Personal Introduction to Adulthood - Paper Example

Development is a lifelong affair which continues beyond adulthood (Broderick & Brewitt, 2015, p.1). As an adult, there are very many characteristics that I have adopted. These traits have been brought primarily by the increased responsibilities that I now have. These duties are both in my personal and professional life. Initially, as an undergraduate student, my primary responsibility was making sure that I attended all my classes and studying to ensure that I passed my examinations. However, now I have many more duties that require me to be focused and very strategic in how I approach things.

Characteristics that define me as a person are; I am very hardworking and dedicated to all the activities that I carry out. I plan meticulously for all the activities that I will be involved in and consequently work on them to the best of my ability. I am also very good at managing time to balance between my studies, family responsibilities, and career roles. This ensures that all my duties receive my undivided attention and the results are usually high quality. Additionally, I am very innovative and self-disciplined, and I possess excellent interpersonal skills which enable me to interact with different people effectively.

My nuclear family is made of three people. My spouse, our son, and me. It is my most significant support structure. This is because they encourage me whenever things do not go as planned. My employer is also very supportive of my work, and she continually believes in me even in instances when my belief in myself wavers.

The most meaningful events that have occurred in my life as an adult are; the day my son was born and my wedding day. This is because my son provides me with constant motivation to work hard to ensure that he has a great life and my partner is always there to advise and support me at all times.

Theoretical Perspectives of Development

Post-formal Thought according to Perry

The process of moving from dualism to realism goes through the stage of multiplicity. Dualism refers to the belief in college students that all problems can be solved and students just need to learn the correct answers and follow the rules set by the authority (Tomlinson, Johnson & University, 2015, p.3). After this step, we must go through multiplicity where students realize that there are two types of problem in existence; those that are solvable and those whose answer is not yet known. After this stage, students then go to the relativism stage where they learn that the solutions to all problems must have reasons and they must be viewed based on the context (Broderick & Brewitt, 2015, p.421).

I have been able to grow into my current stage of moral and cognitive development because since I realized that not all problems have obvious solutions, I usually listen to my inner voice and perform a self-reflection exercise before making decisions to ensure that they are moral and I am very committed to this process. I also make decisions based on the situation because one problem may have different solutions in different contexts.

Adult Attachment and Relationships

My personal attachment prototype is that I am secure. Getting close to somebody is relatively easy for me, and I feel comfortable depending on them for different things. This is a strength because I am usually not afraid that my partner might get too close to me or abandon me. However, my greatest weakness is that if somebody disappointed me when I had fully trusted them, it is tough for me to let go of that situation and I hold it over their heads for a long time. My partner is also secure, and this enables us to relate well to each other, and we are also very supportive of what the other person is doing. We are also both reasonably autonomous but still comfortable with our emotional closeness (Barr & Simons, 2015, p.5).

The attachment theory adequately characterizes my partner selection. My partner is also secure, and this has enabled us to balance each other out. I would not be interested in an insecure individual because I would not like a partner who is clingy and who overwhelms me with their many demands. I experience more positive emotions as opposed to negative ones when am dealing with my romantic partner. We share adequate physical comfort and are both nurturing and sensitive to each other. We trust a lot in each other and are intimate on a frequent basis.

When we are communicating or engaged in a conflict, we always remember that we love and trust each other and that we are only trying to come to a middle ground. We are both flexible when we have conflicts and try as much as possible to avoid being defensive to come to a compromise which is good for both parties.

Career Development Process; Supers Approach

Super and Holland both assert that when ones personal traits match their responsibilities at work, then they are likely to enjoy a satisfying work life. Super also said that the process of career development is continuous. He added that a career is the course of life where someone encounters different developmental activities and attempts to handle these tasks in a manner that enables that person to become the sort of individual that she or he wants to be (Broderick & Brewitt, 2015, p.454).

I am currently in the establishment stage. This is because I am still learning from the different experiences that I am going through as I try to decide the most favorable job setting for me to eventually work in (Savickas et al., 2009, p.115). Some of the major influences that I feel will propel me to the next level are; completion of my masters program, continuous reading about different fields that interest me, and hard work. With these, I will be able to move into the maintenance stage where I will be well versed with what I do, and where I will continually achieve seniority and a more advanced status over time.

Identity Development

Erickson had the belief that an adult is a self-organizing and active individual who only requires the correct context socially to be able to move in a direction that is positive. He also believed that crises that were resolved poorly could be more adequately addressed in other later stages in life so long as the right conditions are in existence (Broderick & Brewitt, 2015, p.10).

The Ericksons psychosocial stage that I am currently in is the intimacy vs. isolation stage. This is because right now I am happy to share my identity with my spouse and I have also committed to different partnerships and affiliations (Broderick & Brewitt, 2015, p.11). I have joined different groups with people who share similar interests as I do. I was able to manage my crisis period where I highly doubted myself by communicating with my spouse and other close friends of the issues that I went through at the time which enabled me to grow and learn from the challenges. My main influences that will allow me to navigate to the next stage are my friends, my career, and my family.

Personality and Temperament

Personality traits are individual differences that people possess in the way that they behave, feel, or think. The Big Five is the most prevalent personality framework (Barr & Simons, 2015, p.2). The first trait is openness. In relation to this trait, I am highly imaginative, daring, perceptive, and I have very many interests. As a result, I love learning new things and meeting new people, and am also a great fan of the arts.

In relation to conscientiousness, I am a very persistent, self-disciplined, persevering, and reliable person. These traits have enabled me to succeed in school and different leadership positions. I am also highly extroverted. As a result, I am very talkative, sociable, assertive and articulate. I enjoy social functions where I interact with different people, and I am more highly prone to action over contemplation. Finally, I am agreeable. This enables me to be trusting, humble, and patient. As a result, I get along with most people and have few enemies.

Family Life Cycle

Marriages change as family life demands flow and the partners age (Broderick & Brewitt, 2015, p. 499). When I was in the cycle stage of leaving my parents home as a single young adult, my major transition was that I took on financial and emotional responsibilities for myself. It was then that I got a job to support myself financially and developed an intimate relationship with my spouse. At this stage, I was also able to differentiate myself from my family and stand independently.

My spouse and I then got married in the next stage. We were both committed to this new system, and we realigned our relationships with our friends and extended families. The stage that I am currently in is that of a family with a young child. This has meant that my spouse and I have to create space for this child and others to come. We work together to bring up our son and share the household and financial duties.

Culture, Religion, and Well-being

Religion is an expression of a need that people have, to create a feeling of completeness and wholeness and it aids to bring meaning to life. It connects people with a power that is greater than themselves. Religion also involves an association that people have with a covenant faith community which administers teachings and may also have rituals intended to promote morality and search for the sacred (Broderick & Brewitt, 2015, p. 534).

Many people in the world have asserted that religion is a very significant part of their lives. Research has indicated that religion contributes to peoples social wellbeing. Many religious movements emphasize that people should moderate their emotional reactions and have positive emotions that are strong (Savickas et al., 2009, p.120).

Religion is important to me and is aids in improving my wellbeing because my religious community is very integrated and we always provide each other with social support and enable people always to see the purpose for their lives. Religion fosters optimism and hope within me which allows me always to feel good even when things go wrong. The Bible speaks of the afterlife which is very important to me, and this makes me know regardless of how much suffering there is in this world there is a better life waiting for us. To enjoy it, Christianity emphasizes the importance of being moral and helping others as Christ did.

Money is one factor that has been seen to increase happiness and well-being. However, research has shown that people who take satisfaction and pride in their culture also have happiness that has even been seen to be greater than having excess material possession. I am proud of my cultural background and celebrating it always makes me happy. I am also very happy teaching it to my son and my spouse so that we can all celebrate it together.

Ending well

I anticipate that my dying process will occur at the age of ninety-five. I hope that my spouse, my children, and grandchildren will all be by my side so that I can leave them with words of advice on how to approach life and so I can express my love for every one of them. I also anticipate that I will not be in any pain mainly due to modern medicine and that my religious beliefs will even enable me to look forward to the next phase of life after death.

My self-eulogy is that;

I was a kind and hardworking person who loved my family very much and always put them first. I also helped many people in the society to achieve both their personal and professional objectives. I was also a keen believer in God and always spread the word of God to other people to ensure that they became aware of the fact that Jesus loves them very much that He chose to die on the cross so that all their sins may be forgiven. Just like the Bible says in John 3:16; for God so loved the world that He ga...