penis

omega 616:
I consider it to be when you face up to stuff, you don't blow off work cos you got drunk the night before.... You don't even get drunk, maybe drink but not passed out in a gutter.

this is it for me.
The less hang over and drunk black outs I have, the more mature I feel. LOL

Respecting, and valuing your life and the life of others, and taking responsibility for yourself in everything you say, do, believe. Do those three things and everything else is an extension of that. Respect, value, responsibility.

My aunt has always said that being grown up means being who you want to be and not worrying about what others think (well, her original statment was along the lines of "growing up and realising you don't have to", but that's the spirit of it).

As has been pointed out, maturity is such a diverse thing to define. To me, though, it's having some sort of idea where you're going in life - whether that's a career plan, realising what kind of person you are, or deciding against buying that new console because you really can't afford it.

I guess at the heart of it maturity is about growing into a responsible adult. It doesn't mean you can't make dick jokes anymore, but more that you realise when's not a great time to make 'em.

Taking responsibility for your actions and making your own decisions.

Not to imply you shouldn't listen to advice though, ignoring that is pretty stupid.

Choosing duty over fun. Doing your homework before playing video games. Accepting responsibilty for the consequences of your decisions instead of hiding behind the nearest authority.

Open mindedness, curiosity and compassion are critical for any level of genuine intelligence.

Being able to REALLY see the world from someone else's perspective, and not just claim you can, is key.

Doing what is best for you and the people you love, and not giving in to the stupid ideals of everyone else. Knowing that the world does not revolve around you. Taking responsibility for your own goddamn life and happiness instead of blaming the rest of the world for not being what you want it to be.

(Sorry, that turned out really solemn... Dum-di-dum.)

Maturity is getting a better understanding of every thing and every one around you and taking responsibility.

I also like how Toxinthegreat put it.

Isn't maturity something to do with cheese?

EDIT: Forgot to check the other posts. Guess I wasn't the first person to say that.

aba1:
I find maturity to be the point in which you stop looking at how things affect you and instead how they effect everyone.

pretty much this. i dont think i could of worded it better myself

Hard to say. I think what you'd do is judge every one of a person's actions individually because most don't have any trouble judging whether or not a single action is mature. Then tally up and find the average, so to speak.

If I were going by definition I would say at approximately the age of 25 a human being reaches maturity.
And I am going by definition.

Palademon:
For me maturity is being old enough to know you don't want to grow up.

I like this.

Maturity is being self aware. Its forging your own opinions and tastes based on YOU and not what other people expect. Children try VERY hard to be mature. Ironically this is a sign of immaturity. To try to "ape" the other adults. When you stop "trying" to be mature and you start being your own person THATS maturity. Deciding it doesnt matter what jokes you find funny, or what tv shows you watch or what you enjoy is how you know youre an adult. Understanding your flaws and accepting yourself is mature. Trying to pretend youre a perfect sensible adult who only likes serious things is a sign of great immaturity. Mature people dont WANT to be older for the sake of being older or crave the approval of others in their personal tastes.

Its also about understanding how you should treat others. With respect and kindness. Being the bigger man/woman is a sign of maturity, stepping down and knowing when to concede or rise above the actions of others. Winning a personal fight means nothing. Being a good person means a lot.

The ability to introspect. To look at yourself and think deeply and not just about how cool you are. If you do this often then you are mature.

Being able to handle a serious situation. Being the one who can step up to the mark when it's required. All else is irrelevant to maturity, as long as you know when it's time to stand up and deal with whatever crisis is going down.

Responsibility. This means considering the consequences of your actions, then ignoring them and feeling horrible afterwards.

Licking the BBQ sauce off your fingers before typing on the keyboard.

Maturity is when you say 'My parents were right;' when you face a problem that you may have been warned about, but never thought of it happening to you, and get over it with a strength of character you never though possible coming from your part. Maturity is when you have your priorities set straight, and when you stick to what you think is right, challenging opinions that differ from your own, but not dismissing them immediately. Maturity is when you show your back on hostility, and keep your head on when everyone else loses their own.

EDIT- having re-read this, (it is a bit TLDR,) it all seems seems to come back to respect for both yourself and other people.

I think maturity has several aspects.
1 Just because I can doesn't mean I have to. (I can go to a pub, drink till I get thrown out, pick a fight with the doorman and spend the night in the cells if I choose to. (or, if that's not your cup of tea) I could go onto a multiplayer game, call myself 'Lord Todgerface' and start screaming abuse at anyone and everyone when I get my bum kicked, or hit them with a lucky shot(whenever I play multiplayer fps, it's a case of lucky shots). Why would I do either? Honest answer- I wouldn't)

2 Acknowledging that everything has a context, and you might not understand it. (That rude guy might have just had the worst day of his life. The waiter who doesn't speak English very well- he could be a student trying to pay his way through uni before using his degree make changes to his local community at home. That hipster looking dude over there may well actually enjoy skinny jeans, fake glasses moustaches and having 2/3 of his hair shaved with the top permed. As a European, despite having lived and worked in the states for 2 years, I might well not be an expert on the constitution, the 2nd amendment and why keeping dirty great big guns around the house is either a good or bad idea, but some people can give me the information for both sides, and if I cared enough, I could easily find it, but I would never be able to understand it from an American perspective.)

3 Just because I disagree with you, doesn't necessarily make either of us wrong. (My favourite car might be a 1988 Ford xr3i* painted that sky blue that most late 80's and early 90's fords seem to come in, and yours could me some kind of classic E type jag**. both are valid answers.)

4 (This is a big one for me) Respect. I bleed red, so does everyone else on the planet***, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental health, age**** and anything else. As long as we all bleed red, we'e basically the same. Nobody deserves any more or less respect until they have earned it with you (either personally or through what you have learned about them- I never met Churchill, but having read a biography, I have a lot of respect for the guy.), or they're Usain Bolt.

5 Not gossiping. Now, this is one that's kinda variable. I believe that there is gossiping, and there is gossiping the former is when you're all sitting around having a round of diplomacy laughing about what's going on in everyone's life, and what's going on with different people. The latter is malicious and nasty.

6 and finally, accepting that your rules only apply to you. Nobody else on the planet has your experience. They're all going to judge maturity differently, some (like me) may have fairly long winded pretentious sounding lists of ideals, others may have more simple statements. I can (and do) judge people by my standard, but I can't expect them to keep it or think badly of them for not keeping it (still working on that one).

As I said, I know this looks mostly like a very pretentious set of 'I'm better than you because I do xyz' list of things, but hopefully nobody sees it as such*****, it's just my answer to the thread.

And I guess, it could be summarised much more simply. 1 Emotional self reliance, 2 the ability to interact with and accept different people, 3 the ability to be interdependent (with team members, partners, or colleagues) when necessary, and 4 knowing the difference between when you can do something, and when you should do something. Once again, sorry for the TLDR answer, and how pretentious it sounds.

*isn't, but might be.
**Not really a car person, but I hope the E-type is a classic, if not, sorry for looking like a noob.
***Although I once heard that the Queen was a lizardman shape shifter- not sure what colour that would make her blood.
****Not sure that my gran counts either (bless her cotton socks)
*****Though if you do, feel free to keep it to yourself.

I don't know why, but this thread bothers me some what. Maybe because in the context of culture, one can be considered an adult yet not be necessarily a 'mature' person.

Or even that being mature and being an adult are one in the same.

However what really bothers me is that by any standard I know in terms of American culture I consider myself neither mature nor adult.

Being mature is knowing when and where one can get away with not being mature. Being mature is also understanding that to every action there are consequences.

Maturity is the combination of two realisations:

The shit in your life is nothing compared to the shit in other peoples lives.
The shit in your life is important cause if you cannot sort your shit, you cannot live your life.

Its simple enough. When you are a teenager, getting dumped means everything. Or not having a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or something. That bad grade you got. You get the whole idea. As you grow up you eventually begin to realise that shit does not matter, everyone's family is fucked up, everyone is fucked up in their own little ways and your problems are nothing on the grand scale. Eventually you realise that to you, your problems are everything. Because its hard to do anything about anyone elses problems till you can sort out your own.

Maturity is a difficult concept. To me, the ultimate markers of maturity are if someone has gone through the cynical phase of existence yet. If you have never ended up hating the world for what it is, you are either naiive, a moron or immature. If you have never grown out of hating the world for what it is, you are either a moron or immature.

Someone who understands that there is a time and place to be serious, and same for not so serious. Like the example above me a bit. When holding a baby, that is not the time to mess about.

1) Being responsible for yourself and conscious of how what you say and do affects others.

2) Not caring about other's opinions on your own personal likes/dislikes

In my own mind it's someone who tries to recognize their faults and shortcomings, and actively works towards improving those areas of their life. This could range from accepting criticism, to being more humble, to being more responsible, to being more emotionally available, to being more self-sufficient, to knowing when and how to have fun, to being more adaptable, and even knowing when to lean on others. As long as someone is constantly working towards improving/maintaining themselves, I'd say they are being mature. I'd say a "mature person" features a very fine, fluid balance of many different factors internally, yet appears to be in a calm and peaceful state of existence to observers. Like a well oiled machine.

Your reaction to maturity threads is... >.>

Seriously, I have seen mod action in every other thread thus far about maturity :P
It normally starts with: "I checked your profile you are X years old therefore LIES and GTFO dis thread.". Quite telling really.

OT:

aba1:

I find maturity to be the point in which you stop looking at how things affect you and instead how they effect everyone.

+

sextus the crazy:
Understanding the consequences of one's actions and accounting for them.

Is really all that needs to be said on it I feel.

Understanding that sometimes you won't get your way. Understanding when you have accept that and when you've been wronged.

When you start to cut out short term risks that aren't worth the possible (or near certain) negative outcomes even if they are enjoyable. When you can accurately plan for the long term. You have enough life experience to understand all the variables and take them into account in the plan and know your plan will work even when all the variables go to max negative even in the far distant future.