--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maturity' really means: being very…" description: "\"“Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised by, and calm around, pain and disappointment.”\" — Alain de Botton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/alain-de-botton-221_aging_maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurpr_2059761.jpg" --- # Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised by, and… ![“Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised by, and calm around, pain and disappointment.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/alain-de-botton-221_aging_maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurpr_2059761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/alain-de-botton-221_aging_maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurpr_2059761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/alain-de-botton-221_aging_maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurpr_2059761.jpg) > ““Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised by, and calm around, pain and disappointment.”” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Maturity is described as a calm, unsurprised stance toward pain and disappointment, indicating emotional resilience. **In simple terms:** Maturity means staying calm amid hardship. Key Takeaway Cultivate calm acceptance of setbacks. Themes maturity resilience emotion Mood contemplative steady Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - career challenges - relationship conflicts Key Concepts philosophical psychological emotional stability Questions to Reflect On - What helps you stay calm when disappointed? - Is calmness always beneficial? A Different Perspective May downplay the value of feeling and processing emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Calm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calm/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Maturity Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity-really-1004454/) [Means Unsurprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-unsurprised-3923068/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Really Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-means-485706/) [Unsurprised Calm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsurprised-calm-3923069/) ## Related quotes > [As a fortysomething actor, you reach a plateau of maturity from which you can really get stuck in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-sands/as-a-fortysomething-actor-you-reach-a-plateau-of-maturity-from-which/) [Julian Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-sands/) > [“Maturity means acknowledging that Romantic love might only constitute a narrow and perhaps rather mean-minded aspect of emotional life, one principally focused on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/maturity-means-acknowledging-that-romantic-love-might-only-constitute/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Maturity: the confidence to have no opinions on many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/maturity-the-confidence-to-have-no-opinions-on-many-things/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [For people to recognize what I do, it really means a lot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-vucevic/for-people-to-recognize-what-i-do-it-really-means-a-lot-to-me/) [Nikola Vucevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-vucevic/) > [“That's what I don't like about college, by the way. It's like a lot of people don't believe these years really count, so you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/that-s-what-i-don-t-like-about-college-by-the-way-it-s-like-a-lot-of/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I look in your eyes and there I see what happiness really means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-in-your-eyes-and-there-i-see-what-happiness-really-means/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Saying "I'll try" really means "I'm not really committed."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/saying-i-ll-try-really-means-i-m-not-really-committed/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [I'll be ready. I'm not sure for what exactly. 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Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised by, and calm around, pain and disappointment.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurprised-by-and-calm-around-pain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurprised-by-and-calm-around-pain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/alain-de-botton-221_aging_maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurpr_2059761.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/alain-de-botton-221_aging_maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurpr_2059761.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/alain-de-botton-221_aging_maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurpr_2059761.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised by, and calm around, pain and disappointment.” — Alain de Botton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurprised-by-and-calm-around-pain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/maturity-really-means-being-very-unsurprised-by-and-calm-around-pain/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```