A Life of "Generativity"

SOURCE:  "You Might Never Be Famous — And That’s O.K."  Daily Stoic.  March 10, 2020.
KEYWORDS: Meaning, Life, Humility, Humble

Emily Esfahani Smith, author of the piece in the New York Times, titled “You’ll Never Be Famous — And That’s O.K.”, shared the opinion of the 20th-century psychologist Erik Erikson, who said that a flourishing, meaningful life is one of “generativity”.  She said in an interview,

“When we’re young, we’re supposed to figure out who we are and what our purpose is. As we get older, we’re supposed to shift the focus from ourselves to others and be ‘generative.’ That is, we’re supposed to give back, especially to younger generations, by doing things like raising children, mentoring colleagues, creating things of value for our community or society at large, volunteering, etc. We each have the power to be generative. Fame and glamour are about the self—aggrandizing yourself. But generativity is about connecting and contributing to something bigger, which is the very definition of leading a meaningful life.”