Unlike physical maturity, which happens more or less automatically, emotional maturity is largely learned, practiced and reinforced, writes Nick Wignall, PhD. Many of us were not taught the skills and habits that foster emotional maturity or perhaps we learned the basics, but not much more.
It shouldn’t be surprising that most of us have somewhat underdeveloped levels of emotional maturity since as a society, we train our kids to be critical thinkers and hard-working athletes, but we too often ignore or discourage anything involving feelings or emotion, Wignall adds.
Source: Medium, December 29, 2021. Link. There are two key skills anyone can practice and improve their ability to think more flexibly. As a result, it may bring more balance to their emotional life:
- Mindfulness
- Cognitive restructuring
Emotionally mature adults understand that many things we think of as universal traits or abilities are actually highly context-dependent.”
INSIGHTS: The stressors of the last 24 or more months have exacerbated and exposed levels of maturity and immaturity. Wignall shares there’s one dimension of thinking that seems to have a profound effect on how we feel emotionally; rigidity or flexibility. Flexibility is something for all of us to consider as we interact with each other, stakeholders and customers.