Adulthood: The Quest for Self-Actualization
As one becomes an adult, one once again must work to
fulfill their most basic physiological and safety and security needs since they
are no longer provided by the family or parents (housing, employment, etc.).
However, many young adults are continuing to live with their parents later and
later so that they do continue to meet their basic needs. Adults who cannot
fulfill these needs will have a more difficult time meeting other needs. Adults whose lower needs are met will be able to focus on self-actualization and
work on personal growth and self-fulfillment.
Erickson crisis of Generativity v.s. Stagnation marks this stage and
greatly relates to an adult’s self-actualization needs. In other words, if an
adult fails to continue moving up the hierarchy of needs, he or she stagnates.
This is commonly referred to as the “mid-life crisis”. On the other hand,
adults who use their creative, social, and practical skills to leave their mark
will be more likely to become self-actualized.
As with all the stages, having a religion or spirituality can be greatly beneficial during this stage of life. It gives adults a community that they can rely on during difficult times and a sense of meaning and purpose. For most people, self-actualization involves spirituality. James Fowler introduced the idea that we go through a series of spiritual stages throughout our lives. He called these the stages of faith.
He called stage one Intuitive-Projective faith. This stage occurs when we are young children and is characterized by fluidity, imagination, and fantasy. Stage two, Mythic-Literal faith, typically occurs during middle-childhood and involves a concrete, one-dimensional view of faith and morality. Synthetic-Conventional faith or stage three is usually necessitated by the complex social roles that arise during adolescence and young adulthood. It is characterized by individuals taking on a set of beliefs and identifying with them. Stage five is called Individuative-Reflective faith. As it's name implies, this stage is one of deep introspection and examination of the belief system. Many individuals at this stage are forced to choose between conforming with the community or choosing a belief system that works for them as an individual. Rarely achieved before later adulthood, stage five or Conjunctive faith occurs when an individual is able to integrate the abstract and the concrete elements of their spirituality. Stage six, or Universalizing faith, is achieved by few. Those who do achieve it "have a special grace that makes them more lucid, more simple, and yet somehow more fully human than the rest of us" (Conn, 1986). One might consider this stage the epitome of self-actualization.
Resources
Conn, Joann Wolski (ed.) (1986), Women's spirituality: Resources for christian development. Retrieved from http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/fowler.htm
As with all the stages, having a religion or spirituality can be greatly beneficial during this stage of life. It gives adults a community that they can rely on during difficult times and a sense of meaning and purpose. For most people, self-actualization involves spirituality. James Fowler introduced the idea that we go through a series of spiritual stages throughout our lives. He called these the stages of faith.
He called stage one Intuitive-Projective faith. This stage occurs when we are young children and is characterized by fluidity, imagination, and fantasy. Stage two, Mythic-Literal faith, typically occurs during middle-childhood and involves a concrete, one-dimensional view of faith and morality. Synthetic-Conventional faith or stage three is usually necessitated by the complex social roles that arise during adolescence and young adulthood. It is characterized by individuals taking on a set of beliefs and identifying with them. Stage five is called Individuative-Reflective faith. As it's name implies, this stage is one of deep introspection and examination of the belief system. Many individuals at this stage are forced to choose between conforming with the community or choosing a belief system that works for them as an individual. Rarely achieved before later adulthood, stage five or Conjunctive faith occurs when an individual is able to integrate the abstract and the concrete elements of their spirituality. Stage six, or Universalizing faith, is achieved by few. Those who do achieve it "have a special grace that makes them more lucid, more simple, and yet somehow more fully human than the rest of us" (Conn, 1986). One might consider this stage the epitome of self-actualization.
Resources
Conn, Joann Wolski (ed.) (1986), Women's spirituality: Resources for christian development. Retrieved from http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/fowler.htm