Have you ever wondered why emotional maturity is important? How to know if you have developed emotionally? And what are the key traits of an emotionally developed person?
Emotional maturity is a “must” if you are looking to live a truly balanced and healthy life. This must come as a shock, but in reality it has nothing to do with age.
Emotions are the main point in our day to day life and define many aspects of our personality and life. How we deal with these feelings will define our life quality. This is actually what will define also the emotional maturity level.
So .. what is emotional maturity?
The reality is there are many dimensions to emotional maturity. Emotional maturity helps us cope with difficult situations in our life. It also helps us find fulfilment and happiness despite these stressful situations.
Emotional maturity is a key component in social and day to day life. Are you struggling to adapt to changes or to make friends or you are unhappy? Then this might be a sign that you haven’t fully developed emotionally.
Don’t worry if you haven’t. For sure there is a solution and that is to follow some steps and become more aware of your behavior and emotions. Even reading this article will help you become aware that there are some things you might need to work at. In this way you will be able to make some changes towards a better life.
See also how crying can help us release blocked emotions.
Why is it important to become emotionally mature?
Have you ever felt like you didn’t behaved in the way that you would have liked to? That you maybe said or did the wrong thing? Or maybe you lost your control and behaved badly and now you’re stuck judging yourself?
We live in a more and more dynamic world where we must adapt in order to progress and succeed. Each change, situation, environment and person will trigger within us a feeling. Whether or not you are aware in every second of your life you will feel something. These feelings will trigger an instinctive reaction which will define your behavior in that moment. The thing is that if you are aware of that feeling, why it appeared, you accept it and know how to manage it, then you will be fine. If not .. then your life will be just a series of one bad event after the other.
So emotional maturity is important in order to live in harmony with everyone and everything around you. Also this is the key to have healthy relationships with others and with yourself.
Key characteristics of being emotionally mature
1. Self-awareness
Self-awareness means that one is aware of himself, that he is able to observe his behaviors, traits and feelings. In this psychological state the focus of attention is your own person.
In this state you are able to observe your feelings and how they urge you to take action. Also it brings a better understanding of these feelings and needs.
The observance state is one of the main points in becoming emotionally mature as this brings clarity. When you understand yourself better, like why you have these needs, feelings, behaviors, then it’s easier to take action and build a positive self-esteem.
2. Self-control
This ability comes as a natural reaction after becoming self-awareness or at least you become better at it. Self-control allows you to manage your impulses, emotions and behaviors and is one of the things that differentiate us from the animal kingdom.
The importance of this point for behavior and well-being is undisputed. An emotionally mature person will more likely show restraint towards different things in order to obtain short and long term well-being. Also having this capacity will help you overcome self-destructive behaviors by recognizing them for what they are.
3. Resilience
Resilience is when you are able to adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or other events and stressful situations. This ability permits you to keep going and seek solutions to your problems in any possible situation.
When you become more resilient you not only are able to successfully get thru difficult situations, but also to keep growing, learn and improve your life along the way. In this way you are more likely to achieve emotional maturity.
4. Self-acceptance
Emotionally mature people are able to accept themselves as they really are. They are able to accept all facets of the self. This allows you to grow and develop, break limiting beliefs and make peace with past events.
I know .. accepting all the negative aspects of one self sounds very difficult and you’re not wrong thinking this. It’s really not easy to embrace all that you are, all the things you wish to change about yourself. The fact is that this is the only way that we are able to begin the process of meaningful self-improvement.
5. Accountability and honesty
As you become more aware of yourself, your actions and feelings and also you are able to accept them, then it gets easier to take responsibility for them.
At this point you realize that things don’t just happen to you. You are responsible for everything that happens to you as you attract those events and people thru behavior and mindset.
This takes a great deal of honesty towards yourself and the world around you and in this way you are more likely to understand the real impact you have in this world.
6. Patience
When you become more and more emotionally mature you begin to understand that things in life don’t happen as fast as you wished them to. Also you understand that other people need time to develop. You understand that at the moment they might not behave as you’d like them to.
Patience brings also a bit more clarity and it helps you understand that there is no use in projecting your own expectations onto others. As they have lived an entirely different life than you, there is no way they will behave exactly in the way you wish.
Final thoughts
Unfortunately, even if we get more mature in age this does not mean that we become more emotionally mature.
The good news is that you can actually do something about this situation:
- start practicing mindfulness;
- learn from past experiences as they have passed the only thing to do is to learn from them in the present moment;
- open your mind when dealing with a new situation.
What I know for sure is that emotional maturity can have a profound effect on your own well-being and also in your relationships. Therefore take time and try to progress as it’ll eventually be worth it.
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