Maturity

Whether or not the definition of maturity which follows is valid in all cases (for I know few things that are valid in all cases), it is good to occasionally measure oneself against a generally accepted standard.  I do not know who wrote this and it doesn’t really matter; it still gives me direction after many readings:

  

Maturity is the ability to do a job whether you are supervised or not; finish a job once it is started; carry money without spending it, and being able to bear an injustice without getting even.  Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence.  It is patience.  It is the willingness to postpone immediate gratification in favor of the long-term gain.  Maturity is perseverance, the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks.  Maturity is humility.  It is being big enough to say, “I was wrong,” and when right, the mature person need not experience the satisfaction of saying “I told you so.”  Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it.

The immature spend their lives exploring endless possibilities; then they do nothing.  The immature are masters of the alibi.  They are confused and disorganized.  Their lives are a maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business and good intentions that somehow never materialized.

Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.