During the weekend I have seen this TED-Talk ( watch TED and not TV !) about the quotes for every year in ones life and it triggered a thinking about this topic:
After 33 with the first kid ( and reading some child psychology topics about the childs chapters/stages of development, I was searching for the entire human life. After some searching ( researching?) on the topic I have identified this book of Thomas Armstrong :The Human Odyssey: Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life to be more complete than others. Since reading books is a slow process I was searching on the net and found this website with a short outline.
The following picture below got my attention as well , and I think everybody likes the green comfort zones ;). I was trying to map the two and this is what I came up with ( here I consider only after 20 )
Early Adulthood (Ages 20-35): Enterprise – It takes enterprise for young adults to accomplish their many responsibilities, including finding a home and mate, establishing a family or circle of friends, and/or getting a good job. This principle of enterprise thus serves us at any stage of life when we need to go out into the world and make our mark. -> This would be Freedom 1.
(btw. I am a big fan of Star Trek : Enterprise ) or Enterprises
Midlife (Ages 35-50): Contemplation – After many years in young adulthood of following society’s scripts for creating a life, people in midlife often take a break from worldly responsibilities to reflect upon the deeper meaning of their lives, the better to forge ahead with new understanding. This element of contemplation represents an important resource that we can all draw upon to deepen and enrich our lives at any age. -> if this is the “Family” part then yep, things do match.
One thing that is not mentioned in the outline is that moving between these stages are the various crisis that have to be survived. If you are in the Midlife phase -> the midlife crisis. OK, our generation (millennials) is used to crisis, so noting new here… This comes immediately after the awareness of Enterprise mastering, so you do not have much time to enjoy it. You know you can do it, everywhere, but now one of the questions is does it make sense/ does it have a meaning ? is it inline with your life’s purpose ? etc….
Another similar simplified model ( with only 4 stages ) is described in a more fun way by Mark Manson.
But personally I would not represent the human life as a linear graph. ( in the image/diagram above life expectancy seems to expand, as time passes by, this is in line with the expansion of the universe )
I am experiencing life more as a cyclic process ( life is a process ? 😉 like this:
I was not able to find more information for now that describes/defines the details of this spiral model. Based on this article a cycle is 21 years divided into 3 phases of 7 years.
While searching for the cyclic aspect of life I have learned about Chakras. A detailed description can be found here. I am able to map my life to this models as well: ( click here for the original enlarged picture )
I am not sure if this works for everybody, but the idea is to be aware of the cycle/phase you are in and to act accordingly (in harmony with the natural flow of things). It is not the best choice to go to the beach to swim during the winter…
Still, there should be some fun in the entire concept as well. Here is a fun picture, so keep cycling.