One of the trends of our modern society resides in adults acting like kids, misleading fun with immaturity.
One thing is to be a responsible adult that knows how and when to bring their inner child to their present lives – embracing fun, flexibility and creativity.
A very different thing is to behave constantly like a kid, not taking accountability for one’s own choices, believing that everything is acceptable, just because no one has the moral right to tell us that certain behaviors are unacceptable.
Are we acting as mature adults? Which examples are we modeling to our family/friends and co-workers?
Here’s an excerpt of the fantastic book The Road to Character, by David Brooks, which illustrates the path to maturity.
“The person who successfully struggles against weakness and sin may or may not become rich and famous, but that person will become mature. Maturity is not based on talent or any of the mental or physical gifts that help you ace an IQ test or run fast or move gracefully. It is not comparative. It is earned not by being better than other people at something, but by being better than you used to be. It is earned by being dependable in times of testing, straight in times of temptation. Maturity does not glitter. It is not built on the traits that make people celebrities. A mature person possesses a settled unity of purpose. The mature person has moved from fragmentation to centeredness, has achieved a state in which the restlessness is over, the confusion about the meaning and purpose of life is calmed. The mature person can make decisions without relying on the negative and positive reactions from admirers or detractors because the mature person has steady criteria to determine what is right. That person has said a multitude of noes for the sake of a few overwhelming yeses.”
#maturity #development #character