The writer Stephen King is a master of horror, but also of black humor. When reading his famous phrase ‘Do any men grow up or do they only come of age?’, it might make you think of some other well-known people who don’t seem to be particularly mature.

However, what’s meant by being a mature person? What are the behaviors that differentiate these people from those who aren’t mature? You might think of terms like seriousness or responsibility. However, we need to investigate what it really means to be mature.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, to mature means to reach an advanced stage of mental or emotional development. Let’s take a closer look.

Characteristics of mature people

To better understand the quality of maturity, we’re going to turn to a famous Nicaraguan communicator based in Mexico named Martha Debayle.

Debayle is a specialist in media and entrepreneurship, and a respected communicator in her country. For her, maturity can and should be applied to emotions and psychology.

In this sense, we can speak of emotional maturity as being when reality is accepted as it is. Psychological maturity could also be distinguished when good judgment, prudence, and autonomy are acquired. However, what characteristics of mature people can we find in those around us? How can we know if they’ve reached that moment when they’ve achieved a certain balance and stability? According to Debayle, these are some of the keys:

“Everyone grows, but not everyone becomes mature.”

-Kemi Sogunle-

1. They don’t lose control of their emotions

This doesn’t mean that they can completely control their emotions, but that they’ve learned to live with them. In fact, they’re able to manage them, whether they’re negative or positive in order to modulate them. However, they never avoid them. In fact, they stand up to them, accept them, internalize them as part of themselves, and move on. The key is that they always do it without acting viscerally, or by letting themselves be guided solely by their emotions.

2. Responsibility

Among the different characteristics of mature people, being responsible for one’s actions seems a pretty obvious one.

Consequently, people who’ve reached a good level of balance will assume the consequences of what they do without blaming anyone for their mistakes.

3. Out with resentment

This is another basic aspect that could be linked with number one above. In fact, people who get carried away by their emotions for a long time, often let their anger completely cloud their judgments.

In these cases, resentment doesn’t go away. However, mature people are capable of forgiving, forgetting, and moving on with their life.

4. Self-knowledge

Without a doubt, this is one of the most basic and necessary features. People who know themselves are fully aware of who they are. They recognize their flaws and their weaknesses, but also their strengths and their full potential.

Recognizing people who know themselves well is relatively straightforward. They tend to act safely, without trying to impose their point of view on others, without getting too angry, and showing a calm, consistent and respectful attitude at all times.

5. They’re not complacent

Mature people aren’t particularly concerned with looking good in front of others. In fact, they don’t usually exhibit complacency at all. They know who they are and they act according to their own personal satisfaction. Indeed, this is their true motivation. Instead of pleasing others, they go their own way, seeking to improve and grow in their chosen direction.

6. They accept reality

This characteristic doesn’t imply that their reality can’t be changed in any way. However, mature people accept what happens around them, and from that starting point, they try to modify some aspects of themselves so that they can contribute more. In other words, a mature person is realistic, but not conformist.

7. They’re able to be alone

Any mature person knows how to be alone, They’re not afraid of loneliness. However, this doesn’t mean that they’re lonely.

As a matter of fact, although they value good company, mature people don’t need to be with other people to feel good. If they’re introverts, they’ve learned to socialize. On the contrary, if they’re extroverts, they’ve discovered how to keep themselves stimulated.

“I live in that solitude that is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.”

-Albert Einstein-

If you know someone with these characteristics, they’re probably quite mature. However, the good news is that we can all develop these attitudes and qualities. It’s just a matter of getting down to work and starting to work on ourselves little by little. Are you ready?

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