Thursday 30 June 2011

The 20 year Philosophy

The 20 year Philosophy

In order for us to quantify the progress and
success in our lives we have begun to divide our
lives into three periods of 20 years each,
estimating an average of 60 years life
expectancy, and to make sure that we achieve
what we have planned at each stage of our lives.
For us to reach our potential, we need to identify
at each stage of life what our goals are. These
goals need to be written down for each stage of
our life, to reflect the road map of our journey;
and as we go through these stages we need to
reflect on the map, so that we do not get lost.
The first 20 years of our lives are the most
crucial in our development, first as infants to
becoming teenagers and then adults. This is the
stage where we learn language, learn to walk,
explore sexuality and build character. Things
that we learn during this stage normally stay
with us throughout our lives; this is when our
building blocks are laid, when we need more
nurturing than we can imagine. Peer pressure is
high, even leading to suicide when we feel
rejected.
It is the stage when we are still finding out who
we are and measure ourselves through the eyes
and approval of others. It is the stage which
normally ends with us graduating from college or
university.
The second 20 years of our trajectory is referred
to as young adulthood. At this stage we hold a
fulltime job and develop more serious
relationships –probably getting married. We
begin acquiring material possessions; at this
stage in life we seek recognition from others for
our achievements. We are motivated by material
things, financial rewards and by recognition from
our peers. We start small businesses or hold
important positions at work; this is a stage
where stress levels in our lives are at the highest
and we need to take some time to sit back and
recharge, listen to relaxing music, listen to some
motivational talks, read a good book. This is the
stage which ends with us being on our path to
wealth, debt or comfortable living.
The third 20 years of our trajectory begin at the
middle adulthood stage and our road map is
drawn up until the end of this stage, because the
average life expectancy is debatably around 65
years. Even if we make it past this stage, we are
no longer living in the competitive stages of
growth, but are referred to as mature: we take
time out to enjoy the best things in life and tell
our grandchildren stories of our lives. This is the
time when we retire, hopefully with enough
investments or financial reserves. The physical
body is at the stage where we cannot sing many
praises to its abilities: some have reduced
hearing, begin to lose sight and their physical
mobility begins to fade. Around this time we can
no longer rely on our physical strength and good
looks. This is phase when all that we have
worked for, is available for us to enjoy; but it is
also the time when our health begins to require a
lot more caring from us.
When we live our life in accordance with this
philosophy, we begin to quantify our efforts,
understand our strength and measure our
progress; this in turn helps us to focus our
energies towards achieving to the best of our
abilities. Then the forbidding words “impossible”
and “can‟t”become just words, not worthy of
note.
During the approximately 200,000 years that
humans have inhabited the earth, a number of
preconceived ideas and expectations have been
built around what is success and when should
this success be achieved? The stress that comes
from the pressures brought about by these beliefs
is extremely harmful to us emotionally,
spiritually and physically; largely due to the
presence of these beliefs in all facets of our
society. Our families, friends and colleagues all
believe in this universal perception of success
that has been developed over many past
generations.
We are constantly judged by others against these
standards; our compatibility and suitability in
relationships are evaluated against these beliefs;
our ability to lead is judged on the same basis.
Our emotions are so filled with fear of not
achieving this „success‟, that we even forget to
identify and evaluate our potential; it is at these
times that we need to be motivated and reminded
of how to evaluate our lives and the successes
achieved.

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