10 cognitive-behavioral habits that demonstrate spiritual and emotional immaturity by thinking too highly of ourselves …

Just moments ago I experienced something that doesn’t happen often for my ministry with Scott Free Clinic — a “no-call/no-show” for an initial consultation with someone who wanted to be a new client.

One thing that usually demonstrates spiritual and/or emotional immaturity, as well as a lack of respect for others, is disrespecting other people’s time. You may have experienced such behavior by someone you know who is always running late to just about everything. This person keeps everyone waiting and, even though many people have brought this bad habit to their attention, they don’t correct it, they think “it’s no big thing” to keep others waiting on them.

Some people develop actual habits of thinking and behaving in ways that are a demonstration of spiritual and/or cognitive-behavioral immaturity. Here’s a glaring example that was in the news just a few days ago because of the outrageousness of the attitude, something a coach attributed to “young people,” but such attitudes aren’t limited to just the young — take just a minute to watch the video below:

Cognitive-behavioral habits that reveal spiritual and/or emotional immaturity tend to bend heavily at over-valuing the self, and how that person perceives themselves or the world. Let me provide you with 10 additional cognitive-behavioral habits that are signs the person likely overvalues themselves because of spiritual and/or emotional immaturity:

1. Confirmation bias. We tend to seek and prioritize information that confirms our existing beliefs, ignoring evidence that challenges our views and overestimating our correctness.

2. Self-serving bias. When attributing our successes to internal factors and failures to external factors, we enhance our self-esteem, overvaluing our contributions.

3. Dunning-Kruger Effect. People with limited skills or knowledge often overestimate their abilities, as they lack the expertise to recognize their own incompetence.

4. Illusory superiority. Also known as the “better-than-average effect,” it’s the tendency to believe we are better than the average person in various desirable traits or abilities.

5. Egocentrism. Viewing the world primarily from our own perspective, assuming that our experiences, opinions, and values are more significant or valid than others’.

6. Overconfidence bias. This bias involves an unwarranted belief in one’s own abilities, knowledge, or judgment. People with overconfidence bias tend to overestimate their skills and the accuracy of their beliefs, often leading to risky decisions and errors in judgment.

7. Cognitive dissonance. We may alter our perceptions to maintain internal consistency, downplaying information that threatens our self-image and overvaluing information that supports it.

8. Social comparison. We often compare ourselves to others, and in doing so, we may selectively focus on aspects where we believe we outperform them, leading to an inflated self-image.

9. Overestimating future behavior. We may overestimate our commitment to future actions, such as exercise or diet plans, leading to overly optimistic views of our self-discipline.

10. Selective memory. Remembering our achievements more vividly than our failures can lead to an inflated sense of accomplishment and competence.

Whatever might tempt us to overvalue ourselves, what we think, what we feel, and what we want, doing so is something the Apostle Paul warns against:

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us,” Romans 12:3.

Scotty