Emotional maturity is a term used to name those people who have high Emotional Intelligence. They are people who understand their emotions and those of others they have good social skills and regulate their behavior to adapt it to the moment and the environment.
Emotional maturity can be achieved but it is necessary to carry out a series of habits and behaviors to achieve this.
It must be taken into account that emotional maturity is linked to personal development, that is, it develops over time through certain habits. While it is true that there are some emotional intelligence courses that can be useful in acquiring emotional skills, many people learn these behaviors as they interact with other individuals and experiment with different life situations.
Emotional maturity is is closely linked to psychological well-being since various studies affirm that emotionally intelligent people are happier and have greater success in life.
1. Pay full attention
Mindfulness is a term that has become very popular today with the rise of Mindfulness, but it has an ancient origin, as it is rooted in Buddhism and its beliefs. The truth is that mindfulness makes us emotionally intelligent people, it makes us aware of our emotions and our thoughts and helps us pay attention to the context around us, to better adapt to it.
People who work on mindfulness enjoy greater emotional balance and They have a non-judgmental mindset They also treat each other with compassion and accept life’s failures.
Since full awareness is the first step towards change, it may be useful for you to practice Mindfulness with these exercises: “5 Mindfulness exercises to improve your emotional well-being.”
Acceptance is one of the keys to emotional well-being and It is essential if we want to be happy Life teaches us that things will not always turn out the way we want, but many times we can be too hard on ourselves.
In fact, if we have the right attitude, failures can be good opportunities to grow That is why it is necessary to put aside perfectionism, because no matter how much we think it is good for us, it harms us. You can learn more about perfectionism in this article: “Perfectionistic personality: the disadvantages of perfectionism”
3. Develop assertiveness
Emotional maturity is usually reflected in interpersonal relationships When it comes to communicating with other people, and although we will not always agree with the opinions of others, it is possible to accept them and say what we think without needing to disrespect anyone.
This is what is known as being assertive, since assertiveness is a style of communication in which, despite not agreeing with what another person says or thinks, we act without being rude and we show ourselves confident and secure, always respecting Assertiveness is a key social skill.
4. Know yourself
Self-knowledge is one of the principles of emotional intelligence, and therefore of maturity when it comes to managing emotions. Knowing yourself and understanding the emotions we experience is necessary to be able to regulate these emotions.
To improve emotional self-knowledge It is good to have an emotions diary In the emotions diary you can write every night before going to bed the emotions you have experienced throughout the day and reflect on them.
5. Listen actively
Active listening is one of the essential qualities that people must possess to successfully relate to other individuals. And active listening is not the same as hearing. We often think that putting our ear in when someone talks to us is really listening, but in reality that is not the case.
Active listening is not thinking about what we want to say before a person has finished speaking, it is paying attention not only to their verbal language but also their non-verbal language, and it is know how to read beyond words You can delve deeper into the concept of active listening in this article: “Active listening: the key to communicating with others”
6. Emotionally validates others
emotional validation refers to the learning, understanding and expression of acceptance of the emotional experience of another individual.
It has to do with empathy and acceptance of others’ emotions, but also with expression, that is, with letting them know. In other words, validation is not only accepting emotions, but this acceptance must be communicated to the other person.
To better understand this concept, you can read this article: “Emotional validation: 6 basic tips to improve it.”
7. Improves emotional control
Master Emotional Intelligence skills It is necessary to regulate emotions, and it is only possible when one is aware of one’s emotional experience. Although sometimes people can get carried away by the situation, we have the ability to reflect and make the right decisions.
Many times it takes willpower to know how to regulate emotions. With the article “How to control emotions, with 11 effective strategies” you can begin to learn how to do it, although developing maximum competence in this type of capacity is something that requires time, effort and self-knowledge.
8. Prioritize the “we” in interpersonal relationships
Emotional maturity makes sense in relationships with other people, that is, in social relationships. Regarding your partner or in the work environment, it is appropriate to prioritize the “we” over the self.
In the case of work, for example, unity is strength, and in the case of a couple, thinking about both helps to overcome conflicts And it is common to lose control with the people we love, and it is not strange that we focus on our needs and leave aside those of others. Emotional maturity is understanding this.
9. Detach yourself when necessary
Attachment is not necessarily bad, since ties with loved ones help us grow and develop. However, many people become attached to objects and even their narratives about what is right or wrong.
Growing emotionally means being critical of reality, living in the present and being aware of what attachment is. To avoid emotional pain, it is necessary to learn to detach ourselves from our beliefs our thoughts, our memories and, ultimately, our private events.
10. Leave the past behind
Detachment also includes leaving the past behind and living in the present moment, since we can no longer live the past As I have mentioned, frustrations can help us grow, because when we stay stuck in previous periods of our lives we do not move forward.
Of course you have to take into account what happened, but only as raw material for learning. Nothing we have done in the past serves to give ourselves a “label” that determines how we should behave. Accepting that our actions and emotions are flexible is a necessary step to mature.
11. Stop complaining
Criticizing yourself for what you didn’t do well and criticizing others is paralyzing. Emotional maturity means being realistic and constantly moving. That is why it is necessary learn from mistakes and use bad experiences to grow as people.
