Stuck in Right

So Why Was My Life Not Going As Planned?

I know I’m not the only one who asks the questions, “Where did I go wrong?” or “Why did it take me so long to figure this all out?”

In my late thirties and through my fifties, I read all the self-help books I could find that seemed to offer me The Answers.

· I started therapy because I was worried I’d ruin my children.

· I started and finished a PhD ostensibly to learn about high intelligence and what it is, isn’t, where it comes from, and how it affects the person who is highly intelligent. Although I had a focus on Test & Measurement and took more than 10 psychology courses and 10 statistics and measurement courses (among some other courses, as well), I managed to turn any papers I had to write into something to do with high intelligence. My professors found my work interesting. However, the coursework and dissertation were admittedly about my learning more and more about myself. I had no plans that included using the information for a career. Throughout that time, I still planned to become a school principal. I already had school administration licensure from my M.Ed. at the University of Virginia.

In one psychology course early on, I was introduced to Erik Erikson’s work. In Identity, Youth, and Crises (1968), Erikson described a series of eight interdependent…