Write the Story You’ll Be Proud to Remember
Blog written by Carlton L. Coon, Sr.
Eric Erickson is a mental health professional who influenced modern views of mental health. Some of Erickson’s ideas are inconsistent with the Bible.
However, Erickson’s thoughts about adult life seem accurate. Erickson saw three phases:
Carlton Coon, Sr., Blog Author
· Young adulthood. During this phase, the contrasting options are intimacy or isolation.
· Adulthood is when the options are productivity or stagnation. Productive adults continue to grow, learn, and be challenged by life.
· Maturity is the word Erickson used for the Sage age. The contrasting options are integrity regarding your self-worth or despair.[1] Positive self-worth is looking over your shoulder and feeling good about how you handled what life tossed in your direction. Despair is living with regret.
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During the Sage age, several things happen often without intentional thought:
1. Reviewing life, considering the good, bad, and ugly.
2. Greater interdependence and dependence happen. Sages become more dependent.
3. You take ownership of the wisdom you have gained by observation, your unique experiences, and your decisions.
4. Being reconciled to others becomes part of life. Accounts are settled, and old grievances seem less significant.
5. Peace is gained about the future, including death and eternity.[2]
Calls to Action:
1. Begin a structured life review - set aside time to evaluate your experiences, decisions, and their outcomes. Don’t focus only on your regrets but also on the wisdom you have gained and your positive impact. Resources like my old calendars, prayer journals, ministry records, diaries, and questions from Elder, Tell Me Your Stories have helped me with this.
2. Inventory your relationships to identify any unresolved conflicts or grievances that need reconciliation - make a concrete plan to reach out to those individuals. Don't fret much if the effort does not go well; you did your best.
3. Document your accumulated wisdom from life experiences in a format that can be shared with younger generations - whether through writing, audio or video recordings, or structured conversations with family members.
[1] Erik Erikson, Childhood and Society, p. 273, 1991, W.W. Norton and Company (New York, NY)
[2] Buxbaum, Robert E. D. Min. Aging Well: A Theological Perspective,P. 11, The Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Philadelphia, 1997.
[3] I authored Elder, Tell Me Your Stories . The hard-bound legacy book contains over 350 thought-provoking questions. Many questions focus on church life.
The author has two books focused on the Sage age. Saging Well - the Best is Yet to Be is available as an audiobook, ebook, large print, or print at Amazon. Elder, Tell Me Your Stories at CarltonCoon.com is a hard-bound legacy book of questions to help tell your stories to others. 20% of revenue is donated to UPCI Sages.