6 Ultimate Signs of Growth

Has anyone ever told you that you don't act like your age?

Were you offended or pleased to hear it? Some people would say that to point out that you are a bit immature. But other times, it could be a compliment. I've listed down six possible signs that might help you confirm that you are on your road to emotional and psychological maturity.

#1 Enjoying your own company

The moment you start feeling totally okay eating, shopping or travelling all by yourself, I believe that is an ultimate sign that you are growing up. Notice how little kids tend to cry or get teary-eyed the moment they lose sight of their parents or guardians. They simply couldn't handle life without someone else! Kids need adult supervision most of the time. We can't trust them to safely cross the roads or use sharp tools without getting injured, right? But if you are way past the dependence on someone who is stronger or bigger than you, welcome to the adult world my friend! If you start enjoying a cup of good coffee (or ice cream!) without needing another human being sitting right next to you - well done! 

If you're not there yet, don't worry! The time will come wherein you would hate being surrounded by too much noise. You would frown at taboos and start to question rules and regulations and all you can ever think about is making your own, or not have any at all. You would just want to go with the flow and do whatever you want even if that means you're going to have to do it alone. You might get scared at first, but it's going to be awesome!

#2 Leaving toxic relationships

This is not just exclusive for romantic relationships. When you're growing, you would just reach a point wherein you won't mind turning your back on people who constantly try to hurt you and make your life so much harder than it already is. It doesn't matter if they are your blood relatives, childhood friends or someone you just met. If you know that they are not adding up value in your life, you simply walk away without a second glance. There's no point clinging on to a rope that constantly snaps.

#3 Not following trends

Gone are the days when you would obsessively follow trends and feel bad for missing out on the latest fashion, gossip or cool gadgets. You would realize how shallow the younger ones are for being slaves to anything that is trendy. Little by little, you would realize that growing up means being classy. As long as you have the basics, you're good to go! You don't really need a phone that has an Internet connection that reaches up to the moon (unless maybe you are an astronaut?!). You just need a phone that you can use to communicate with people you like the most. You don't really need to buy every single fashion item that comes out every year. You are comfortable with your basic color palette and you maximize your creativity by creating different looks using them.

#4 Doing only the things that you love

When you start growing up, you would eventually narrow down the things that you actually love to do. You will see yourself probably falling apart from the people and other mundane things that you USED TO love. It might be a bit painful in the beginning because we somehow find comfort and contentment with old things and old ways. However, little by little, you might realize that there are things you might want to stick with and things you would rather forget. That's totally fine! Whether it is finding a new hobby or hanging out with new people, as long as you are happy with it and you know that you are going to learn a lot from it, by all means do it! 

#5 Saying NO and meaning it

Saying YES to the things that excite you also means saying NO to the things that are not in line with your goals and ambitions. Most of the people around you might not be okay with it, but you have to stand your ground. If you perfectly know that a certain thing would not enhance your life in whatever way, it's your right to say NO. If your 'friends' ask you to get drunk until you pass out one Sunday night when you know you have to go to work on Monday, it's okay to say NO. It might be nice and cool to have a night you can barely remember followed by an epic hangover, but a responsible and sensible adult would probably not act like a 21-year old bum before a big day. Let them think that you are boring as shit, peer pressure is not supposed to get into you when you are on your road to maturity.

#6 Taking full responsibility

When something goes terribly wrong and you know that you are partly involved, you don't point fingers, you take full responsibility instead. You are fully aware that you are not Willy Wonka and that you can't sugar coat shits. You’ll realize that you are mature enough to accept or admit your mistakes and you are more focused on what you can do to make it right or to make sure it won’t happen again. The term ‘cover up’ is slowly fading from your vocabulary. You are brave enough to face challenges head on and you are ready to deal with the consequences of your actions.