Lets talk about maturity

A veteran school teacher was certain she would get the upcoming promotion to Vice-Principal since she had greater seniority than the other teachers. When the appointment went to a teacher with less experience she was outraged.

"How can you do this to me. I've been teaching school for twenty years" she lamented to the School Board Chairman.

With gentle wisdom he responded, "Dear lady, you haven't been teaching twenty years. You've taught one year twenty times."

We have no control over chronological age, and only minimal control over intellectual and physiological age; however, we can choose our social and emotional age. Social and emotional retardation can be remedied with effort. Learning appropriate social skills and developing emotional maturity are choices afforded to every person.

A person may be chronologically mature, but emotionally immature. A person may also be intellectually mature, but emotionally immature. There is no correlation between chronological age, intellectual age, social age, or emotional age. Just because someone is "grown-up" by chronological age doesn't mean they are "grown-up" emotionally.

Chronological maturity and intellectual maturity combined with emotional immaturity is not uncommon and potentially dangerous. A person whose body and mind is adult, but whose emotional development is that of a child can wreak havoc in the lives of others as well as himself.

A relationship is only as well-adjusted as the two participants.

A self-centered person does not see himself realistically, does not take responsibility for his own mistakes or deficiencies, is unable to constructively criticize himself, and is insensitive to the feelings of others. Only emotionally mature people can experience true empathy, and empathy is a prime requirement for successful relationships.

Are you emotionally mature?