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Age of Reflection (56-65 years old)

Known as the reflective years, this is the time when we re-evaluate our direction in life several times. Most people at this age wish to live forever but, since that is not possible, they seek to leave a legacy of some sort instead, and that quest usually occupies them for the rest of their lives. Successful resolution of mid-life comes from determining what legacy they will leave behind. It may involve contributions as a parent, spouse, leader or mentor, or even trying to change the world, but the content of the legacy defines the path people take for the remainder of their lives.

The hallmark of this staging post is finally letting go of earlier inaccurate ego images and accepting oneself as a worthwhile being, one with weaknesses as well as strengths. There is a confident re-engagement on a more objective, less driven and more productive level with family, friends and community. If we are not doing well at this point, it leaves us with three choices. First, to adjust our life to what we want and where we want to go. Second, to accept the road we are on and live with the choices already made. Or third, to deny what is going on in our lives, where we are anchored and where we are actually heading a refuge taken by many fearful people who cannot bear to acknowledge disappointments in their life or to accommodate new changes to improve them. The main consequences of this is perpetual insecurity and a resistance to change.

Unfortunately, this is the time (at 60-65) when everyone is required to retire from work, whether they like it or not, thus losing their status, purpose and value at one fell swoop, a situation that often kills the spirit and the will to live. In the mid-20th century, the average life expectancy for men was 67 years, just two years after they officially retired. Many found the loss of status and significance that comes with retirement difficult to accept. Instead, they became a nuisance or a bully in the home and fretted away their existence. Being treated as old' and useless' at this stage of their lives, it was a difficult period of adjustment for many of them. Now the average mortality rate is more than 10 years increase - 78 - which means old mindsets about life at this time are no longer valid.

Fear and Loss
With the steady increase in longevity, this is gradually being accepted as the satisfied stage. However, coming immediately after the one where people have reached their goal of winning and attaining,

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