Seven Traits Of Emotional Maturity

Feelings are more complex than emotions. They may be intertwined, but feelings also have a rational component such as longer duration and deeper roots. Emotional maturity can therefore be defined as an emotional track that is a product of experience and emotional intelligence. But what are the characteristics of emotional maturity?

Emotional maturity is never a goal, but when you reach a certain level, it becomes a relatively stable personality trait. This is because it is a result of personal experience and therefore does not depend on changes in situations.

As with other psychological realities, emotional maturity is not really a concept or a discourse, but the recent result of a practice that manifests itself in the practice itself. Therefore, it shows up in various habits, attitudes and behaviors. Some of the characteristics of emotional maturity include:

1. Self-knowledge, one of the key features of emotional maturity

Self-knowledge is the ability to objectively identify your own key attributes. It also means that we have developed the ability to observe ourselves. In other words, the ability to think about our own behavior and draw conclusions from it.

Self-knowledge also allows us to predict our behavior in different situations; based on our inclinations and aversions. It is the ability to be responsible for our own actions and the ability to know the reasons behind our behavior.

2. Searching for stability

One of the hallmarks of emotional maturity is the search for stability. This should not be confused with the need to create and maintain comfort zones, nor with the desire to stand still and avoid progress.

The quest for stability has more to do with the need to give continuity to our actions and to bring them together. It resists dispersion. Basically you can become a backpacker and find stability in this life. True instability is in repeating cycles of starting something and then not finishing it. However, this is overlooked by starting something new again.

3. Realism

Realism presupposes the ability to adapt to facts; to take them as they are, by attaching as little subjectivity as possible to them. That is, always seeing the world as it is, not as we want or fear it to be.

Realism leads to emotional maturity and this in turn reinforces realism and adaptation. They are two different aspects that support each other. Being realistic doesn’t mean stopping dreaming or having illusions. Rather , it means knowing the difference between what is happening inside and outside of us.

4. Attention to many personal facets

Another of the hallmarks of emotional maturity is the ability to explore the different dimensions that make up our lives. Body, mind, creation, thought, fulfillment, suffering, etc. all make up our being.

Often we focus only on our work experiences, emotional aspects or family aspects. It may also be possible that we are only giving space to suffering or happiness in order to avoid something else. To live a full life, we must learn to embrace the different dimensions of our being.

5. Understanding the Ups and Downs of Life

When emotional maturity is reached, it is clear that ups and downs are a natural thing in life. No matter how stable a situation that produces sadness or happiness, there will always be mistakes and successes.

What is mostly taught is that a bad experience does not mean that everything will go bad, nor does a good experience mean that everything will always be good. Everything is part of life and it is worth living your life without wanting to escape or dodge things.

6. Consistency between our feelings, will and commitment

Self-knowledge and realism together can lead to one of the other hallmarks of emotional maturity: consistency. In other words, you can do whatever you want as long as you take responsibility for it.

Therefore, our goals often share a certain basic consistency, the will to achieve them and the desire that they can be met. This makes that there is no place to leave the life you lead, nor to forget the past. Simply put, you live the way you want to live, knowing what it will cost you.

7. Self-regulation

Self-regulation is the ability to adapt your reactions and actions to their context and objectives. That is, the ability to ensure that the intensity of your emotions or reactions will not become an obstacle to itself.

Self-regulation is not repression. It’s not about putting up with or overlooking. The idea is knowing how to express a feeling so that it is understood by promoting understanding and not conflict.

These characteristics of emotional maturity help a person reach full maturity. Faced with these dimensions that guide us, we can do our best to move closer to achieving balance. Cultivating it will make our life more complete.