How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Page 263

We might also see this as an end of self-interest.
Having children is not a prerequisite for
Generativity, just as being a parent is no
guarantee that Generativity will be achieved.
Caring for children is the common Generativity
scenario, but success at this stage actually
depends on giving and caring - putting
something back into life, to the best of one's
capabilities.
Stagnation is an extension of intimacy which
turns inward in the form of self-interest and
self-absorption. It's the disposition that
represents feelings of selfishness, selfindulgence, greed, lack of interest in young
people and future generations, and the wider
world.
Erikson later used the term 'Self-Absorption'
instead of 'Stagnation' and then seems to have
settled in later work with the original
'Stagnation'.
Stagnation and/or Self-Absorption result from
not having an outlet or opportunity for
contributing to the good or growth of children
and others, and potentially to the wider world.
8. Integrity v
Despair
'To be, through
having been

This is a review and closing stage. The previous
stage is actually a culmination of one's
achievement and contribution to descendents,
and potentially future generations everywhere.

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