Section 2:1 Growth Patterns
55
Another strategy for promoting emotional
maturity is to reduce stress in your life. Eliminate
whatever stress you can. Consider your choices of
music, video games, movies, places to frequent,
and friends. Reduce the stressful stimuli that you
can control.
Avoid the use of alcohol or other controlled
substances. Such substances slow down and
dull the functioning of the thinking parts of your
brain. When your thinking processes are slowed
or dulled, you may express yourself in ways you
do not like or want.
Focus on learning new facts and skills that make
you feel more positive about yourself. You may
like to read, draw, paint, work with tools, or follow
some other interest. Find areas in which you can
succeed. As you succeed, these positive emotions
will be stored in your long-term memory along
with the new skills learned. This focus on growth
will help you develop more mature emotions and
sharpen your ability to control your responses.
As you grew and developed, you learned
how to share in your relationships with others.
Sometimes you were asked to lead a group in a
class project. At other times, you were asked to
assist and cooperate with others to get a job done.
To do this, you had to consider others’ thoughts
and ideas as well as your own.
During the teen years, you continue to mature
socially. You learn give-and-take as you consider
others’ viewpoints. You use social skills as you
try to understand and accept others even though
they are different from you. This helps you
develop close friendships with them, 2-7.
Social development occurs throughout your
lifetime. You will continue to meet new people
and face new personalities. You will have to work
at understanding them and trying to help them
understand you as well.
What factors in your environment could
hinder your growth to emotional maturity?
Link to Your Life
Social Development
Social development is concerned with the
way you relate to others. Every time your life
path crosses another person’s life path, you
relate in some way. The way you relate to others
changes as you grow and develop.
When you were very young, you related to
others from your own point of view. Your ideas
centered on yourself. You were concerned about
your toys, mom, dad, or home. When you began
to play with other children, you had to consider
their viewpoints. You had to share the ball during
recess. You had to take turns jumping rope.
You were learning to consider the thoughts and
feelings of others. You were beginning to develop
social skills.
Which of the skills involved with
social development use the thinking
part of the brain—the frontal and
prefrontal lobes of the cortex? Which
social skills involve the maturation of
the limbic system?
Investigate Further
2-7
Friendships can help you develop skills for building
close relationships.