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The Stages of Life
By Karen Vally on 23 Apr 2025
On 17 April, I celebrated my favourite day of the year, my birthday. Every year, a few days before my special day, I feel very nostalgic, and there appears within me, a desire to reflect on my memories, by looking at old photographs that go right back to my childhood. When did you last reflect on the various stages of your life and the memories associated with them?
I had already chosen this month's blog topic and had completed my research. It turns out that, the various stages of our lives, have been hotly debated throughout the centuries, and that currently, a number of different theories are found to be of
interest.
The one with which I identify most strongly, is that of Erik Erikson, which he calls, the 8 Life Stages : infancy; toddlerhood; pre-school years; early school years; adolescence; young adulthood; middle adulthood and late adulthood.
What if you were to spend some time looking at pictures from the various stages of your life and reflect on your memories? In which stage are you currently? During which stage were you the happiest? What do you remember most vividly about your school years? How would you describe your adolescence? Which aspects of adulthood have been the most enjoyable and which have been the most challenging?
Do you recall being asked as a child, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" How did you respond?
One of my most favourite sections of The Sunday Times, is a supplement called, "Careers," in which people are asked a set of questions about their professions, one of which is, "What did you want to be when you were a child?" The responses to
these questions are so intriguing.
Here is a fun exercise from James Clear's latest weekly newsletter, 3-2-1, "If you're 37...Instead of regretting that you can't wake up 18 again, pretend to yourself that you're 90 and you've woken up 37 again, and that you get to magically, wonderfully
have the next 50 years again."
Into how many stages would you divide your life? What would you choose to name each one? How would you describe each stage?
"To navigate through each stage, it is helpful to take the lessons learnt from the previous ones into the next. With such an objective, we can keep on becoming the best version of ourselves."
According to Elizabeth Perry, processing our childhood traumas, prioritizing our personal growth, understanding our patterns and what's really important to us, and choosing to partner with a coach or mentor to bring about the necessary changes in our lives, results in effective transitions from one stage to the next.
"As you grow into yourself, you cultivate a set of values, interest and aspirations." In what way do your childhood dreams differ from your current aspirations?
"By understanding the stages of life and what each stage entails, you can develop your self-awareness. And with self-awareness, you can live your life with purpose and intention. While there might be bumps along the road, the challenges we are faced with are opportunities to grow. Personal growth is not necessarily easy, but it is rewarding."
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