Mature Thinking That Begets Character

While growing up in my household, there were two statements (which I remember the most, among many others) which kept cropping up repeatedly. Both of them would be well-known among the many people that Dad has worked with over the years. The first is: The ability to laugh at oneself is a sign of maturity. This sentence has been repeated constantly by my Dad when dealing with us kids and other people in his work sphere to indicate that we take certain things too personally and respond childishly. It became one of my benchmarks for achieving maturity. The second statement is: If you're angry, go bang your head against a wall or something. Why take it out on people? I've heard this statement atleast ten times more than the first. Simply because there's more anger going around rather than immaturity. It's one of the key pointers that I've taken to heart in subduing my immense anger to a great extent - I tell myself Hold thy peace, fool! while remembering that it's better to take out anger (if the need really arises!) on inanimate objects rather than people - cos relationships are important. With regards to maturity or controlling anger - I'm not there yet; but I've put miles and miles behind me on this long path to getting there, and it's mainly thanks to my Dad's statements. Thanks, Dad.