Week 2 - Theories of Development. Where do I fall?

In chapter 2 of LifeSmart: Exploring Human Development, some of the most prominent psychologist and psychoanalysis provided several theories involving human development.  Although many of these theories never provide a concrete answer to life's development, they can provide observation to how we develop throughout many stages in our lives.  As I look at my life, there are two theories I believe that we have experienced during our psychological development.  These theories are the psychosocial theory and the hierarchy of needs.

Noted psychologist, Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial theory of development that emphasizes the impact of social experiences on stages of human development (LifeSmart, pg. 32).  Erikson provides eight stages of human life from birth to death and each stage relates to my own development in life.  For example, my dreams of teaching, coaching and mentoring teenagers is related to stage seven of Erikson's theory known as generativity versus stagnation.  Although I have a quality position in banking, I have lost sight of what is more important in life and that is developing others.  I've been so driven that I lost sight of teaching my own kids that I've missed opportunities to teach and spend more time with them.  What is worse is that I was so concerned with trying to make ends meat is that I didn't make enough ends meat.  To date, I'm still living from paycheck to paycheck.  It is sad the majority of people that I've worked with or been associated with have fallen into a self-indulgent state of mind.  People ages 25-65 get bored with life and they attempt any type of self-gratification to justify their meaning in life.  All it leads is to selfishness and a lack of contentment in someone's life.  As a man of God and a parent, I'm listening to my kids more and allowing them to see more of me as a person.  By allowing them to see more of my fun side of life, they open up about their feelings and thoughts.  And as they open up, I can provide knowledge and experience that will help them in their future endeavors.  In teaching, I would have the ability to help other students develop in life.  Also, by having a love for sports, coaching would provide a platform for instilling in students a "dare to be great" attitude.

In life, there are developmental needs every person must have in reaching their potential in the world.  Humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchy of needs model.  This model provides five types of needs that each one of us need in order to reach our full potential.  I can relate to this hierarchy because each need helps to develop the life God has provided for us.  All of us have different needs and Maslow's model explains how these needs will allow us to fulfill our potential.  Maslow's hierarchy of needs are physiological (hunger and sleep), safety (security, protection, stability, and freedom from fear and anxiety), love and belonging (need for family and friends), esteem (positive opinion of self and also by others), and self-actualization (doing all that we think we are capable of doing) (LifeSmart, pg. 45).  I look at Erikson's theory of generativity versus stagnation and Maslow's self-esteem/self actualization as being similar to one another.  We all want a sense of meaning in life, but as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, many self-indulge in their own desires and not the desires of others.  Coming out of college, I felt like I could take on the world.  I got married early, got my first job and started having kids.  I thought I could handle it but over time, it got very tough to and, to date, I'm still working in a field I don't care for.  I just looked at the money and the bonuses that I could obtain for my job performances.  While I was looking for quick gratification, I never develop my self-actualization needs.  My need is to develop young minds.  But overall, my journey over the last 20 years will provide experience necessary to teach the life long lessons my children and students will need to create a better world than what we are living in today. 

Again, psychosocial theory and the hierarchy of needs are two life developmental stages that can provide observation to how we grow and develop as individuals.  In life, we look within ourselves for answers to what we are supposed to be.  I believe that those who self-indulge in themselves is based on what the world promotes and it develops a false sense of what we should be.  However, the bravest act anyone can take is developing in what you are created to be and not creating a false advertisement of who you are.  And by doing that, the world will develop into the true goodness of God's work and not a false advertisement of what the world should be.