before using his degree make changes to his local community at home. That hipster looking dude over there may well actually enjoy skinny jeans, fake glasses moustaches and having 2/3 of his hair shaved with the top permed. As a European, despite having lived and worked in the states for 2 years, I might well not be an expert on the constitution, the 2nd amendment and why keeping dirty great big guns around the house is either a good or bad idea, but some people can give me the information for both sides, and if I cared enough, I could easily find it, but I would never be able to understand it from an American perspective.)
3 Just because I disagree with you, doesn't necessarily make either of us wrong. (My favourite car might be a 1988 Ford xr3i* painted that sky blue that most late 80's and early 90's fords seem to come in, and yours could me some kind of classic E type jag**. both are valid answers.)
4 (This is a big one for me) Respect. I bleed red, so does everyone else on the planet***, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental health, age**** and anything else. As long as we all bleed red, we'e basically the same. Nobody deserves any more or less respect until they have earned it with you (either personally or through what you have learned about them- I never met Churchill, but having read a biography, I have a lot of respect for the guy.), or they're Usain Bolt.
5 Not gossiping. Now, this is one that's kinda variable. I believe that there is gossiping, and there is gossiping the former is when you're all sitting around having a round of diplomacy laughing about what's going on in everyone's life, and what's going on with different people. The latter is malicious and nasty.
6 and finally, accepting that your rules only apply to you. Nobody else on the planet has your experience. They're all going to judge maturity differently, some (like me) may have fairly long winded pretentious sounding lists of ideals, others may have more simple statements. I can (and do) judge people by my standard, but I can't expect them to keep it or think badly of them for not keeping it (still working on that one).
As I said, I know this looks mostly like a very pretentious set of 'I'm better than you because I do xyz' list of things, but hopefully nobody sees it as such*****, it's just my answer to the thread.
And I guess, it could be summarised much more simply. 1 Emotional self reliance, 2 the ability to interact with and accept different people, 3 the ability to be interdependent (with team members, partners, or colleagues) when necessary, and 4 knowing the difference between when you can do something, and when you should do something. Once again, sorry for the TLDR answer, and how pretentious it sounds.
*isn't, but might be.
**Not really a car person, but I hope the E-type is a classic, if not, sorry for looking like a noob.
***Although I once heard that the Queen was a lizardman shape shifter- not sure what colour that would make her blood.
****Not sure that my gran counts either (bless her cotton socks)
*****Though if you do, feel free to keep it to yourself.
I don't know why, but this thread bothers me some what. Maybe because in the context of culture, one can be considered an adult yet not be necessarily a 'mature' person.
Or even that being mature and being an adult are one in the same.
However what really bothers me is that by any standard I know in terms of American culture I consider myself neither mature nor adult.
Or even that being mature and being an adult are one in the same.
However what really bothers me is that by any standard I know in terms of American culture I consider myself neither mature nor adult.
Maturity is the combination of two realisations:
The shit in your life is nothing compared to the shit in other peoples lives.
The shit in your life is important cause if you cannot sort your shit, you cannot live your life.
Its simple enough. When you are a teenager, getting dumped means everything. Or not having a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or something. That bad grade you got. You get the whole idea. As you grow up you eventually begin to realise that shit does not matter, everyone's family is fucked up, everyone is fucked up in their own little ways and your problems are nothing on the grand scale. Eventually you realise that to you, your problems are everything. Because its hard to do anything about anyone elses problems till you can sort out your own.
Maturity is a difficult concept. To me, the ultimate markers of maturity are if someone has gone through the cynical phase of existence yet. If you have never ended up hating the world for what it is, you are either naiive, a moron or immature. If you have never grown out of hating the world for what it is, you are either a moron or immature.
The shit in your life is nothing compared to the shit in other peoples lives.
The shit in your life is important cause if you cannot sort your shit, you cannot live your life.
Its simple enough. When you are a teenager, getting dumped means everything. Or not having a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or something. That bad grade you got. You get the whole idea. As you grow up you eventually begin to realise that shit does not matter, everyone's family is fucked up, everyone is fucked up in their own little ways and your problems are nothing on the grand scale. Eventually you realise that to you, your problems are everything. Because its hard to do anything about anyone elses problems till you can sort out your own.
Maturity is a difficult concept. To me, the ultimate markers of maturity are if someone has gone through the cynical phase of existence yet. If you have never ended up hating the world for what it is, you are either naiive, a moron or immature. If you have never grown out of hating the world for what it is, you are either a moron or immature.