Is Generativity Our Primary Role In Retirement?

In Richard's first post entitled Building A Generative Retirement, Richard shone a light on the differences in retirement models of eastern and western cultures and introduced the concept of generativity in retirement. This is his second installment which dives into the concept of generativity and the opportunities this offers for both us and future generations. 

Erik Erickson defined generativity as “the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation.” During my last article, I proposed generativity as the primary goal when we retire. Let me suggest a framework to justify this assertion.

Sociologists have been interested in the concept of generativity ever since Erik Erikson used this term in his eight-stage model of human development in 1950. The stages begin with infancy and proceed through early childhood, play age, school age, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood and finally, old age. In the adulthood stage, Erikson considered generativity as the primary human development goal.

In his model, generativity occurred primarily in the adult stage. However, recognizing the number of years we will likely have in retirement, there is a strong case for adding more generativity activities in our 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

Even Erik Erikson realized our role as we age might transform if we live longer:

“…children … are made thoughtful in a specific way by encounters with old people, and we may well ponder what will and must become of this relationship in the future when a ripe old age will be an “average expectable” experience to be planfully anticipated…”

In the middle of the last century, Erikson anticipated the situation we now find ourselves. With our longevity extended by potentially several decades, it is time to “re-ritualize” our role in society.

First Stage

If we believe there is a more active role for older adults in our current society, we can visualize a full cycle of creative activities as shown in the figure above. As Erikson hints, the first stage of the cycle is to sustain the generativity started as an adult. It is the ability of the present generation to continue leveraging all the richness of life experiences to benefit our next generations. I will describe this first stage as Sharing Skills & Resources (i.e., staying focused on generativity at age 50+).

Remaining generative at 50+ is accomplished in numbers of ways. First, by leveraging past skills we continue to benefit others. Second, by staying creative we develop additional impactful skills as we age. Finally, by expanding the context for using our skills - whether in working as a volunteer for a nonprofit, as an artist, or using these skills in another way – we increase the ways we assist others.

Second Stage

During the second stage of the generative cycle, 7th Generation Advocacy, older adults have the responsibility to ask the question - what will help future generations continue to evolve and grow? What can I do now that will have a positive impact several generations in the future?

“A society grows great when its elders plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” ~ Greek Proverb

Older adults are expected to be the advocates or activists for those living seven-or-seventy generations in the future. That is the primary goal of this second stage, 7th Generation Advocacy.

Third Stage

Finally, the third stage of the generative cycle, Legacy Building considers the strong roots of the tree. It is the foundation to build up over time to capture and pass forward the legacies of earlier generations. Each new generation adds to the family legacy passed forward from prior generations, adding what the current generation has achieved during their lifetime. Key to this stage is documenting your family heritage (the past and present) and sharing your gifts to benefit future generations.

Living the Generative Cycle

The Generative Cycle provides some interesting thoughts for older adults. First, they can choose to explore the type of generativity they wish to share with future generations. The cycle requires work at all levels. Some of us may prefer to sustain the generativity started as an adult as we continue to age by Sharing Skills & Resources. Others may want to focus on Legacy Building. And then there are those, whether they view it as a spiritual or political activism, who want to embrace 7th Generation Advocacy. And we always have a few overachievers who might say “all of the above.”

We all have a choice on what we want to pursue.

Also, why aren’t we talking about the concepts of generativity and legacy in our culture? Our culture seems to have minimized their importance. It is a bit tiring to hear about all the vacation options presented to us in retirement. I do understand that vacations are necessary and important PLAY to revitalize and re-energize us. But let us not ONLY talk about this stuff. There is so much more to do!

About the author

Richard O. Weijo, PhD, received an undergraduate degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and went on to receive his MBA and PhD degrees from the University of Minnesota. He was an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Richard was also a Senior Analyst at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and his most recent corporate position was as a Manager of market research and Director of customer channels at Portland General Electric. Currently, he is a consultant and a writer. He adores his young granddaughter Elsie, whose birth inspired his book, Remember Me: Creating and Leaving an Inspiring and Memorable Legacy.