Originally, I was going to pose the title as a question. Then, I realized it would have led to people arguing that maturity isn’t an obstacle in the comments. That’s going to happen anyway, so I’m just going to present my case.
Maturity is important because we need it to act like adults. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to hold down a job, pay taxes, develop anxiety, have serious relationships, forget our childhood wonder, and all those other essentials of living in society. We can’t act like children forever and all the time. Yet, there is a limit to how much maturity one really should develop. Like with anything, too much can have negative consequences.
I feel that the downside of being too mature is that you will avoid anything that might be fun in a child-like way. I’ve run into so many people who scoff at anime, video games, movies, fictional books, Lego, and much more. They call these activities childish and immature even though they can be relaxing. It’s this heightened level of maturity that causes them to judge others and not have many hobbies. Some of those who criticize don’t have any hobbies because they deem such things pointless. All they do is work, sleep, and watch the news.
While I know I shouldn’t judge people who refuse to indulge in anything ‘childish’, I find myself doing so. It’s because this type of maturity seem to come with a hatred of seeing others having fun. This is fun in a way that the mature person doesn’t acknowledge as worthy of adults. Instead of quietly sitting on the sideline or going somewhere else, they try to stop the activity. This irks me a lot because it feels like they are trying to ruin things for others. Is it because they’re jealous of those who can drop their maturity for a temporary rush of immature fun? No idea.
This is why I call it an obstacle. The sense of maturity doesn’t only prevent the owner from having fun. It drives them to stop others, which isn’t fair. Time is lost trying to get them to either go along with the activity or leave. Funny part here is that the maturity causes the person to act immature. We’ve all been told as kids to not criticize others and mind our business as long as nobody is getting hurt. Yet, these people with bloated levels of maturity can’t do that.
You don’t even need an extreme level of maturity. We all may run into the issue of seeing something as too immature for us. Now, one can easily argue that you can’t be interested in everything. I agree. For example, I have no interest in bungee-jumping because it freaks me out. That’s it. Not because I see it as childish and immature, but as potentially dangerous and not for me. I feel that’s a sign of true maturity too. Being able to say no to something because it isn’t for you personally and NOT because you see it as childish. It’s a tricky line to walk though.
Anyway, that’s been on my mind for a while. Big reason is because people keep criticizing me putting Lego together. It’s a relaxing hobby. Everyone needs those to help with stress levels.
Legends of Windemere 