The 33 Marks of Maturity

The job of creator requires more effort than that of consumer, and fulfillment in making this shift is predicated on learning to enjoy the unique satisfactions attendant to any creative endeavor: the exultation of freedom, the elation of autonomy, the delight of bringing your vision to life, the joys of turning nothing into something, influencing materials, furnishing memories, and impacting hearts.

The mature person: “Nobody likely noticed. Nobody is probably looking at me. Nobody cares.”

The fact that people don’t think about you and what you’re doing nearly as much as you think they do (since, just like you, they’re too busy thinking about themselves) might be a check to the ego.

As the old maxim goes, to make a friend, you must be a friend.

And to be a friend, you must grow up.

The mature understand there is no shortcut to privilege that circumvents responsibility — that the prerogative of becoming fully alive inescapably rests on a foundation of “dead work.”

Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” he asks, “What can I do to make this situation better?”