 Hey, Psych2Goers, we're tempted to think a person is mature simply because of their chronological age But what if we told you that maturity as a mental and psychological state has very little to do with physical age? And more to do with how we learn and adapt Here are seven signs you are maturing even if you don't think so Number one you discuss ideas not people great minds discuss ideas Average minds discuss events small minds discuss people that came from the great mind of Eleanor Roosevelt The concept means that you've moved on from juicy gossip the tea as the mainstay of conversation You notice that what peaks your interest giving you a dose of creative energy isn't the latest dirt on someone You find that you'd rather discuss perhaps the idea of how or why this kind of talk is so popular Or even why doing it loses interest you discuss big-picture things Don't get us wrong though saying positive things about someone is still a good thing number two as much as you love everyone else You also love yourself. Okay. We're not encouraging self-aggrandizement. We mean self-acceptance and self-validation We're sure something you've noticed consistently in someone you see as mature is that they know who they are It's normal to be interested in what others think of certain points of interest and caring for others is always a strong plus However, the mature individual does not require outside validation to know that they themselves are worthy of basic respect Love and compassion They understand implicitly that this is the case and their own worth is defined by them They are no one's puppet Number three you take responsibility for your stuff This is a meeting in the middle of things on one end of the scale You have the person who is never wrong everything that doesn't work out is someone else's fault Then on the other side, you've got the person who is always to blame Taking on everyone else's tasks and worries together with knowing yourself Maturity is being able to assess and own up to your own mistakes But also to be able to differentiate and set boundaries when blame is being misappropriated to you Not taking the world upon your shoulders Essentially, you're able to tell what's yours and what's not yours to control Number four you understand that not everything requires your opinion Believe it or not not every post tweet or story requires a response Nor are they all requiring someone to find something wrong with it or to correct it If you really want your opinion out there by all means say something and perhaps also ask yourself why? Maturity comes into play when you start to ask yourself questions before you comment like Am I doing this to satisfy myself or is this a matter that needs a response out of necessity? Good news maturity means that you can just relax not everything requires a clap-back shout-out or response Number five, you know how to give and also how to receive We know that giving is a good thing There are certainly enough requests for donations patrons and Kickstarter campaigns to show that but How do you receive things? Many of us were brought up being warned against being conceited or arrogant Which in some cases leads to an awkward habit of not taking a compliment or gift without saying something like I don't deserve this Think of it this way when giving whether it be a compliment or a physical gift The joy is when the other person receives it graciously If they start waffling and saying they don't deserve it or feel guilty the act of giving feels diminished The mature mind understands that receiving something with grace happiness and gratitude is in itself a gift to the giver number six You quiet the voice in your head that insists that something is always wrong Knowing yourself and being mature doesn't mean that you don't have insecurities It means that you can keep them in check Many of us have that tiny voice some of us not so tiny that Constantly catastrophizes It's the voice that pushes you to overwork and burn out because the other shoe will drop It insists the professor's compliments are just an act for their job. It means nothing and you still might fail maturity is The deep breath that takes you by the shoulders looks you in the eye and says Really? Is that really what's happening here? Think about it The mature you takes that mental pause critically thinks about it then uses the evidence to take the best action They don't let the inner critic push them into exhaustive overdrive Trust yourself and that you can cope you are enough and you got this and Number seven you manage your emotions instead of being controlled by them When you let your emotions control you that's when hurtful regretful outbursts happen at extremes impulsive disastrous crimes of passion happen When they're repressed to look strong You've got pressure build up While you can't control your emotions like a thermostat with a dial you can manage them One sign of maturity is when you don't act on emotional impulses You learn to identify them sit with them and accept them When you're mature, you're able to channel your emotions in a constructive way rather than a destructive way So, yeah, age isn't a measure of maturity maturity is the ability to respond cope and reason Appropriately for the situation age is just often referred to because most of us need time to learn how to do all of that And don't worry. We all occasionally have slip-ups Acting childishly. No one's perfect Maturity lets us acknowledge the slip and learn from it. It's growth and we never stop growing How do you feel about each of these points? Do you recognize some of these behaviors becoming truer for you? We'd love for your comments and discussion as well as a like. We promise to accept it graciously Thanks for watching and we'll see you soon