Fighting over small matters, seeking constant attention or sweating the small stuff as they put it, shows lack of maturity. Deeper still, it reveals an unsettled or wobbly inner self, seeking outward support to lean on to feel stronger. But instead, all this heedless activity drains your energy in the most negative fashion and brings out the worst in you. Such behavior is ego-driven.
The act of giving has the power to create a shift in your state of being and help you feel empowered. You find that it’s as easy to give love as it is to receive it, and you don’t feel self-conscious or demeaned by it.
Maturity enables you to face reality and deal with problems as they arise. With it, you can relate positively to experiences, whether they are good or bad. When you put the needs of others on the same plane as your own needs, you learn to give more freely and willingly. You direct your anger and frustration in more constructive channels than destructive rage. You learn to be relaxed and tension-free, so that your energy can be applied in the best ways possible.
For example, the Hay Group states one study of 44 Fortune 500 companies found that salespeople with high EQ or emotional maturity produced twice the revenue of those with average or below average scores. In another study, technical programmers demonstrating the top 10 percent of emotional intelligence competency were developing software three times faster than those with lower competency.
With individual effort and awareness, you can face life with courage and self-confidence. You can face difficulties without letting failure plunge you into despair.
We all move through life at successive levels of maturity. At some point, we put infancy behind and embark upon childhood. The child moves into adolescence, and the adolescent into adulthood. In the words of the apostle Paul to the Christian congregation at Corinth, Greece: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away the things of a child.”
Truly great men and women move beyond the selfish, childish stage as they put childhood behind and enter adulthood. They match their physical maturity with emotional maturity and adopt a more giving, accepting, and compassionate nature.
(Excerpts from the book, ‘The Power of Giving’ by Azim Jamal & Harvey McKinnon)