Recently a friend of mine who is a member of Al-Anon shared with me the following checklist and I immediately saw it as a scorecard, giving myself and others one point for every one mastered and minus one point for every one missed. Which I now think is perhaps immature. *Sigh*.
Reading this list I had the following reactions:
This will be fun!
Shit. I thought I was kinda mature but now I’m not so sure.
Actually, I’ve made some real progress in terms of maturity and it’s ok to recognize that!
Wait. Why is THAT one on the list?!?!
I know a bunch of people who would for sure score lower than me, but I think I may have lost a point even thinking that.
I remember being horrible at that one but I just realized it’s not a problem for me anymore (thank you, God) and I’m kind of sad that I’m only now realizing that.
Who the fuck nails all of these and would I even really enjoy having coffee with them?
Even if it made me someone less fun to share a coffee with, I may keep on eye on these in myself going forward (but I’m for sure gonna need God’s help)
I’m super interested in what your reactions are!
A Checklist for Evaluating Maturity
A mature adult is one who:1. Does not automatically resent criticism, realizing that it may contain a suggestion for self-improvement.
2. Knows that self-pity is futile and childish–a way of placing the blame for disappointments on others.
3. Does not readily experience a loss of temper or “fly off the handle” about trifles.