Maturity

Maturity

Somewhat ironic that this is coming from possibly the most immature blog on the site, but take it as you will.

First off, I in no way, claim to be all knowledgeable when it comes to maturity.  These are just thoughts and feelings of my own.

With certain incidents happening lately on the site, I took a step back to be introspective.

Maturity means different things to different people.

One of the best definitions of maturity that I found is the following:

"What is maturity ? Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence or destruction. Maturity is patience. It is the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure 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 set-backs. Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat, without complaint or collapse. 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.  Maturity means dependability, keeping one's word, coming through in a crisis. The immature are masters of the alibi. They are the confused and the disorganized. Their lives are a maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business, and good intentions that somehow never materialize.

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

Now, after reading the above, I realize I am not very mature.  I've had trouble controlling anger.  Hell, I have 4 busted up S-Controllers as evidence of that.  However, I recognized this and brought it under control.  Do I get angry about other things?  Sure.  All the time.

Where am I going with this?

Good question.

I feel we are all immature at any given time.  Some more so then others.

I think some of the toughest parts of maturity that everyone struggles with are:

1.  Taking responsibility for one's actions.
2.  Admitting that you were wrong.
3.  Relying upon reason rather than emotion.

I think the third one tends to trump all others, especially in regards to gaming.

Anything competitive tends to bring out emotions in people.  Negative and positive emotions.  Getting caught up in the moment, one tends to allow these emotions control you.  I know it's happened to me.

I think another important aspect of maturity is forgiveness.  This relates to a little to "...living in peace with that which cannot change..." I think being able to forgive and reconcile with another person is a very important aspect of maturity.

This is something I struggle with.  I still hold grudges towards certain people from High School who treated me bad, or "burned" me in one way or another.  I have problems not getting angry when I think about them.

Am I waiting for them to apologize?  Probably.  Is it going to happen.  Nope.  So, it's something I cannot change.  It happened years ago.  I've gotta let it go and move on.  But I haven't.  And, it will probably take some time to be able to.

Anyways, I feel that some things that have happened in recent history need to be reconciled.  Responsibility for actions needs to be accepted.  Apologies should be issued.  This needs to happen by all parties.

Remember people.  These are just games.

"My experience is that as soon as people are old enough to know better, they don't know anything at all." - Oscar Wilde