The Seasons of a Man’s Life: An Introduction

An interesting series of articles from The Art of Manliness. Today we'll look at an introduction to the series.

Just like the seasons of the year, the periods of adult development are neither good nor bad; rather, as each season is shaped by particular biological, psychological, and social factors, each simply brings “changes in the character of living.” In addition to having a qualitatively different mood and texture, each season has unique developmental tasks — choices and commitments that can either move a life forward and set up a healthy foundation for the next phase, or can create stagnation and crisis in the years to come.

There are 4 main seasons to a man's life (As later studies showed, that includes women, for whom the basic architecture of the life cycle is largely similar, though some of the content and contours of the periods differ, befitting the unique experience of the female sex), just as there are four seasons in a year:

The broadest of these life phases are four eras that constitute the “skeletal structure of the life cycle”: 

Childhood and Adolescence: age 0-22
Early Adulthood: age 17-45
Middle Adulthood: age 40-65
Late Adulthood: age 60-? 

As you can see, the eras overlap with each other, e.g., Early Adulthood ends at age 45, while Middle Adulthood begins at age 40. These overlapping periods are called transitions. While the most significant and critical transitions of adult development come between eras — the Early Adult Transition, the Mid-Life Transition, and the Late Adult Transition — transitions also exist within these eras (the Age 30 and Age 50 Transitions).

The transitions last approximately 4 - 5 years, while the stable/structure building periods last 6 - 8 years.

Transitions serve as bridges that connect eras/periods in the life cycle. They terminate the past life structure and initiate a future life structure, but are themselves not wholly part of either. They are thus “zones of overlap,” liminal states; just as winter does not end abruptly, and suddenly become spring, transitions represent a time when one season of a man’s life is trending into the next. 

Transitions are the “boundary zones between two states of greater stability,” during which an individual experiences his life as more malleable and makes changes to its structure. 

During these periods, “a man must come to terms with the past and prepare for the future.”

And:

During a transition, an old life structure is terminated, and a new one is created. During the stable period which follows, a man then solidifies and enriches this new structure, lending it meaning and commitment, and pursing his goals and values within its architecture. 

Stable periods are not wholly tranquil, nor free from stress, difficulties, and change — the process of building and strengthening one’s life structure, as well as the basic nature of life itself, is invariably full of challenges — but they are more steady, straightforward, and settled than transitional periods. 

In addition to the underlying task of enhancing one’s life structure, each particular stable period has its own set of unique developmental tasks.

There's quite a bit more detail in the article, so I highly recommend that you read it.

Be sure to check out the entire series:

Part 1 

Part 2 

Part 3

Interesting days

Today - Techno Day, Christmas Card Day, International Anti-Corruption Day, International Day of Veterinary Medicine and Pastry Day

Tomorrow - Human Rights Day and Lager Day

Month long celebrations:

November 28 - December 31: A Blue Christmas

Next Monday - Chocolate Covered Anything Day and Day Of Reconciliation

Month long celebrations:

November 28 - December 31: A Blue Christmas

January 9 - Apricot Day, Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, Static Electricity Day, Play God Day and Balloon Ascension Day