WFTW - The Road to Character

Maturity is not based on talent or any of the mental or physical gifts that help you ace an IQ test or run fast or move gracefully. It is earned not by being better than other people at something, but by being better than you used to be. It is earned by being dependable in times of testing, straight in times of temptation. Maturity does not glitter. It is not built on the traits that make people celebrities.... the mature person has steady criteria to determine what is right. That person has said a multitude of noes for the sake of a few overwhelming yeses. 

The Road to Character, David Brooks