Life-cycle

I was reading about adult learners, and what or how exactly to define ‘adult’ learners. Came across the following from Dan Levinson, depicting the phases in our adult life - makes for interesting reading..

Early Adult Transition (age 17-22)
Here you are leaving adolescence behind and taking your first steps in the adult world.

The Novice Phase (age 22-28)
At this stage you begin to develop your dreams about the way you would like your life to go. Often, we find some kind of mentor in our personal or professional lives, or both. We also state to make choices about our careers.

Age 30 Transition (age 28-32)
Towards the end of our twenties, we begin to realise that life for real. This can be a stressful time as we either make new choices or get used to the choices we’ve already made.

The Settling Down Phase (age 32-40)
Now, we are establishing a place in society and trying to make it in our chosen careers or jobs. At this point we often strive for wealth or fame or recognition or social status.

The Mid-Life Transition (age 40-45)
This is another period where we take stock of our lives. Forty seems to be the age at which we can look backwards over our lives and forwards to what is to come. We start asking ourselves some very serious questions indeed about success and failure. A lot of us refer to this kind of age as the mid-life crisis.

The Mid-Life Phase of Renewal (age 45-52)
This is the point at which to listen to ‘your inner voice’ as it were. Its when we think of all the things we wanted to be or do and dot he ones that we still fancy, if possible. We accept our responsibilities and try to balance demands that home and society demand.

Age 50 Transition and the Legacy Phase (age 52+)
Around our early fifties we begin to think about what it is we are going to leave behind us. After which we then move on to making sure that we leave some kind of legacy. Often the legacy is one of great creativity.