Erikson Reflection Paper

If one considers the person he is at seventy, he realizes that he is the compilation of a series of experiences, explorations and examinations. Erik Erikson believed that the totality of human personality was molded by the psychological and social encounters faced during one’s lifetime. Erikson discusses key values that are essential to the stages in one’s life. Although he considers several values, the ones that are key to a full and content life are determination, resilience, and love of others. To be underdeveloped in these three capacities may mean a life that is marked by, self doubt, rigidity, and isolation, both physical and emotional. According to Erikson, life is divided into eight stages: infancy, early childhood, play age, school

During infancy, the basic conflict is trust versus mistrust, which is connected to feeding and forming attachment to one’s parent. This stage lasts only one year. From ages one to three, children will face an autonomy versus shame conflict, which may involve actions as basic as toilet training. The next stage, play age, spans from ages three to six. This stage introduces the challenge of initiative verses inferiority and will test a child’s competency in performing school tasks. Adolescence, the next stage, lasts from ages 12 through 19 and involves an individual’s ability to connect and interact with his peers. During ages 20-25, an individual enters early adulthood; the basic confrontation or “crisis” during this time will concern love relations. Adulthood follows this period and spans the longest amount of time, lasting from age 26

Determination, which is a value that takes route in early childhood is essential for persevering through the obstacles that life presents to us. From my personal experiences, determination enabled me to overcome a difficult disease as well as my own perceptions of my body and mind. If a toddler understands that determination and perseverance yield positive outcomes, then that toddler will make it applicable to any other endeavors encountered later on. Resilience, which is closely linked to determination, is also, with out a doubt necessary for healthy human development. Resiliency is a quality that galvanizes when weathering the storms of life. Whereas determination enables you to overcome an obstacle, resiliency allows you to bounce back from that specific hurdle and keep on going with an open mind. In my case, after I regained my health, I went to Israel to play tournament tennis. Furthermore, I dedicated my entire being to becoming stronger, not only physically, but mentally as well. Finally, love of others is perhaps the most necessary ingredient for life. This includes romantic and/or platonic love. Man is not meant to live in a vacuum all alone. He is, in essence, a social creature that is dependent upon some degree of social connection with others. This does not mean that one must marry